OHIO to host Community Health Workers conference Oct. 22

Ohio University will co-host a Community Health Workers conference on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the OHIO Dublin Campus.

This conference will be hosted by The Ohio State University and OHIO to provide the continued education necessary to be a Community Health Worker (CHW). Both the conference and the continued education modules will be free for all 140 attendees. The conference’s theme is "Community Health Workers Working Together to Bridge the Gap to Healthier Communities."

There have been over 250 CHWs trained at OHIO in recent years who are eligible to complete continued education to renew their certifications. Attendees include CHWs from Ohio State’s and OHIO’s training programs and CHWs from across the U.S.

“We wanted to celebrate community health workers and recognize that they’ve been really instrumental in responding to the Covid pandemic,” said Kerri Shaw, the community health worker lead for the Ohio Alliance for Population Health. “This is a way to give back to them and thank them and highlight the work they’ve been doing over the past few years.”

Attendees are eligible for up to seven hours of continuing education. There will be a panel of CHWs speaking and several breakout sessions on topics including human trafficking, working with Amish and Mennonite populations, sexual assault survivors, and bridging the gap for immigrant refugees and new Americans. Additionally, conference attendees will have access to a virtual webinar to get their Category 8 credit. The keynote speaker will be Erika Clark Jones, chief executive officer of the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County. The conference will also include a networking happy hour and vendor booths.

Another important part of being a CHW is the strengthening of his or her professional identity as a CHW, which this conference will help with. These skills help them when they enter their communities with theirs new positions.

“I’m passionate about that professional identity piece because I think the value community health workers bring to our communities is so important. I want them to be proud of that and to realize that they’re valued,” Shaw said.