WSPHA 2016 attendees had the opportunity to hear Dan Tchozewski (Wahkiakum County CHA), Liz Vladimirova (Rose Village CHW), Valre Bales (South Kelso CHA), Teresa Lavagnino (HLC CHW Coordinator), and Michael O’Neill (Cowlitz County Health and Human Services) present on how to authentically engage with the community. The group gave an overview of what community health work looks like and how it has evolved in Southwest Washington through authentic engagement and building CHW capacity. The attendees were very engaged during the session and the CHWs were glad for the opportunity to share, learn, and network. Dan reflected, “I believe that our team, with our passion, and other similar community groups need more interaction directly with policy makers so we can better understand what seems to be lost between the community members who need state/federally funded programs and those sitting in a conference room directing those programs.”
To learn more about the Healthy Living Collaborative’s Community Health Workers, check out our CHW page.