The New Mexico Department of Health will begin to certify the first community health workers (CHWs) in the state. The Department is focusing certification efforts on experienced CHWs and will be utilizing the grandfathering process.
It is estimated that there are between 800 and 900 CHWs in New Mexico. As part of Governor Susana Martinez’s Healthcare Workforce Initiative in 2014, legislation was passed and signed creating the Community Health Workers Act. It established a voluntary certification process for CHWs.
“For more than a year, the New Mexico Department of Health has been setting up the infrastructure to begin voluntary certification for community health workers. The department is pleased to announce the grandfathering process for experienced community health workers,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Retta Ward. “The purpose of grandfathering is to provide experienced community health workers the opportunity to earn certification through a combination of employment and or volunteer service.”
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Website: www.demingheadlight.com/deming-news/ci_28733738/certification-nm-health-workers-underway