This month, the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance hosted their 2024 Annual School-Based Health Care Conference and brought together school-based health care partners from across the state for a day of connection and learning to kick off National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month.

National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month is a time to celebrate the role of school-based health in filling care gaps and ensuring every child is healthy and ready to learn.

Nearly 200 school-based health care partners joined the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance for this full-day conference and evening networking session. The day was filled with lots of learning, connections, and wonderful examples of the tremendous impacts school-based health care has on students, families, and communities across Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has launched board meetings for the newly formed Community Health Worker (CHW) Center for Excellence (The Center.) The Center was a 2023 a state budget initiative, led by Health Impact Ohio (HIO), that authorized creation of The Center in Ohio Revised Code and funded it with $2.5 million per year to evaluate and enhance the education, training, workforce development and overall well-being of Ohio CHWs over the next 2 years. CHWs have been steadily becoming an area of focus for Ohio’s government and several non-governmental groups across the state, inspiring HIO and partner organizations to create this central body to allow for coordination and collaboration.

The public-private partnership is led by a Board of Directors which includes CHWs, a representative from Partnerships for Advancing Community Health (PACH), The Ohio CHW Association (OCHWA), a representative from both the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate, and other Board members representing diverse statewide groups whose members educate, employ or evaluate CHWs and their work (Federally Qualified Health Centers, Universities, Community Colleges, policy/research organizations), as well as State of Ohio departments, boards, and commissions involved with CHW work. Learn more about the inception of the Center by reading our previous blog post.

HUB Monthly Meeting: CDC CCR Site Visit

Central Ohio Pathways HUB CHWs and Supervisors,

We look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming HUB Monthly Meeting on March 14th from 9:00am-2:00pm! This in-person meeting at COhatch Polaris will host activities for our CDC CCR site visit, including Motivators, BE Messaging, Evaluation Focus Groups, and more.

Please use the link below to register for this meeting by March 7th. HIO will provide breakfast and lunch for this meeting. COhatch Polaris is located at Polaris Fashion Place.

Please contact Brittany Daniels (brittany@healthimpactohio.org) with questions about the meeting.

CHWs Participating in the Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities (CDC CCR) grant training please check your emails on February 12th for the National CHW Survey link from the CDC. The survey will be open from February 12th to March 15th. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Please reach out to Brittany Daniels (brittany@healthimpactohio.org or Tina Kassebaum (tkassebaum@strategicresearchgroup.com) with questions.

2024 Annual CHW Conference

CHWs, Community Partners, CCAs, and CCR Participants:

The Ohio Department of Health, Health Impact Ohio, Ohio University, and The Ohio State University are partnering to present the 2024 CHW Conference. As part of conference planning, CHWs are invited to sign up to participate in the CHW Conference Planning Committee. The conference will take place on October 25, 2024, with pre-conference activities happening on October 24, 2024.

Please fill out the application linked below to apply for the CHW Planning Committee. The application will close on March 2, 2024. This is a volunteer position with expectations of attending all meetings, planning for the pre-conference and day of the conference, and helping with packing materials before the conference along with set-up and clean-up.

Please contact Heidi Christman (heidi@healthimpactohio.org) and Brittany Daniels (brittany@healthimpactohio.org) with questions about the CHW Planning Committee.