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Category: Program Highlight

DC Vaccine Alliance

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DC Vaccine Alliance

The DC Vaccine Alliance is funded by the District of Columbia Department of Health (DC Health) to build and sustain a coalition of immunization stakeholders dedicated to promoting vaccination in Washington, DC. 

The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) was awarded a $100,000 grant by DC Health to establish the DC Vaccine Alliance. The grant will fund a coalition to support efforts to increase immunization rates and reduce vaccine-preventable diseases in Washington, DC. This initiative will focus on bringing together stakeholders from different sectors to educate both healthcare providers and the community. The work will highlight vaccine best practices and advocate for evidence-based immunization policies. 

Key priorities of the DC Vaccine Alliance include: 

  • Understanding attitudes and perceptions around immunizations and awareness of  school vaccination requirements 
  • Strengthening partnerships among immunization advocates to align messaging and outreach efforts 
  • Addressing barriers to vaccination and supporting providers in achieving recommended immunization coverage 
  • Enhancing access to accurate and up-to-date vaccine information through digital resources and community engagement 

 The Alliance will serve as a central hub for immunization initiatives, working in collaboration with healthcare providers, community-based organizations, government agencies, schools, and other key stakeholders to improve vaccine uptake for all in DC. 

IPHI serves as the backbone support for DC Vaccine Alliance.

To learn more about the DC Vaccine Alliance and how you can contribute to this important initiative, please contact us at [email protected]. 

CHW Leadership Institute

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CHW Leadership Institute

The Institute for Public Health Innovation invites you to join our Community Health Worker (CHW) Leadership Institute—a FREE program designed to empower experienced and dedicated CHWs. The program will provide the skills and knowledge needed to take on leadership roles and influence community and system change.

APPLICATION TIMELINE:

Deadline to Apply:

December 8, 2024 

Candidate Review & Selection:

Month of December 2024

Notification of Selected Applicants:

Mid - January 2025 

Program Launch:

February 2025 

ELIGIBILITY:

  • 18 years and older 
  • US Citizen or Permanent Resident authorized to work in the U.S. 
  • High School Diploma or GED 
  • Meet the following residency requirments
    • District of Columbia – All Wards
    • Maryland – Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, Charles County, Howard County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, St. Mary’s County
    • Northern Virginia – Alexandria City, Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William and Loudon Counties
  • Previous formal CHW training in core competencies skills, and roles 
  • Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience as a CHW 

 

CHW Training & Mentorship FlyerLAST

BY THE END OF THIS COMPREHENSIVE SIX-MONTH PROGRAM, YOU WILL:

  • Master Leadership Core Competencies 
  • Boost Your Confidence in taking on new leadership roles and responsibilities 
  • Expand Your Career Pathways with a deep understanding of how to apply leadership skills to pursue diverse opportunities 
  • Grow Your Professional Network and connect with like-minded professionals 

 

COURSE MODULES INCLUDE:

  • Personal Leadership: Discover your unique leadership style and strengths 
  • Advanced Communication Skills: Hone your ability to lead through effective communication 
  • Program Management: Learn to manage programs with efficiency and impact 
  • Leading People and Projects: Master the art of leading teams and initiatives 
  • Using Data for Continuous Improvement: Leverage data to drive success and improvement 
  • Career Skills: Equip yourself with the tools to advance your career 

 

KEY INFORMATION

Timeframe:

February - July (six months)

Time Commitment:

Students can anticipate dedicating approximately 60 hours total to the program (10 hours per month). This will look like four hours of classroom time per month + outside work. 

# Of Students for 2025 Class:

10 - 15 students

Cost:

FREE!

Complete Application Process:

Online application 
Resume 
Two letters of recommendation 
Documentation of Completion from the CHW Core Competency training 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

We will continue to update Frequently Asked Questions as needed. Please review previous questions below to see if your question has been answered.

Can I apply if I am currently in CHW Core training?

Candidates should have completed CHW core competency training from an accredited training provider by the time the CHW Leadership Institute begins in February 2024. If you are currently enrolled in a training that will be completed by the end of January 2025, you may still apply and provide documentation from your training provider of enrollment and projected completion date. Preference will be given to candidates who have already completed training at the time of application.

