Great news from Sergio Matos of Community Health Worker Network of NYC

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Community Health Worker Network of NYC December 22, 2010 Dear Carol , Rico Foz, a member of our Network and a social critic and human rights advocate for the Filipino community in NYC has shared this joyous news. In the spirit of these holidays, I want to share the news with you. It is perhaps the best present I have ever received. The Morong 43 have been freed!!! For those of you who have not heard of this international incident involving CHWs, here is a brief summary. The Morong 43 included 39 CHWs, 2 nurses and 2 doctors. The group was arrested by the Phillip0ine military while attending a First Responder emergency trauma training sponsored by the Community Medicine Foundation, Inc. (COMMED) and Council for Health and Development (CHD), both internationally recognized humanitarian rescue organizations.  The health workers were forced into the military trucks and taken to a military compound in Tanay, Rizal where they were illegal and inhumanely held blindfolded, uncharged and without outside contact or bathroom privileges. After 10 days of the military's denying access to the defendants by relatives and others, a habeas corpus petition by their lawyers forced the military to relent and present the health workers before the Court of Appeals in Manila. Over the objection of the military's lawyer, the court allowed one of the 43 health workers, Dr. Alex Montes, to testify. Despite breaking down into tears at the end of his testimony, the grey-haired and mild-mannered 62-year old surgeon detailed every aspect of their arrest and detention, and revealed once and for all the true extent of the human rights violations perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Amazingly, the Philippine military insisted that these international humanitarian workers are communist rebels. The Community Health Worker Network of NYC wrote a letter to President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton, Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. The CHW Network of NYC also advocated the American Public Health Association to issue an emergency statement in support of the arrested health workers.  In our letter to President Obama, the CHW Network of NYC demanded that the President use all the political, diplomatic and economic power of the United States of America to demand the immediate release of the humanitarian workers. It is certainly a joyous day to learn of the release of our colleagues in the Philippines. For me, however, it speaks another message. It reminds me of the courage of people who do the work I do. It reminds me of the heroic shoulders on which we stand. It reminds me how important it is that we remain an international community and hold sacred the history and traditions of our work. It reminds me how important it is to overcome temptations to adopt regional identities to the exclusion of our larger national and international community of CHWs. I congratulate Rico and others for their tireless advocacy to support his comrades. I congratulate our board of directors who authorized and encouraged our own advocacy.  And I congratulate you, each and every one of you, for the work you. Best wishes for a peaceful and healthy holiday season. Sergio Matos Community Health Worker Network of NYC

Community Health Workers (4)

Community Health Workers (4)

Vision Y Compromiso -Octava Conferencia Anual de Promotoras y Traajadores Comunitarios

Buenos Dias de Los Angeles!  I am at the LAX Marriott Hotel in LA the site of the 8th Annual Conference of Promotoras y Traajadores Communitario.  Promotores: Prevencion,Fuerza y Cambio . Si soy gringo y la conferencia esta en Espanol. It is my turn to feel what it is like to be a professional in an environment where the language of discussion is not my own. I intended to try and write this whole blog in Spanish but I think that would take me all day to try and translate all my thoughts and feelings and I would miss the exciting presentations that are planned for today. I am enrolled at the SRJC for Spanish 4 in the Spring but that is not going to help me now! This is only a tiny taste of what millions of immigrants go through as they learn the new language of the country they now call home.

As a Community Health Worker / Traajadora Communitario, I know I am suppose to look like and speak the language of the clients I serve. I find myself in the strange place of being between worlds. I am Caucasian and English speaking and so have been able to blend in to American society, but as soon as I open my mouth to speak my accent gives me away. I think of myself as a global citizen and so have an internal conflict when someone asks me what nationality I am. My parents were immigrants from Scotland to South Africa where I was born. I am a first generation immigrant to the USA and my children are USA born. We waited 5 years for a green card and a further 5 years before we were able to get USA citizenship. I stayed with dear friends in Denver when I went to the American Public Health Conference who came to the USA from South Africa at the same time we did nearly 20 years ago and they are not so fortunate. Having had to leave the USA  several times to renew HI visas with children born in the USA having payed taxes all this time their children are waiting patiently for the DREAM act to be passed.

