Trusted Messengers in Chicago’s Western Suburbs – CHW Pilot Year 2 Outcomes Report

Photo Credit: Health & Medicine Policy Research Group –  CHWs from pilot organizations come together, pre-pandemic, to learn from each other and share experiences to strengthen their work in community.

“The resources that we offered have changed. The needs have changed. The outreach has changed. We need to reinvent.” Jocelyn Moreno, CHW, Mujeres Latinas en Acción. 

We and Community Memorial Foundation have jointly supported a community health worker pilot based in the western suburbs of Chicago since 2018. The pilot aims to improve access to culturally competent care and advance health equity in the region. It is coordinated by Health & Medicine Policy Research Group and evaluated by Sinai Urban Health Institute, and has made a significant impact in the region.

Since the pandemic hit, the CHWs have played a vital role in connecting community residents to needed resources–from food assistance to vaccine access–despite the dramatic shifts they experienced in their community outreach strategies.

The pilot released its Year 2 outcomes report that celebrates the accomplishments of the CHWs during a challenging 2020 from the pilot organizations Aging Care Connections, Alivio Medical Center, BEDS Plus, Health Alternative Systems, and Mujeres Latinas en Acción.

Read more about the pilot, its challenges and successes this past year, and a look towards the future for CHWs in Illinois.