Do I need to be certified to apply to the CHW Academy Leadership Institute?

You do not need to be certified to apply to the CHW Academy Leadership Institute. Certification is not available in Washington, DC, and we did not want any otherwise experienced CHW within that jurisdiction to feel they could not apply.   

I submitted my application but did not write down the details of the additional information requested. What else is needed to complete my application?

Your application is not considered complete until we have received the items below.  

  • Resume  

Please send a current resume. 

  • Letters of Recommendation  

Please submit two (2) letters of recommendation from people who can provide evidence demonstrating why you are a good candidate for this leadership program geared toward experienced community health workers. 

If you are currently employed, at least one letter should be from an employer or supervisor. Letters can also come from people outside of those you work with through employment, such as representatives from volunteer work or community positions such as an advisory or community board. Select individuals who can attest to your leadership attributes and skills. 

  • CHW Training Documentation  

Please share your Certificate of Completion from the entity where you received your initial CHW Core Skills training. If you no longer have a Certificate of Completion or transcript, you may substitute it with a letter from your employer confirming that you have completed training from an accredited CHW training provider

What type of information are you looking for in the letters of recommendation?

Letters of recommendation for a leadership program should highlight aspects of your character, abilities, and potential, focusing on qualities that demonstrate readiness for leadership growth. A strong letter will provide specific qualities that set you up for success, show that you have the potential to excel and grow in your career with the support of a leadership program. Additional examples information you might ask the individual to include are:  

  • An example of a time when you demonstrated that you had the skills and qualities of a leader  
  • Observations of how you have worked with or led others to complete a shared goal 

These are just suggestions and not requirements. We welcome other perspectives that might help the selection committee understand who you are as a CHW, and whether participation in the Leadership Institute will benefit not just you, but also the community that you serve. 

How do I submit the supporting documentation requested in the online application?

Please send the additional documents requested to [email protected], with subject line: Leadership Institute – Supplemental Application Documents 

Ready to Step into Leadership? Take the next step in your career with the CHW Leadership Institute and become a leader in your community! 

Apply Today!

Do you have questions about the Leadership Institute? Please reach out to [email protected] and indicate “Leadership Institute Question” in the subject.

This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3 million with 0 % financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

Rural Health Network Development Planning

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Rural Health Network Development Planning

IPHI received the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Network Development Planning grant to improve perinatal health in Virginia. IPHI will partner with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Cumberland Plateau Health District to improve health outcomes in the District.  

The Rural Health Network Development Planning grant was awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to work with local and state partners to improve perinatal health outcomes. This project will take place in the Cumberland Plateau Health District and will support IPHI in working with the Virginia Department of Health, Cumberland Plateau Health District, Ballad Health System, Carillion Tazewell Community Hospital, and the Cumberland Mountain Community Service Board. 

HRSA awarded a $100,000 grant to develop a rural health network through June 2025. The Network will focus on improving perinatal health outcomes within the four-county district of the Cumberland Plateau in Virginia including:  

  • Buchanan, 
  • Dickenson, 
  • Russell, and  
  • Tazewell counties.  

The Network will draw on the community’s strengths and assets to address challenges to perinatal health care by completing a regional perinatal health gap analysis, developing a perinatal health care coordination blueprint to enhance organizational/regional capacity, and identifying resources. 

To learn more about the Rural Health Network Development Planning and how you can contribute to this important initiative, please contact Senior Program Manager Rebecca Epstein at [email protected].  

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15 Years of Innovation

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Celebrating 15 years of Innovation in 2025

From our beginnings as a small organization with big dreams to our current position as a regional public health institute, we are committed to creating healthy communities for all. IPHI has been working collaboratively with communities, government agencies, healthcare providers, coalitions, and other partners for a decade and a half to improve health outcomes. Strong partnerships are essential to addressing complex public health challenges and creating a healthier future for all.

This anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the incredible impact of these partnerships and the collective power of working together towards a shared vision.

