Taking Healthcare by Storm: Industry Insights with Haylee Heinsberg

In this captivating episode of Taking Healthcare by Storm, delve into the world of expert insights as Quality Insights Medical Director Dr. Jean Storm engages in a thought-provoking and informative discussion with Haylee Heinsberg,  the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM).

Connect with Haylee via email: hheinsberg@osteo.wvsom.edu

If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, reach out to us on our website: https://www.qualityinsights.org/qin/taking-healthcare-by-storm

This material was prepared by Quality Insights, a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or HHS. Publication number 12SOW-QI-PCH-082523-GK-C

Transcript

Welcome to Taking Healthcare by Storm, Industry Insights, the podcast that delves into the captivating intersection of innovation, science, compassion, and care.
 
 In each episode, Quality Insights Medical Director, Dr.
 
 Jean Storm, will have the privilege of engaging with leading experts across diverse fields, including dieticians, pharmacists, and brave patients navigating their own healthcare journeys.
 
 Our mission is to bring you the best healthcare insights, drawing from the expertise of professionals across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the nation.
 
 Subscribe now, and together, we can take healthcare by storm.
 
 All right.
 
 Hello, everyone, and welcome to Taking Healthcare by Storm.
 
 I am Dr.
 
 Jean Storm, the Medical Director of Quality Insights, and I am very excited today to be talking to Haylee Heinsberg about a program, I would say, and I'm going to say it's a movement.
 
 We're going to be talking about community health workers, and we're going to tell you why we're talking about community health workers right now.
 
 But I'll say that I have learned a lot in this process.
 
 So welcome, Haylee.
 
 Thank you so much, Dr.
 
 Storm.
 
 My pleasure to be here.
 
 Yes, we're happy to have you here.
 
 Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
 
 Sure.
 
 I am originally from Pennsylvania and have worked in the field of healthcare and education for over 32 years, wearing many hats, so to speak, from an educator managing health clinics and working in behavioral and public health.
 
 I started my career working for the Virginia Department of Health as the first health educator in the state and worked primarily within rural health.
 
 I have had the pleasure of working at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine for almost 20 years in which West Virginia is now my home place.
 
 Very nice.
 
 So in just in our previous conversation, you seem to be very busy and you are a driven individual and you are driven to ensure that West Virginia healthcare does not fall behind.
 
 So what keeps you motivated?
 
 Well, in general, I perceive myself to have a high level of intrinsic motivation.
 
 I think I've always been that way.
 
 I tend to be a high achiever according to some of my colleagues.
 
 And I enjoy my professional work in creating and developing interventions or initiatives that help others succeed.
 
 And this drives my motivation.
 
 I have a true passion to help people, as do my fellow colleagues, and I enjoy working with very diverse populations.
 
 That's good.
 
 It sounds like you love what you do.
 
 Good.
 
 Yeah, that's the key.
 
 So what is a community health worker?
 
 Okay, so according to the American Public Health Association, which has a very large sector of community health workers, the definition of community health workers is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of or has a close understanding of the community they serve.
 
 The defining features of community health workers is that their connection to their community and clients based on their shared socioeconomic and cultural background really helps them be effective.
 
 And the community health workers help to bridge the gap between health care and social services.
 
 They facilitate communication between community members and health and care organizations and building a trusting relationship with the community in which they represent.
 
 So they help people understand their health and social conditions.
 
 They provide advocacy for those who need it.
 
 And community health worker services may include such things as health promotion and education, patient outreach and follow-up assistance in navigating the health care system, translational and interpretation services, and they can help support the care coordination and case management.
 
 In addition, they are instrumental with assisting individuals and communities with poor social determinants of health.
 
 So many important roles.
 
 What inspired you to champion the community health worker workforce?
 
 Well, it's been a long endeavor for me, and I think it's just my passion for this workforce.
 
 This workforce has huge potential in proactively changing the health and social environment of West Virginia.
 
 It offers opportunity for individuals with at least a high school diploma or equivalent GED to work within their communities to see if they have interest in this profession or related health and social service professions.
 
 So in which they can further their education and training, it also creates pathways and opportunities to more advanced related careers, if they so desire.
 
 And since the COVID pandemic all across the nation and within West Virginia, there is a shortage of health care workers in all fields.
 
