The University of Illinois Cancer Center has chosen Sinai Health System of Chicago as the subcontractor to serve as curriculum development and training collaborator to support the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification Program.
The availability of comprehensive, high quality, and accessible training opportunities is critical to the certification program. The Cancer Center, working under the direction and guidance of IDPH, will contract with Sinai to produce coursework, trainings, and a model curriculum in English and Spanish for the statewide certification program.
Sinai Health will be awarded a contract up to $275,00 and the project will last from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sinai and their team from the Center for CHW Research, Outcomes and Workforce Development (CROWD), a CHW training and consulting center that has trained over 2,600 CHWs in Illinois,” said Cancer Center Research Scientist Leslie Carnahan, PhD, who is overseeing the project. “Their institution’s commitment to and track record of developing the CHW workforce is essential to addressing health inequities that our most vulnerable communities experience.”
About Sinai Chicago
Established in 2000 as the research arm of Sinai Chicago, Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) is a unique, nationally-recognized community research center that works in partnership with community members and more than 70 organizations across the state and nationally to identify and address health inequities in under-resourced communities. Over the last two decades, SUHI has grown to encompass a diverse staff of approximately 70 epidemiologists, project managers, research assistants, and community health workers, and has become a leader in the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative approaches to improve population health – with a primary focus on communities facing financial and social challenges.
“We are thrilled to share our 24 years of experience and leadership preparing community health workers across Illinois, and to help the Illinois Department of Public Health with training components of its emerging CHW certification process,” said Executive Director of Community Health Innovations at SUHI Stacy Ignoffo. “CHWs are a growing workforce and a critical one to achieving health equity through providing culturally competent education and interactions, connecting individuals with complex systems and helping them navigate those complex systems and serving the individual health and social needs of individuals and communities.”