This 10-year recap highlights our first 10 years of impact. Stay tuned for our 15-year recap, special events, and a look back at our journey.

Thank you to our first board of directors:

  • Gloria Addo-Ayensu, MD, MPH
  • Ume Ahluwalia
  • Jeffrey S. Cribbs, Sr.
  • Michael A. Horberg, MD
  • Jeffrey Levi, PhD
  • Saul Levin, MD
  • Margaret O’Bryon
  • Norm Oliver, MD
  • Alicia Wilson

As IPHI celebrates its 15th anniversary, our peers, current and former employees, will reflect on their experiences with IPHI! Please take a look at our 15 year reflection posts.

CHWs for a Healthy VA

CHWS FOR A HEALTHY VIRGINIA

Community Health Workers for a Healthy Virginia (CHWs for a Healthy VA) is a 3-year capacity building project led by IPHI in partnership with a wide range of state and local partners across Virginia.

 

Community Health Workers for a Healthy Virginia logo

The initiative is funded through a national grant initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through the project, IPHI and its partners will deploy CHWs as a strategic intervention to assist communities in the response and recovery from COVID-19. The project will also develop and test innovative financing strategies to support the long-term sustainability of CHWs and community resource providers.

IPHI has partnered with numerous organizations across Virginia to hire CHWs to help with recovery and response. Through the grant, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, local health departments, and other partners will hire and deploy CHWs. IPHI will assist with training and provide technical assistance. These partners are addressing gaps in access to COVID-related services, such as testing, vaccination, and quarantine support, and responding to community needs exacerbated by COVID-19, such as access to health and mental health care, housing services, and food assistance.

IPHI is identifying high-priority communities and populations that would benefit the most from CHW interventions. Currently, the project focuses on Richmond and surrounding areas and southwest Virginia’s Mount Rogers area.

CHW regional conveners are working on expanding collaborations, increasing CHW’s presence, and informing external partners about IPHI’s work with CHWs. The following regional conveners are represented in each of the four areas:

  • Norfolk State University
  • Healing Hands Health Center
  • Richmond/Henrico Health District
  • Virginia Rural Health Association

IPHI works closely with the Virginia Community Health Worker’s Association to highlight  CHW voices in Virginia.

Partners in Four Areas of Need

Southwest VA/Mt Rogers 

  • Ballad Health
  • Healing Hands Health Center
  • Mount Rogers Health District

Norfolk/Portsmouth

  • Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
  • Minority AIDS Support Services, Inc. (MASS)
  • Sentara Healthcare

Pittsylvania/Danville

  • Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS)
  • Sovah Health (Life Point)

Richmond/Petersburg

  • Richmond Henrico Health District (RHHD)
  • Central VA Health Services (CVHS)
  • Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
  • Crossover Health Center
  • Health Brigade
  • Sacred Heart
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

CHWs for a Healthy Virginia project also intends to address the issue of sustainable financing for CHW programs. Historically, CHW-based community impact models has been limited by a lack of viable financing options. IPHI is developing a framework to identify, pilot, and evaluate CHW and community resource financing models. Then, in collaboration with local partners, IPHI will develop and pilot region-specific financing models for CHW and community resource providers to evaluate and demonstrate the return on investment and social benefits.

 

This CHWs for a Healthy VA project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of financial assistance awards totaling over $13 million, with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

To learn more about CHWs for a Healthy VA, please contact Senior Program Manager Valerie McAllister at [email protected] or visit: chwsforahealthyva.com

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Evelyn and Michael Humanim

IPHI Hosts Maryland’s First Statewide Food Summit

IPHI hosted Maryland’s first statewide food summit, Developing a Maryland Food Charter: Statewide Summit, on October 15, 2015. The event included nearly 60 participants from all five regions of the state.

 

The summit focused on the following: 

  • The current status of potential food systems issues at the state-level
  • An overview of the outcomes and themes that arose at the regional convenings
  • Finalizing and prioritizing the strategies across the five food system domains included in the Maryland Food Charter

What is the change you want to see? 