 Through my work related endeavors, I saw what other states around the country were doing with regards to this workforce and wanted to advocate for such initiatives in the state of West Virginia to make a positive difference for individuals as well as their communities.
 
 So working in Virginia with my first job as a health educator is where I first experienced community health workers.
 
 The health department hired bilingual community health workers to assist with Spanish translation among migrant workers that worked on farms and within the seafood industry.
 
 However, through the years, the workforce is no longer ancillary within the health care system but has become a worthwhile growing profession.
 
 And I am motivated to encourage others to support and grow this profession all across West Virginia.
 
 It seems like community health workers are in their prime.
 
 It's their time to shine.
 
 At least we're in West Virginia, yes.
 
 So who are the other community champions that you've identified to promote the community health worker workforce in the state of West Virginia?
 
 Well, I think that anybody on the consortium helps to promote it, but there are many individuals that have helped to promote this workforce within the state of West Virginia.
 
 At the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, where I work, much of what I do in my professional work could not occur without the support of the president, Dr.
 
 James Nemitz, and my supervisor, Dr.
 
 Dreama Hill, Vice President of Community Engagement and the Chief Operations Officer.
 
 Others from around the state that are true champions of the community health worker workforce are Natalie Tappi from Quality Insights.
 
 She's been amazing working with her community health workers and very supportive of the consortium.
 
 Sandra Pope, Terry Wooten, and Dr.
 
 Stephen Brooks, which all represent WVU's West Virginia AHEC program, they've been amazing in their support as well.
 
 And Dr.
 
 Deb Keister at Marshall University and West Virginia Local Health has done some amazing things with their community health workers over in Huntington.
 
 Dr.
 
 Susan Sims from the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health has been extraordinary in offering a connection to the CDC.
 
 And Laura Foster from Our Jobs and Hope has been a champion for peer recovery support specialists being trained as community health workers.
 
 And Community Education Group has also provided an extensive training for community health workers working with peer recovery support specialists and helping with the HIV and HCV, the hepatitis C conditions that we have here in West Virginia.
 
 Gotcha.
 
 So I know we talked a little bit about the role of community health workers.
 
 So why do you believe that community health workers are specifically a benefit to the West Virginia workforce?
 
 So West Virginia has considerable health issues such as chronic diseases, substance use disorder, and even understanding how to navigate the very complex healthcare system that we find ourselves in these days.
 
 It also helps to access social services, which maybe individuals are not aware they are entitled to receiving.
 
 So they can also help to address shortages of healthcare workers within the state.
 
 They also provide individuals with strong ties to the communities they serve and who provide a range of services addressing the health and social needs of their clients.
 
 It's a natural fit for many of the disparities within West Virginia communities, as well as West Virginians have common qualities that help to be supportive and valuable to help other individuals in their communities during troubling times such as natural disasters like flooding and other types of severe weather, house fires, illnesses, food insecurities, and even the loss of a loved one.
 
 So in addition, with lack of broadband and internet access across West Virginians, certain communities, community health workers can be a direct link in marginalized communities where people need connections to services with boots on the ground that can help improve their health and well-being.
 
 I like how you said that they're a natural fit in West Virginia.
 
 Yes, they are.
 
 Thank you.
 
 In your opinion, what are some qualities that make an effective community health worker?
 
 I think it's individuals that are the type of people that want to help others and who have that trust of their community.
 
 They have a deep cultural and linguistic knowledge of their communities that they serve and that they're intrinsically compassionate and non-judgmental individuals that really want to make a difference in their community and with their clients.
 
 So I wanted to shift a little bit.
 
 There's been a focus on leadership in health care, just kind of in building up our health care workforces.
 
 We're kind of recovering from the pandemic.
 
 So what role do you believe, if any, does leadership play when working as a community health worker?
 
 And how can we foster leadership within the community health worker workforce?
 
 Well, I think that leadership plays a huge role because they would become leaders of their community, leaders within helping guiding their clients through some very challenging times dealing with maybe chronic disease or just navigating the health care system.
 
 So since community health workers understand their profession best and the challenges and opportunities that exist, their involvement in leadership roles is highly needed to give a voice to their profession and to continue to assist with developing trainings and credentialing standards for the community health workforce.
 