I will be 50 years old in January and people dear to my heart have come to the end of their lives in this world and I suddenly feel an urgency to make a difference in this world. I think I have always thought making a difference meant going out and changing the world... but I realize today that I need to learn cultural humility and that change begins with me. I know that change; transitions of any kind, are stressful and scary.  I know that because I am an immigrant, but I also know that change is part of life and during the transitions in South Africa we had a saying" Adapt or Die" My heart is  pounding and I am anxious about how much I will understand of todays proceedings.

I promised myself I would not be afraid ,to keep and open mind and a willing heart...So here I go.. I will keep you posted.
.

What is the American Public Health Association (APHA) and why should CHWs care?

What is the APHA and why should CHWs care?

American Public Health Association (APHA) 

www.APHA.org

“Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators,     environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions. More information is available at www.apha.org.”

 As many of you know I went to the American Public Health Association Conference in Denver CO. I attended so many amazing sessions it is hard to know where to start other than to tell you there are thousands of community health workers all over the United States and the rest of the world, all working towards the same goals as us.

The official review of the 2010 APHA Conference:

“With 12,000 attendees, more than 1,000 scientific sessions and over 650 companies, associations and programs represented in the Exhibit Hall, the 2010 Annual Meeting was a great success!”

The CHW Section Program:

The Community Health Workers have after many years attained section status in the APHA! Thank you to all the dedicated CHWs who have been advocating for professional recognition and integration into the patient centered medical team. I attended two days of amazing presentations by CHWs on the front lines of patient care and health reform in the USA, Canada and Iran. I will try to condense some of the exciting progress that is being made in our emerging profession over the next couple of days. If you would like to learn more visit the APHA blog spot http://aphaannualmeeting.blogspot.com/

The Massachusetts Community Health workers (MACHW http://www.machw.org/) are well on their way to having Community Health Workers recognized within the health care structure with legislation coming into place that will give CHW a place at the health policy decision making table and a path to financial and organizational sustainability.  This is very important in that we can learn from those who have blazed the trail before us. I know that each region is unique and will need tailor made strategies to be successful but the documents that these groups are willing to share are a great starting point and a possible road map for the way ahead.

I collected a lot of hand outs, business cards and great ideas, links to websites and programs that I am only now that I am home able to read and explore. It feels like my mind is going at a million miles per hour. What is clear though is that CHW is becoming a profession in its own right with strong CHW self advocates, dedicated to pushing the envelope of what we can accomplish through tireless determination, old fashioned dedication and hard work. I salute you! May we as those that follow be worthy of the legacy you have begun.

For those of you that are interested in the work that the MACHW has done they have a great summary of their recommendations for next steps:

“Community Health Workers in Massachusetts: Improving Health Care and Public Health Report of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Community Health Worker Advisory Council”

http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/com_health/com_health_workers/legislature_report.pdf

*I believe this is a very important document and well worth your while to down load and read. I have a copy that I would be happy to share.

The MA CHW Advisory councils main recommendations are: (I have replaced California where there was Massachusetts in the document)

·         To create a standing CHW Advisory Council Chaired by the (California) Executive office of Health and Human Services

·         Members should include but not limited to chief executives of agencies and organizations that fund or employ CHW (Where CHW= Umbrella term for all outreach worker job titles)

°         Public Health Departments

°         Insurance companies Medicaid and Medicare

°         Department of labor

°         (California) Association of CHW  ( Yes we need to form one!)

°         All agencies that hire and  train CHWs core certificate  skills

°         All agencies that teach specific specialty skills to CHWs

°         Local Hospitals

°         Community Clinics

It is my opinion that the inclusion of the CHWs themselves in this process is an essential, fundamental requirement for this process to develop leadership capacity and maintain a pulse on the real life needs and circumstances of the CHW “health worrier troupes on the ground”. Let us never forget for whom we are working; it is the CHW community only in so far as they are of help to the patients they serve.

