BBC mini-documentary shines a light on community health workers in Arizona
ASU graduate Alicia Hernandez (left) conducts preventative health screenings on low-income families and seniors in an El Mirage apartment complex. BBC photo
When people think of health care professionals, what often comes to mind are doctors and nurses. In reality, there are more than 250 distinct professions in the field.
This summer, a new BBC mini-documentary is bringing attention to one of them: community health workers.
The documentary follows a day in the life of Alicia Hernandez, a graduate of the College of Health Solutions Community Health Worker Training Program. The ASU alumna shows her work with the University of Arizona’s Mobile Health Clinic, connecting Arizonans with important health screenings and resources.
“I was honestly really shocked,” she said of hearing about the documentary. “I thought it was super cool that they're showing real-life experiences and community health workers as a role because a lot of the time they aren't represented or talked about.”
Community health workers serve as a bridge between communities and the health care system by helping people navigate services, access preventive care and get connected with much-needed resources.
Growing up in a family and community that didn’t really go to the doctor, Hernandez said ASU's training program has allowed her to bridge the gap between the distrust and lack of access to care in her community.
The training program launched in 2023 with a $3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The hybrid program combines an online curriculum that provides foundational core community health worker competencies with experiential on-the-job training through community partners.
Over the last three years, 212 students have been trained, with 134 eligible for voluntary community health worker certification through the Arizona Department of Health Services. The program placed 76 trainees in internship and registered apprenticeship opportunities around the state.
By the numbers
- Data from the CDC shows community health worker intervention helped reduce health care costs by $82 per person, per year.
- The profession is projected to grow by 11% between 2024 and 2034.
- Data shows community health worker interventions decrease 30-day hospital readmissions (e.g., from 40% to 15.2%) and lower emergency department visits by up to 52%.
“These are the things that make a difference in daily lives,” said Mindy McEntee, director of the Community Health Worker Training Program and an assistant professor at the College of Health Solutions. “It's really nice to see recognition being brought towards those small efforts that oftentimes get swept under the rug or are not necessarily recognized for the importance that they have.”
One place where community health worker impact is felt most is in Arizona’s rural communities. Despite rural residents being older and statistically having worse health conditions than urban residents, many of these communities face barriers to care, including distance from services, provider shortages, a lack of reliable transportation and less access to technology.
“We’re under-resourced in so many ways,” said Chris Casillas, founder and director of the nonprofit organization Regenerating Sonora. “This training has allowed our community health workers to learn more about how to navigate all these systems. It’s unlocked so many resources for people in town because of that.”
Regenerating Sonora was created by Casillas to help address community health challenges in Superior, Arizona. After seeing how difficult it was for Superior residents to navigate health care paperwork, he decided to partner with the ASU Community Health Worker Training Program to train and certify his team members, including Mary Martha Armitage and Miracle Martinez.
It was one of 57 organizations that partnered with ASU's training program to create internship and apprenticeship opportunities during the grant period.
Armitage and Martinez already understood existing struggles in their community; however, they said the training helped them build confidence and dive right into helping others.
Martinez said she hopes the documentary shows viewers the need for community health workers.
“A doctor is only going to understand so much about a person that lives in that area, but I think a community health worker really understands the challenges in a community and can actually create systems change,” she said.
Without community health workers, McEntee said we’d most likely see larger disparities within health care, especially among vulnerable populations who might decide the frustration of dealing with the health care system is not worth it.
“We really need to put our money where our mouth is in terms of making sure these services have the resources they need to continue,” McEntee said.
Hernandez said she hopes the documentary helps people see they have options when it comes to health care.
“It can give them hope and some kind of motivation that there's still good people out there doing good work for the community, and maybe they should go to the doctor or go to these community events because they never know what kind of help they're going to receive,” she said.
More about the program
Although the grant has ended, the curriculum is still available. Community partners looking to support their community health workers can visit the program page on ASU’s Career Catalyst website for more information.
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