 So really understanding, having an understanding from their perspective as leaders in their community is something that I truly try to foster within the consortium and giving them opportunities to be a part of everything that we do and to also hear their suggestions and opinions of what more we could do to help support their workforce.
 
 That's wonderful.
 
 So you've mentioned a little bit about the consortium.
 
 So can you tell us about the consortium and the workgroups that you've formed?
 
 Sure.
 
 So the West Virginia Community Health Workforce Advisory Consortium is the technical name.
 
 It is a voluntary cooperative network of individuals from diverse entities throughout West Virginia that unite to enhance the community health worker workforce within West Virginia.
 
 Our main goal of the consortium is to create and support a proficient community health workforce to improve community health and social service outcomes.
 
 So we have a couple aims that is how we do this.
 
 We inform one another through communication, education, and resource sharing.
 
 We engage stakeholders through commitment, strategies, and action.
 
 And we collaborate through trusted partnerships and dedication and evaluate through best practices, research, and data collection.
 
 Now, the domains are kind of a spinoff from the National Association of Community Health Workers in which they recommended specific areas to start to develop programming and different types of models and things, so to support the workforce.
 
 So our domain workgroups are led by co-leaders, who are members of the consortium and we do include community health workers as co-leaders.
 
 Currently, the consortium is working on five domain subject areas, and they include training and education, community health worker financial sustainability, program models, career pathways, and community health worker certification.
 
 The last two that we hope to include later are research and policy, and the intent of the workgroups is to develop goals and key performance indicators to further develop these main areas of community health worker focuses for a skillful and strong workforce and make collective recommendations to government and community leaders to appropriately support and encourage the development of this workforce.
 
 What an innovative project.
 
 Yeah, so this is the state's first community health worker consortium.
 
 So, yeah, so can you tell us about the challenges you've identified in convening the consortium?
 
 Sure.
 
 So personally and professionally, I like to take challenges and turn them into opportunities.
 
 So initially, there were challenges, including, I guess, having the stakeholders understand the concept of what I was trying to create and develop for the state of West Virginia with regards to the community health work or workforce.
 
 We initially started with about 20 individuals in the fall of 2021.
 
 It was very slow moving, but I'm happy to say that now it has grown to over 110 to 120 individuals.
 
 There are people that continually contact me to be a part of it, want to learn more about it, and so we're thrilled that it's growing exponentially.
 
 We just had 10 new community health workers join just a month ago, so that was really quite thrilling for me, and I'd like to see at least 50% of the consortium be community health workers.
 
 Other challenges were, I think, the diverse perspectives and perceptions that individuals have about the community health worker workforce and understanding what's appropriate for their trainings and certification requirements and the different roles that they can play and the different settings, and really having an understanding that community health workers are unique to the needs of their communities and what the community needs, and that could be very diverse depending on the community in which they're serving.
 
 And also, we have to take into consideration what the community health workers' drive is and what their interests are.
 
 So those have been some areas of challenges in getting everybody on the same page, so to speak, but I think we're coming a very long way, or have come a very long way, and look to have this become more solidified throughout the next year.
 
 I mean, you've had some rapid growth.
 
 Yes, it's been extraordinary and I'm thrilled about it.
 
 And I have the community health worker consortium members who are giving me referrals and talking about it, and word of mouth works very well in West Virginia.
 
 Yes.
 
 So how do you see the collaboration between the consortium and the community health workers growing and expanding?
 
 Do you have any events or trainings?
 
 Oh, yes.
 
 So other than the domain work groups that we're working on, most of them we convened monthly.
 
 I convened the consortium quarterly, and we do record it so those that miss it can also get all the resources and get to watch the video at their leisure when they're available.
 
 So I try to convene the consortium with open discussions and collaboration.
 
 Ongoing conversations and endeavors between the stakeholders and the community health workers is encouraged, such as with the community health worker domain work groups.
 
 We want them to be leaders in those efforts.
 
 We encourage community health workers, as I said before, to have a voice and participate in as much as they wish and as their time allows.
 
 In addition, we are planning our first in-person meeting in the spring of 2024.
 
 And there are hopes that we will, this will give an opportunity for the consortium members to meet one-on-one in person and work on some initiatives and brainstorm about what the future holds for the consortium.
 
