New online training courses for community health workers provide convenience and affordability

WOBURN, Mass. - Aug. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- WOBURN, MA, August 8, 2013 -- Training community health workers (CHWs) in fundamental skills has never been easier, more convenient or affordable with new online courses available from CHWTraining.org.

Three courses – Community Health Worker Core Skills, Navigating Health Insurance and Health Literacy: A Start - are available now for registration and provide community health workers with the flexibility that benefits both them and the communities they serve.

“Conventional training for community health workers is so time-intensive,” says Monique Cuvelier, president of CHWTraining.org. “It usually requires CHWs be out of the office and spend a lot of time locked in a room listening to someone, away from their communities. These online courses offer the same high level of instruction, but lets participants work when it’s convenient for them and to apply what they’ve learned immediately. Plus, the classes are affordable, particularly if you need to train numerous CHWs.”

That doesn’t mean the courses skimp on the caliber of instruction. The courses were designed specifically for CHWs and course instructor Marilyn Gardner is a registered nurse who works with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as a Public Health Nurse Adviser and Clinical Liaison. She is a Master Trainer for the Stanford University Chronic Disease Self-Management Program and has taught community health workers and patient navigators across the country and internationally.
CHWTraining.org is a subsidiary of Talance, Inc. an e-learning company founded in 2000 with a focus on training for health organizations. CHWTraining utilizes modern e-learning tools and a standardized curriculum that provides students an easy way to consume course materials and receive personalized feedback, just like large university distance learning programs. This makes it possible for CHWs to quickly apply the knowledge they learn within their communities.

The following classes are available for registration now:

Sept. 16 - Community Health Worker Core Skills (http://chwtraining.org/course/community-health-worker-cor...) is designed to prepare individuals in community-oriented health and social service fields. It is an interactive, facilitated course that covers the essential knowledge CHWs need to offer community members healthcare options, build patient-physician relationships, provide patients with health education and counseling, and monitor the health and adherence to care of community members. Based on a curriculum developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and facilitated by Master Trainer Marilyn Gardner, the course covers organizational skills, documentation skills, health disparities, social determinants of health, assessment skills and service coordination skills. ($699)

Sept 23 - Navigating Health Insurance (http://chwtraining.org/course/navigating-health-insurance...) introduces community health workers and patient navigators at community-based organizations, clinics or larger health service settings to the terms and concepts related to health insurance. With a handle on health insurance basics, CHWs can help patients choose the healthcare plan that best suits them. ($199)

Oct. 28 – Health Literacy: A Start (http://chwtraining.org/course/health-literacy-start) introduces what health literacy is, why it matters, and how to assess health literacy in patients and community members. They will learn writing and communication skills they can use on the job, and discover strategies for other ways of addressing literacy gaps. The course has an emphasis on practical work with resources participants can use long after class is over. ($675)

For more information or to register for the courses, please visit http://chwtraining.org/course.