Latino Serving Organizations
As the fastest-growing group in the US, Latinos face health disparities at disproportionate rates.1 To help address this, many organizations have adopted Latino and Hispanic specific programs or are built around serving them entirely. For over 35 years, MHP Salud has stayed true to its’ mission to serve Latino communities by working and partnering with these organizations to address barriers to health using the strength of CHW programs.
Organization’s that serve the Latino population will provide services to address issues that are unique to the community:
Over the years we worked with a variety of organizations that focus on serving the Hispanic and Latino community such as Federally Qualified Health Centers, Area Health Education Centers, Primary Care Associations, Health Clinics, and other community-based organizations. Because of our extensive knowledge and expertise in implementing CHW programs to address health barriers in our communities, we have a deep understanding of the issues that these organizations strive to address.
Language Accessibility and Cultural Awareness
Organizations that serve the population provide bilingual services to ensure that every individual can feel confident in the services they received. Being able to communicate in a language that individuals are most comfortable with is crucial when it comes to exchanging information about an individual’s health.
In Latino Serving Health Clinics, 56% of patients prefer to be served in a language other than English.2
When organizations work with CHWs they gain unique perspectives on concerns and issues directly affecting individuals because CHWs live in the communities they serve. Many CHWs have established relationships with community members which gives them the opportunity to get important information that the patient may not have felt comfortable disclosing to an individual outside of the community.
CHWs complement the work of other healthcare team members, they do not replace the work of those like administrative staff, medical assistants, or nurses. In fact, the inclusion of CHWs on a care team allows the other team members to practice at their full scope of practice. (Community Service Task Force) 3
Outreach and Education
The ability to outreach to individuals to provide health education is an essential piece of establishing health equity in many Latino and Hispanic Communities. When organizations partner with CHWs, they gain unmatched access to the communities they serve.
In Latino Serving Health Clinics, 56% of patients prefer to be served in a language other than English.2
In 2020, MHP Salud and HEBNI Nutrition Consultants came together to create and disseminate a Latino and Hispanic specific Healthy Plate Brochure to individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This area includes many isolated communities known as colonias, which are made up of predominantly migrant Hispanic farmworkers. Individuals here are often hard to reach because of the underdevelopment of roads, infrastructure, and technology.
When CHWs are connected to both organization and the individual being served, they bridge a gap by providing insight, current information, and education on issues that could have a major impact on the health of individuals living in these hard-to-reach areas.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, MHP Salud’s CHWs from our Health Outcomes initiative managed to provide outreach on nutrition and managing chronic conditions to nearly 10,000 individuals either via phone or using a virtual meeting platform like Zoom. Further, when there was a need to get emergency care supplies into these isolated neighborhoods, the Knapp Community Care foundation entrusted MHP Salud CHWs to do so.
Preventative Services
Preventative services have been known to be effective especially in Latino and Hispanic communities where there are higher rates of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Many of the organizations CHWs partner with depend on them to connect their fellow community members to screenings and lab tests for these conditions.
In Vivir una Vida Plena, a project funded by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, we partner with three local health clinics to get community members screened for chronic diabetic kidney disease. Those found to be at risk receive 6 weeks of educational sessions led by a CHW. These classes have proven to be effective at helping individuals develop healthier habits like significantly increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat (by at least 25% or more).
The Community Preventive Services Task Force has suggested that CHWs can help patients mitigate risk for cardiovascular disease—like lowering blood pressure and reducing cholesterol. This group is responsible for making recommendations surrounding population-level interventions to health departments and communities.
Training and Technical Assistance
When organizations are looking to implement or strengthen their own CHW programs they can turn to us for support and advice. We’ve built CHW training sessions that cover a variety of topics based on our extensive L.E.A.D curriculum. Our training and our technical assistance include insight from over 35 years of experience managing our own programs and are designed to benefit organizations at any stage of the implementation process of a CHW program.
Management Based Objective
We also support organizations and associations with training and technical assistance through our Management Based Objective Initiative so that they can set, record, and monitor their goals to improve their productivity and performance of their new or existing CHW programs. This support enables organizations to better serve their communities. Additionally, our team of experts stay abreast of the current issues affecting the community and are constantly updating information to keep organizations informed.
Partner With Us!
Through the years we’ve built strong partnerships with organizations from across the country to help them tackle specific initiatives. We’ve worked with organizations with CHW-led initiatives and have co-developed and published resources around specific health topics and CHWs. All of our partners have access to our partner kit which includes tools you can use so that you feel supported in our collaborative efforts.
About MHP Salud
MHP Salud provides opportunities to organizations interested in the Community Health Worker (CHW) profession to grow their knowledge base on how to design, implement, and evaluate CHW programs for their populations. We offer training for CHWs, CHW Supervisors, along with professionals and grant writers working with CHW programs. We also offer CHW program consulting and guided implementation packages that can be tailored to meet the needs of any organization. Our services are affordable and available both in-person and virtually. Learn more by visiting our CHW Training and Consulting page.
