Community Health Workforce Development Program

The Community Health Workforce Development Project started in Fall 2002 as part of a partnership with the Hawaii Rural Development Project and the University of Hawaii System to develop training tailored to the staffing needs of Hawaii's network of Community Health Centers and Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems. This is a workforce development project, funded through the U.S. Department of Labor's grantee, the Hawai'i Rural Development Project. Through HPCA curriculum is developed, piloted, and the University of Hawai'i System offers future training per community demand.

The initial project was developed to train Community Health Workers (CHW), staff who work directly with community members, either in outreach or client services settings (including translation, transportation and eligibility program services). Community Health Workers are experts at establishing rapport and partnerships with community members and organizations. Training provides an orientation to the health care system, to help CHW navigate the system for their clients. Two Certificate Programs were developed in collaboration with Maui Community College's Human Services Department: 1) a Certificate in Case Management and 2) a Certificate in Outreach for Health Promotion. These courses were offered as a statewide pilot in 2003 and 2005 and are now available through Maui Community College.

The second collaborative training program was designed to build leadership capacity within the Community Health Centers and Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems. The collaboration with Kapiolani Community College produced a Certificate in Leadership and Supervision in Health Care, which was be piloted in 2007. An adjunct certificate, "Community Health Leadership Seminar Series" was developed and piloted in 2008. Both are being offered on a continuing basis per community demand.

Please contact Napua Spock for further information: Napua Spock or 808-280-0984