Highlight: The CHW Hub at RUSH
As part of our work to break down barriers to social care, much of CHaSCI’s work focuses on community health workers (CHWs), defined by APHA as “frontline public health workers who are trusted members of and/or have an unusually close understanding of the community served.” Because of their trust and rapport with communities served, CHWs can help connect individuals to health and social services and increase the cultural competence of service delivery.
To work toward our vision of equitable health outcomes, whole-person care, and strong communities, CHaSCI works closely with the CHW Hub at RUSH, a workforce of CHWs centralized within the RUSH Office of Community Health Equity and Engagement (CHEE) who serve as liaisons between community members and available resources and services. The CHW Hub focuses on six core areas: continued public health response, the emergency department, community settings, chronic disease management, youth programs, and connection to care.
We are proud to announce that the RUSH CHW Hub was recently featured on the American Hospital Association blog! The AHA post highlights the RUSH CHW Hub’s work to improve health equity by leveraging community health workers to improve communities’ access to social care, building strong internal networks, and fostering external community partnerships.