| R 172 |
| 2015 -- H 5993 Enacted 03/26/2015 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CELEBRATING THE MONTH OF APRIL, 2015, AS "COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
| Introduced By: Representatives Diaz, Slater, Hull, Messier, and Casey |
| Date Introduced: March 26, 2015 |
| WHEREAS, Community Health Workers (CHWs) are professional non-clinicians who |
| check the pulse of the community and are an integral link that connects disenfranchised and |
| medically underserved populations to the health and social service systems, while making health |
| services more culturally and linguistically appropriate; and |
| WHEREAS, By serving in a unique role, Community Health Workers work to improve |
| access to health care, advance health equity, and help to eliminate health care disparities based on |
| race, ethnicity, gender, and class in underserved communities; and |
| WHEREAS, Community Health Workers provide direct services, including informal |
| counseling and social support, and advocate for individual and community needs; and |
| WHEREAS, Increasing workforce diversity is a critical step in achieving health equity. |
| Given that communities with high minority populations experience a disproportionate burden of |
| their health, increasing the workforce diversity is vital to eliminating health disparities; now, |
| therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and |
| Providence Plantations hereby joins the Department of Labor and Training in recognizing the |
| Community Health Worker workforce as an Apprenticeable Profession; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this House hereby declares that it is fitting for the month of April, |
| which is Minority Health Month, to note the role that Community Health Workers have had in |
| improving the diversity of the health workforce in order to provide better access to underserved |
| communities in Rhode Island, and to celebrate April of 2015, as "Community Health Workers |
| Month" in the state of Rhode Island. We moreover thank Rhode Island’s Community Health |
| Workers (CHWs) for the important contributions they make towards improving the quality of life |
| for the citizens of Rhode Island; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Community Health Worker Association of |
| Rhode Island. |
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| LC002244 |
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