A quote from a CHW in this document made me cry:

“I think that part of what is involved in being a Community Health Worker is being able to have enough willingness and courage and creativity to stay the course. Even when the person you’re working with feels like, I can’t do this one more day. The Community Health Worker is like, okay, then how about one more hour? Let’s have a cup of coffee and see what comes next. But there has to be a certain amount of vision in seeing kind of beyond the problem…Often that comes from surviving our own experiences well enough to not just be a bridge but to be able to say I’ve crossed the bridge and it is safe.”

-CHW from Springfield MA  

Upcoming APHA Conferences:

·         2011 The 139th Annual Meeting and Exposition will be in Washington DC ( Still a little too far away)

We hope to see you next year in Washington, DC  from October 29 - November 2, 2011. Next year's theme will be Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies. Public health professionals interested in presenting research at next year's Annual Meeting and Exposition can submit abstracts beginning on December 17. Visit our website, www.apha.org/meetings for updates and information   

·        2012 The 140th Annual APHA  Meeting and Exposition is in San Francisco (NOW that is do-able!)

PEPFAR U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

Hillary Clinton references PEPFAR and I had no idea what that was. Here is the link to PEPFAR Country Profiles: "U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched in 2003 - the largest international public health initiative aimed at a single disease that any nation has ever undertaken." What seems to have developed out of this plan is a realization that agencies both governmental and non governmental need to work together to maximize the benefit of dollars spent. It is also important that we learn to organize across special interests. People are individuals in the context of their communities. W holistic solutions across traditionally separate jurisdictional are needed as we move towards global solutions to health issues. The AIDS experience has made us see that AIDS is not separate from sexual practices, age of marital consent and AIDS immunodeficiency predisposes individuals to Tuberculosis. AIDS and TB lead to the deaths of economically active responsible adults that eventually breaks down the infrastructure of families, communities and countries.

Facebook (4) | Community Health Workers

Facebook (4) | Community Health Workers

Global Health Initiative

Hillary Clinton’s Presentation on the Global Health Initiative, 16 August  2010 to the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies(SAID)includes Community Health Workers as part of the solution to global health. This link has a video presentation and a written transcript of this comprehensive presentation on the link between diplomacy and global health.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/08/146002.htm
Think Global Act Local

We can do it! Si se puede!

"Community Health Workers" was the name chosen by a study group in 2007 to try to tie together the more that sixty (yes 60) titles that our profession goes by. In an attempt to find one that we could all agree on I am sure there has been much debate and heated discussion but what we can all agree on is that we need to find a way to speak with one voice so that those in high places that control policy and budgets have a label to call us in discussions,  recommendations, reports and hopefully health legislation change that acknowledges us as allied health professionals. I firmly believe that community Health workers in all their wonderful, immensely capable, and culturally aware forms will be a key player in helping America meet the health needs of all its people without exception.

I have just come back from the American Public Health Conference in Denver -Community Health Workers Section program. (Newly recognized as such. Thank You to all who have worked over the years to make this possible!) I am energized and inspired to help our emerging profession work towards a strong unified voice that will be heard all the way to the white house. There are many outreach worker networks across the country that are all actively working towards the same goal. I was honored to meet some of these amazing people at the APHA events. Massachusetts  Association of Community Health Workers are well on their way and are happy to share their experience with us http://www.machw.org/ I highly recommend taking a look at what they have accomplished. The Community Health Workers Network of NYC has also made great strides ahead for community health workers in their area.  http://www.chwnetwork.org/  Ultimately an American Association of Community Health Workers( AACHW) is what we are all striving for; one unified body that will be build from our many parts into a strong unified advocacy group. Will we all agree all the time? Will we all agree some of the time? No of course that is not possible nor desirable. It is important to preserve the diversity and  regional adaptability that is one of our core strengths.

To those who have blazed the trail and show us that it is possible thank you! To those of you like myself who are just joining the team of community health workers. Welcome and I hope to meet many of you in person or at least to hear of you and the amazing work you all do over the next couple of years. It is our life's experience that brings us to this work and our passion that sustains us. I am very excited to be part of this unfolding adventure. Till next time
Carol West