EAGAN, Minn., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation has launched an initiative with the Health Education - Industry Partnership (HEIP), a project of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), to develop a standardized accredited community health worker training program. The program aims to reduce cultural and linguistic barriers to health care, improve quality and cost effectiveness of care, and increase the diversity of the health care workforce in an increasingly diverse Minnesota. This is the first training program of its kind in our state.
The foundation’s work with HEIP includes a $199,774 grant to HEIP to fund collaborative work to develop a community health worker career path - including standardized curriculum, student recruitment, and links with the employment market. HEIP is hosted in the College of Allied Health and Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
“In order for all Minnesotans to be healthy, we need to address the unique cultural and linguistic needs of a growing portion of our population. Community health workers are a tried and true strategy for helping people with unique cultural needs navigate the complex health care system,” said Daniel Johnson, Blue Cross Foundation executive director.
Community health workers perform a broad range of health-related functions, such as health education in clinics and neighborhoods. They also work with health care organizations to increase cultural competence, improve access to healthcare for racial and ethnic minorities in Minnesota, improve the quality of care for chronically ill individuals, promote healthy communities, and educate families about access to and use of health care coverage.
State demographers estimate a minority growth rate of 113 percent in Minnesota between 1990 and 2000. Research has found that patients who speak a primary language other than English and don’t have access to an interpreter are less likely to access preventive care, seek cancer screening, keep appointments or comply with treatment.
“Community Health Workers are an identified industry need, but there is currently no system for their training and professional development. The MnSCU system is the primary educator of nursing and allied health care employees in Minnesota and we look forward to filling this gap,” said Mary Rothchild, MnSCU Project Manager, Office of the Chancellor.
In 2003, Blue Cross Foundation studies of community health workers and the organizations that employ them found that these bicultural, bilingual workers are widely used and valued in Minnesota. Employers find them very effective in helping to provide services to racial and ethnic populations. Employers also support standardized training and intend to hire more community health workers in the next three years. Accordingly, the Blue Cross Foundation’s grant to HEIP also aims to increase and diversify the health care workforce in Minnesota, in order to meet worker shortages and address racial disparities in health.
Since it started in 1998, the Healthcare Education Industry Partnership has worked as a collaboration among higher education, the healthcare industry, professional and trade associations, and state agencies to address critical healthcare workforce issues in Minnesota. Its vision is to improve the health of Minnesotans through a well-educated and appropriately trained workforce, sufficient to meet the demand of citizens of Minnesota.
The Blue Cross Foundation has also nominated HEIP for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Initiatives Partners Program grant, which could provide a significant match toward which would allow the more rapid implementation and expansion of this project, the leverage of more local resources, scholarships for students and increased dissemination opportunities. A final decision is pending with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
For more information about HEIP or community health worker training, contact Anne Willaert, Project Director, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 102 Wiecking Center, Mankato, MN, 56001, 507 389-2590, anne.willaert@mnsu.edu .
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation was established in 1987 and is now the state’s largest grant making foundation to exclusively dedicate its assets to improving the health of Minnesotans. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Blue Cross and looks beyond health care today for ideas to create healthier communities tomorrow. In 2004, the foundation will define new funding priorities to guide its work with community organizations and others to discover innovative ways to improve the social conditions that influence health.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota’s first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation
CONTACT: Anne Willaert of HEIP, +1-507-389-2590, or Monika Strom of BlueCross Foundation, +1-651-662-6889, Pager +1-651-629-3975
