Birmingham, AL—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Community Health Worker Training Program awarded over $2.9 million in grant funds to ConnectionHealth, a Birmingham-based, 501c3 nonprofit organization to expand its services to recruit, train, upskill, and apprentice Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the community.
Project ACHIEVE (Alabama Community Health Worker Institute for Education, Vocational Training, and Engagement), a three-year funding opportunity, aims to advance the conversation around CHWs in the state while recruiting and training Community Health Workers for sustainable employment opportunities.
ConnectionHealth is partnering with and receiving support from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and the University of South Alabama (USA) Medical Centers, state healthcare providers, BlueCross/BlueShield of Alabama, and VIVA Health.
“We are excited about the opportunity to come together to develop a sustainable CHW infrastructure in our state that includes training and developing the skills of CHWs to help them become members of the quality care team, and we hope our model helps transform the role of CHWs into a destination career,” said ConnectionHealth Executive Director and Principal Investigator for the grant, Trinita Ashford, MPH.
“Our overarching goals and objectives align with those of HHS, HRSA, and our partners to focus on expanding the CHW workforce, upskilling current CHWs, creating and finding employment for CHWs, ensuring health equity, and addressing the social determinants of health exacerbated by the most recent public health emergency,” said ConnectionHealth’s Public Health Fellow Kayla Torres, MPH.
In addition to growing the CHW workforce in Alabama, the ACHIEVE grant will:
- Establish a statewide coalition and Stakeholder Advisory Board in Alabama
- Train a total of 90 new CHWs and upskill 60 existing CHWs
- Revise ConnectionHealth’s current CHW training curriculum to closely mirror established competencies
- Provide at least 75% of new CHW trainees with on-the-job work experience, with at least 25% of CHW trainees placed in a registered apprenticeship
For more information about this topic or others, please contact ConnectionHealth staff at
info@connectionhealth.org