BEMIDJI — Health workers from across Minnesota convened in Bemidji Friday, Sept. 29, for the annual Community Health Workers Conference.
Demand for community health workers continues to rise, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 14% growth in the industry over the next 10 years.
Wendy Potratz, a faculty member of Northwest Technical College and host of the Sixth Annual Community Health Workers Conference, described the work as a holistic approach to health.
“They’re not health care professionals but they’re people who are members of the community, who build trusting relationships with their clients and help them get to the place that they need to be to be healthy."Wendy Potratz
“They’re not health care professionals, but they’re people who are members of the community, who build trusting relationships with their clients and help them get to the place that they need to be to be healthy,” Potratz explained, “which may include helping them find a ride to their appointments, get their prescription filled, or get their insurance adjusted, helping them avoid any barriers to being healthy.”
The conference included presentations about substance use disorders, aging care and scholarship information for new recruits into this growing field.
“We’re actually going to be starting a new session of classes (at Northwest Technical College) in January, so starting in October, the scholarship application will be open through the Community Health Worker Alliance,” Potratz said.
The scholarship is through the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. Students can apply for the scholarship and attend the courses tuition-free if successful.
Connie Norman is a community health worker for PrimeWest, a public health insurance provider in northwestern Minnesota. She described herself as a “boots on the ground” health worker, gaining the trust of her clients to help them access the care they need.
“When someone is trying to get into an appointment for mental health, it can take forever," she said. “That's actually a big part of our jobs, is to get them to trust us enough, even though the system is not working really well. We can get them to work with us and understand that it’s going to take time but that we’re still going to be there.”
Norman was one of the presenters at the conference, highlighting its importance in a growing and changing field.
“I just think that there are a lot of good changes happening in this field and I think COVID had a lot to do with that,” she said. “We have a grant with Sanford (Health) and a bunch of agencies that are going to start putting together a hub of what I call ‘boots on the ground’ workers, community health workers, over the next four years. It's growing and it should be, and especially in the rural areas.”
Randi Su Tanem is a community health worker with the Red Lake Band’s homeless shelter. She helped plan the conference and described the work as being able to make an impact on people’s lives.
“I get great satisfaction about being able to help people achieve their health and wellness goals and connecting them to community resources that they might not otherwise have heard of that can help them live their daily lives,” she said.
