CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

This update discusses several topics surrounding the Community Health Worker (CHW) Project run by Hunter College's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH). Included among these is a description of the progress towards creating a credit-bearing academic partnership between Hunter and Hostos Community College, and the announcement of Outreach NYC 2002, NYC's first conference for community health workers. Commencing in April 2000 with an initial class of 15 health workers from a variety of community groups, Hunter's program recruited local residents from New York City neighborhoods for an extensive 350-hour curriculum that educated participants on the topic of asthma, its management, assessment, and remediation. Following their training, these health workers where entrusted with providing outreach to their communities, serving as a "vital link between health care providers, community organizations, and the communities they serve."

Formally established in 1990 by CUNY's Board of Trustees, COEH was founded with the mission "to promote community and workplace health" across the New York metropolitan area. Working with community groups, unions, governmental agencies, private employers, and educational institutions, the Center educated hundreds of thousands over the course of its history.