 There has been some discussion about community health workers creating a statewide association by and for themselves to have connections with others that are in their particular workforce and develop a dedicated framework in which community health workers can support and engage within their own workforce, sharing their commonalities and provide proactive feedback to problem-seeking solutions for various challenges and situations they have.
 
 NOTCHWA, the National Association for Community Health Workers, has a motto of, Nothing About Us, Without Us.
 
 I believe social workers have that saying too, so we try to do that and make it all inclusive.
 
 Oh, I love that.
 
 So I'm glad that you said that, NOTCHWA, before I did, because I was afraid I was going to stumble over it.
 
 So NOTCHWA is the National Association of Community Health Workers, and so they are launching the Community Health Workers Awareness Week, which is the first of its kind, and that is beginning on August 28th.
 
 So how do you think that this week can benefit West Virginia?
 
 Yes, so the National Awareness Week is the first of its kind, and it's all across the nation.
 
 It begins on Monday, August 28th, which you mentioned, and runs through Friday, September 1st.
 
 NACHWA is encouraging promotion of this unique workforce and the opportunities that can be created for and with this workforce.
 
 This initiative obviously will bring well-deserved recognition to the Community Health Worker workforce, and hopefully this will offer some promotion, education, and understanding of how effective Community Health Workers can be serving throughout the state of West Virginia.
 
 Yeah, so if anyone is listening and is interested in participating, how can they join the consortium and network?
 
 I think that everybody is going to want to join.
 
 So let's tell them how.
 
 Okay, great.
 
 We're thrilled to have them.
 
 And there are some discussions and initiatives about actually developing an online network page, so to speak, for the consortium.
 
 We haven't got there yet, but we're talking about it and working on that initiative.
 
 But in the meantime, we certainly welcome anybody interested in supporting and furthering the development of this workforce.
 
 Or if they would just like more information, all they have to do is contact me at my work e-mail, which is H.
 
 Heinsberg, that's H-H-E-I-N-S-B-E-R-G at osteoosteo.wvsom.edu.
 
 And I can be found on the website.
 
 Okay, I think we probably can link that in the podcast description if anyone wants to contact you.
 
 And are there any last remarks or information you want to share with us?
 
 Well, I'd first like to thank you, Dr.
 
 Storm, for this wonderful opportunity to share some information about the Community Health Worker Workforce and the West Virginia Community Health Worker Workforce Consortium.
 
 And again, I welcome anybody that has questions, is interested in learning more about the Community Health Worker Workforce, whether it be a provider or a person that's interested in looking at this as an occupation.
 
 It is a true profession now.
 
 And I will mention that CMS is actually currently looking at the Community Health Workforce to have their services build through a CMS provider, if they have a CMS number, that this is very exciting because they're looking for comments on CMS.
 
 And so we're looking for sustainability.
 
 A lot of these initiatives are grant funded, which we know are not long-term sustainability, or have long-term sustainability.
 
 So we're thrilled that the government through CMS is looking at promoting this workforce in a manner that they can have some, starting to get more sustainable.
 
 So we're really excited about that across the nation as well as within West Virginia.
 
 Yeah, that's wonderful news.
 
 And thank you so much for sharing this important information with us.
 
 And I hope that there are individuals listening that are inspired.
 
 Maybe they're looking for their purpose or path in life and they'll contact you and they'll get on the path to become a community health worker.
 
 So thank you again and good luck in this expansion.
 
 I look forward to hearing updates.
 
 Well, thank you so much.
 
 And I appreciate that your organization is one of our biggest supporters and partners.
 
 Great.
 
 Quality Insights.
 
 So thanks so much.
 
 You have a wonderful day and I appreciate this time with you.
 
 Thank you, Haylee.
 
 Thank you.
 
 Thank you for tuning in to Taking Healthcare by Storm, Industry Insights with Quality Insights Medical Director, Dr.
 
 Jean Storm.
 
 We hope that you enjoyed this episode.
 
 If you found value in what you heard, please consider subscribing to our podcast on your favorite platform.
 
 If you have any topics or guests you'd like to see on future episodes, you can reach out to us on our website.
 
 We would love to hear from you.
 
 So until next time, stay curious, stay compassionate, and keep taking healthcare by storm.