AUGUSTA, Maine — Community health workers gathered in Augusta on Tuesday for a summit to share resources and press for sustainable funding for their jobs.
Community health workers, or CHWs, act as a bridge between vulnerable populations and outreach organizations: they work with all populations who need services but need help finding them.
Solange Tchatat is a CHW for Northern Light Health Mercy Hospital. Her job is to help new Mainers, such as asylum seekers, get help with food, housing, health care, and more.
"I'm kind of a mama. I'm a grandma at the same time because I work with new Mainers and pregnant women and their children also," Tchatat said. "My role as a CHW is to make sure that my patient, when they go to the hospital—has the doctor really taken the time to talk with my patient? And also my role is to make sure that my patient understood what the doctor said."
Tchatat said she encourages immigrants to take English classes to make daily life easier in Maine. She also helps mothers get pediatricians for their children.
But there are many kinds of CHWs. They are trained professionals who are trusted and respected by the people they serve, according to MECHW, the agency overseeing them. CHWs apply their close understanding of communities to bridge the gap between providers and individuals, and advocate for individual and community needs. Since 2020, StrengthenME, a DHHS program running out of the Office of Behavioral Health, has been funding ethnic community-based organization hiring Community Health Workers who focus on providing mental health and psychosocial support to individuals and groups since 2020.
Jane Allen was a preschool teacher who eventually became a CHW helping kids get dental care. Now, she works with older Mainers with chronic diseases.
"They're in charge of their own life. And that's what I tell them: 'This is a journey and I'll work with you. You're the driver. I'm the passenger. We'll do this together. I'll help support you. I'll walk with you and walk you through it,'" Allen said.
Allen and Tchatat, along with Betty St. Hilaire, the community programs manager at MaineGeneral Medical Center, all said most are paid through grants. Those grants eventually run out, meaning their jobs also end. Now, CHW services are starting to be reimbursed through insurance such as MaineCare, which workers said could help them get more sustainable, long-term funding.
Tuesday, Maine's Department of Health and Human Services organized a summit along with MECHW to bring these workers together.
The Maine Community Health Worker Initiative develops a sustainable and competent community health workforce by delivering professional development training, providing peer support opportunities, and advocating for systemic change that more fully integrates and financially supports the community health worker profession, according to its website.
"Community Health Workers (CHWs) are universally recognized as a vital part of Maine's health care system. Key stakeholders, including Maine state government, support a statewide plan to develop and sustain the CHW workforce. There are established credentialing standards, diverse funding sources to support adequate and enduring compensation, standardized core training and continuing education, and other support infrastructure in place to strengthen the CHW role," the website reads.
These workers say Maine has helped them connect vulnerable populations with services.
"The state of Maine helps a lot. And that's something that really warms my heart, because I know that I can knock at the door and they will find a solution for them, even if they don't [immediately] find a solution. They have a way. They have a path to find a solution," Tchatat said.