The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) was awarded a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to train, deploy and engage community health workers as part of its public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Community health workers are frontline health workers who provide assistance in accessing healthcare, government, and social service resources.

“Hawaii’s COVID-19 response was strengthened by community health workers who understood and advocated for their communities,” said Danette Wong Tomiyasu, Deputy Director of the Health Resources Administration. “This grant will augment statewide training programs for community health workers. Growing this workforce will help to address health disparities and build resilience to prepare for future public health emergencies.”

Over the course of the three-year grant period, Kapi‘olani Community College, University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine and Hawaii Public Health Institute will train and deploy Community Health Workers statewide. An important aspect of this grant is the identification and recruitment of individuals with relevant language, cultural and community knowledge to enroll in community health worker training programs. Efforts will be focused within areas and populations that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and are historically underserved.

Interested individuals can contact the Department of Health for more information at DOH.healthyhawaii@doh.hawaii.gov.