CHW Network

ESAHEC offers Community Health Worker Training accredited by the Maryland Department of Health which requires 100 hours of coursework and 40 hours of field practicum experience.

Our Community Health Worker Training program is offered online in a virtual classroom setting. Students who successfully complete the program learn the required skills needed to be successful in the health care field. Becoming a CHW allows you to be an advocate for patients while giving back to your community. Our current program is offered twice a year in the spring and fall. Apply today for our spring cohort

The Maryland AHEC (MAHEC) CHW curriculum provides a 140-hour (100 hours classroom/40 hours practicum), competency-based training that covers the 9 Maryland Department of Health core competencies:

• Advocacy and community capacity building skills
• Effective oral and written communication skills
• Cultural competency
• Understanding of ethics and confidentiality issues
• Knowledge of local resources and system navigation
• Care coordination support skills
• Teaching skills to promote health behavior change
• Outreach methods and strategies
• Understanding of public health concepts and health literacy

Although unified under the MAHEC Program name, the CHW training is scheduled and delivered by each of the three regional MAHECs – ESAHEC, AHEC West and Central Maryland AHEC.

Benefits

• Specialized training (i. e. diabetes, HIV, sickle cell etc.)
• Small classroom setting
• Join a network of professionals engaged in health care
• In person CPR BLS Certification offered for local students
• Certified CHW program in the state of Maryland

Since 2013, MAHEC centers have trained over 400 CHWs who are employed in health departments, hospitals, community-based agencies, AHECs, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and many others. Our talented instructors represent an array of experiences in education, healthcare, and human services. The MAHEC CHW Training Program offers competitive pricing for groups and individuals.

Payment plans and scholarships available.

Aging Simulation Program

The program goal is to establish partnerships with high schools/ teachers to promote interest in careers in healthcare by presenting programs to high school science classes grades 9- 12.

The Age Simulation course introduces students to the aging process and how it can impair senses overtime. The instructor uses simulation glasses, hearing impairment ear plugs, dried beans in shoes and surgical gloves for arthritis. Our programs also allow students to tour medical stimulation labs at local colleges.

EARN Workforce Development Program

EARN Maryland is a state-funded, competitive workforce development grant program that is industry-led, regional in focus, and proven to help businesses cultivate the skilled workforce they need to compete.

EARN Maryland is flexible and innovative, designed to ensure that Maryland employers have the talent they need to compete and grow in an ever-changing 21st century economy. The program aims to:

• Address the demands of businesses by focusing intensively on the workforce needs of a specific industry sector over a sustained period.
• Address the needs of workers by creating formal career paths to good jobs, reducing barriers to employment, and sustaining or growing middle class jobs.
• Encourage mobility for Maryland’s most hard-to-serve jobseekers through job readiness training which may include GED® preparation, occupational skills development, literacy advancement, and transportation and childcare components.

How Does EARN Maryland Work?

EARN Maryland invests in strategic industry partnerships from key economic sectors in every region. These partnerships will use the power of coordination across education, workforce, and economic development initiatives to address the multiple needs of companies, starting with the training of skilled workers. Once formed, the partnerships will develop plans to train and educate workers – and place them in meaningful employment.

Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC) collaborates with the three local colleges on the Eastern Shore – Cecil, Chesapeake, and Wor-Wic – for the EARN Ready to Care partnership. This partnership is responsible for training and placing Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) throughout the Eastern Shore.

Funder: Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

• On July 1, 2022, ESAHEC will enter its fifth round of funding from EARN.
• Each funding period lasts two (2) years
• To date, the partnership, led by ESAHEC has trained and placed 144 CNAs.

Eastern Shore E.P.O.P.S. Program

Eastern Shore E.P.O.P.S. or Elder POPulation Simulation program (formally known as ASST) is based on the success of the GAIT (Geriatric Assessment Interdisciplinary Team) model.

The E.P.O.P.S. program is a hands-on workshop utilizing props, individual and group activities, and discussions to promote understanding, empathy, and sensitivity to the sensory losses of the elderly. Over the past 17 years, this program has offered more than 90 sessions with 1,869 participants trained. For more information or to book an E.P.O.P.S training session please email the Education Program Manager Jessica Ransome at jransome@esahec.org.