Community Health Worker (Certificate)
Program Advisor: Chris Aylesworth, DVM
413-236-2107 • caylesworth@berkshirecc.edu
The Community Health Worker (CHW) certificate program offers classroom and field training for frontline public health workers. Students learn to deliver a range of services including community and individual needs assessment, outreach, home visits, health care system navigation, health and wellness education, and client-centered counselling. The certificate courses provide rigorous training for CHWs to serve as advocates and liaisons between health/social service providers and the com- munity to facilitate access to existing resources and improve the quality and cultural appropriateness of service delivery. The courses use interactive learning techniques to develop skills such as interpersonal and interprofessional communication, social and cultural sensitivity, leadership, conflict resolution, professional and ethical conduct, community participation, appropriate record keeping, and many others. The field experience (practicum) places future CHWs at Berkshire County companies and organizations where students gain guided first-hand experience in working for a service organization and applying classroom knowledge. In collaboration with local community stakeholders, Berkshire Community College has developed the program to closely match the requirements suggested by the Massachusetts Board of Certification of Community Health Workers and American Public Health Association.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the program will be based on an open enrollment basis. Students will be admitted to the CHW Certificate program as a cohort to start in the fall and continue into the spring semester. Students who enroll in the certificate program must fill out an application and have a high school transcript (or equivalent).
Expected Outcomes
Graduates of this program should be able to:
- Conduct outreach work with individuals, groups, organizations, and at the community level;
- Plan and implement individual and community assessment;
- Communicate effectively with clients, community members, and professional colleagues;
- Adapt and employ techniques and strategies for interacting sensitively and efficiently in the contexts involving different cultural, socioeconomic, demographic, and professional groups;
- Develop, implement, and coordinate health education initiatives/projects that aim to promote healthy behavior change;
- Navigate local, state, and federal programs and nonprofit organization services related to health insurance, public health, social services, and other resources to protect and promote good health;
- Use key public health concepts and approaches in systematic solving of health care and public health problems;
- Use advocacy and community capacity building strategies to advance the interests of clients, their families, and local communities;
- Demonstrate skills of effective reporting, record keeping, program evaluation, and proper documentation; and
- Demonstrate professional skills and conduct accordance with the Massachusetts Code of Ethics for Community Health Workers and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Graduation Requirements
To earn a certificate in this program, a student must complete all program credits, plus the following Additional Requirements.
Program Courses
| ENG-101 | Composition I | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| ENG-102 | Composition II | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| - | Other college ENG composition course | 3 |
| - | | |
| PSY-107 | Introductory Psychology | 3 |
| AHS-111 | Introduction to Patient Care Skills and Health Career Exploration | 3 |
| AHS-148 | Responding to Medical Emergencies | 2 |
| CHW-110 | Essential Health Topics for Community Health Workers | 3 |
| CHW-120 | Community Health Worker Core Competencies | 4 |
| CHW-210 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| CHW-220 | Practicum for Community Health Worker | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 27 |
CHW-220: See footnote 1
Professional elective chosen from the following:
Professional Electives
| SOC-105 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| CRJ-108 | Substance Abuse Education | 3 |
| ECE-122 | Special Needs in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| PSY-208 | Interviewing and Counseling | 3 |
| PSY-226 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| SOC-208 | Contemporary Social Problems | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 3 |
Additional Requirements
Demonstrated college-level skills in reading and writing
Minimum Cumulative Average
| Overall |
2.000 |
| Program Requirements |
2.000 |
Suggested Pathway to Graduation
The following is a suggestion for completing this program in one year. The actual time needed to complete the program will vary according to each student’s individual needs.
First Semester
| ENG-101 | Composition I | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| ENG-102 | Composition II | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| - | Other college ENG composition course | 3 |
| - | | |
| PSY-107 | Introductory Psychology | 3 |
| CHW-110 | Essential Health Topics for Community Health Workers | 3 |
| CHW-120 | Community Health Worker Core Competencies | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 13 |
Second Semester
| AHS-111 | Introduction to Patient Care Skills and Health Career Exploration | 3 |
| AHS-148 | Responding to Medical Emergencies | 2 |
| CHW-210 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| CHW-220 | Practicum for Community Health Worker | 3 |
| - | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
Suggested Professional Electives (Choose One)
| SOC-105 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| CRJ-108 | Substance Abuse Education | 3 |
| ECE-122 | Special Needs in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
Footnote
- The Practicum for Community Health Worker will operate in compliance with the BCC policy that requires students participating in an academic, community or clinical program that involves potential unsupervised contact with children, the disabled, or the elderly, to undergo a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check and/or Sex Offender Registry