Marta R. Pizarro, MPA, Consultant, 12711 S.W. 66 Terrace Drive, Miami, FL 33183, (305) 297-4472, Mpizar4682@aol.com and Mikele Aboitiz-Earle, MBA, Community Voices Miami, Collins Center for Public Policy, 150 SE 2nd Ave, #709, Miami, FL 33131.

In the last year, the work of Community Health Workers (CHWs) has become a widely discussed topic in Miami-Dade County. With the goal of integrating CHW practice and training with primary and preventive care services and to ultimately develop a professional career track for CHWs, the CHW Project has been very successful in convening stakeholders and developing a standardized curriculum to be implemented throughout the county.

An outgrowth of the Community Voices Miami project, a W.K. Kellogg Foundation initiative at the Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., and United Way of Miami-Dade this kind of effort is unprecedented in the county. It is the first attempt at coordinating a very fragmented and isolated system of healthcare providers. It is also a provider driven effort that developed new partnerships and strengthened old ones and has collaboratively acknowledged and advocated for the CHW model. As this model gains momentum, the project is developing a standardized training curriculum and certification process that will be implemented throughout the county. A local funders collaborative currently under development will provide support and sustainability for the implementation of the curriculum and certification process. Although the process might still be under way by the time of the conference, the goal of this session will be to present the lessons learned up to date, from both the perspective of team leaders and at least one of the community health workers in the project.

Learning Objectives:

• 1 – Learn how a collaborative process can be developed in a fragmented community
• 2 – Recognize the importance of a standardized certification process in a community such as Miami-Dade
• 3 – Identify the benefits of implementing a CHW model in different communities.

Keywords: Community Health, Certification

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Miami project consultant to United Way of Miami-Dade County/Community Voices