A panel of experts answered this question from Grow & Fortify, Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Maryland State Department of Education, and Center for a Livable Future. Their perspectives guided the development of the Maryland Food Charter.

All summit participants refined and strengthened strategies that were included in the first-ever food charter. They also assessed the feasibility of the collective action strategies.

To view and download the Maryland Food Charter, click: here.

 

 

Zee Turner Center

Zee Turner Center for CHW Workforce Development

The Zhilphia “Zee” Turner Center for Community Health Worker Workforce Development (Zee Turner Center), formerly known as the Center for Community Health Workforce (CCHW), is a regional center for excellence that advances community health worker (CHW) practice, research, and policy.

The CCHW was launched in 2013 to grow opportunities for peer-based workforce strategies. Specifically, the center was created to develop and support the community-based health workforce and CHWs. The new name, Zee Turner Center, is in memory of CHW Zhilphia “Zee” Turner. Zee Turner was an IPHI employee who dedicated 15 years of her life to serving the Washington, DC, area. As someone who lived with a chronic health condition for 24 years and overcame adversity, Zee used her experience to help communities with substance use addiction and HIV/AIDS.

“When I get notice that people are out of care, I call them. If I get no answer, I send them a letter – or I go knock on their doors. I try to fix some of the barriers that led them out of care and I work with their case workers to get them back to taking their medicines.” 

– Zee Turner in the Washington Informer

Zee was an educator, mentor, and advocate through IPHI’s Positive Pathways initiative. Her unwavering dedication and genuine care for those around her made her a beloved figure in the community. At the 2014 Unity National CHW Conference, Zee was awarded the posthumous Esther M. Holderby CHW Special Recognition Award. IPHI proudly honors her CHW legacy by naming this regional center for excellence after her.

The Zee Turner Center is a CHW center divided into three main groups:

1) Training Programs & Technical Assistance,

2) CHW Initiatives/Implementation, and

3) Policy, Advocacy, and Research

The Zee Turner Center priorities:

  • Develop CHW regional standards and scopes of practice
  • Enhance teaching program for CHW training and continuing education
  • Support CHW network development across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia
  • Consult and provide technical assistance to organizations requesting help in planning, operating, and evaluating CHW programs
  • Support the effective integration of CHWs into clinical and community-based teams and design policies and programs that facilitate CHW retention
  • Research and find innovative CHW models
  • Serve as a clearinghouse for regional. national, and international CHW best practices
  • Support policy development to finance and sustain CHW service models across the region

To learn more about the Zee Turner Center, please contact [email protected] or visit IPHI’s events and webinars page to stay updated with CHW opportunities.

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Cold Storage Infrastructure Improvement

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Cold Storage Infrastructure Improvement

IPHI’s initiative, Prince George’s County (PGC) Food Equity Council (FEC), is working with stakeholders in PGC to improve cold storage infrastructure for food assistance organizations and food pantries.

 

Food security skyrocketed throughout the pandemic, with 48% of PGC residents experiencing food insecurity in 2021. Even though food pantries are dedicated to meeting the growing demand, infrastructure challenges remain a barrier to expanding their services. When food assistance providers don’t have the proper infrastructure to store food, they’re forced to either turn down or distribute less healthy perishable food donations like produce, meat, and dairy.

The FEC is working to address this barrier by increasing cold storage infrastructure availability in PGC, with funding support from Washington Gas. 

In 2021, the FEC helped three non-profit food assistance organizations buy, upgrade, and design a wrap for refrigerated trailers. The trailers allowed food assistance providers and pantries to distribute more fresh food to residents in need. Each trailer is shared by a network of partner organizations located in Brandywine, Landover, and Landham in PGC. Collectively, partners are storing and distributing 32,100 pounds of food each week using the cold storage trailers.

In 2023, the FEC and Washington Gas continue to work together, purchasing and upgrading two 48–foot cold trailers at Kingdom Global and Tabernacle Church. To learn more about these two recent developments, visit: HERE. 

To learn more about the Food Equity Council, please visit: www.pgcfec.org.

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