Las Vegas resident Taja Reese was facing numerous barriers when she heard about a Community Health Worker certification that has helped her move forward to a new and more hopeful place in life.
Last year Taja left a domestic abuse situation, which left her unable to secure stable housing. Taja became homeless and slept at a bus stop while struggling to find a sense of stability.
When Taja’s social worker introduced her to a Community Health Worker (CHW) certification training that’s facilitated online by the Nevada Community Health Workers Association, she jumped at the chance. Intermountain Health’s Community Health team received a federal grant and partnered with the Nevada Community Health Workers Association to provide this workforce development training. It takes community members from southern Nevada and helps remove financial and structural barriers for them to enter the workforce as CHWs in healthcare and other fields.
Taja enrolled and received a $4,800 stipend from the program that helped her get into an apartment.
“Because of this program I’m able to start over,” Taja said. “Everything is different. I understand so much better the importance of advocacy. I know the experiences people are going through because I’ve lived them. It’s taught me that my struggles can be knowledge for others.”
Upon completion of the 8-week training program, graduates can apply to the Nevada Certification Board to earn their CHW 1 credential, with the application fee covered for students in the program.
All scholarship participants, like Taja, have their training costs covered, as well as receive stipend pay while attending the training. Graduates of the program can also receive mentorship and help with job placement from the association.
The CHW training has given Taja the confidence that she can help people facing similar challenges, and even make a career of it. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “Years ago, I went to school to be a medical assistant. My dream is to be a part of an organization where we can push through for our clients. We can be that person for them who helps in their darkest times.”
Since 2023, Intermountain’s federally funded Community Health Worker training program has had 132 graduates, with 23 placed in permanent external positions in 2024. The CHWs offer cultural and lived experiences to care teams as trusted community members who can help improve access and preventive care among underrepresented and marginalized populations.
“Community Health Workers are trained public health professionals who serve as a bridge between their community and health and social resources,” said James Wakins, program development manager for Intermountain Health. “They serve high risk and underserved communities. They bring their shared life experiences to communities and break down barriers to health and well-being."
Tiffany Washington, a community health worker who lives in Pahrump, Nevada, also participated in the training and has received her certification. While she learned about the training during her first few months as a CHW at the NyE Communities Coalition, taking the certification has widened her knowledge. She was also grateful to receive the stipend from the training after struggling after a move. She would like to see pay for CHWs increase, as her family has to depend on her husband’s income, even with her working full-time.
“We have poverty, gaps in our medical system, addiction and substance use disorders, racial barriers, difficulty accessing resources in rural areas,” said Tiffany. “Having this knowledge makes me want to be more involved in my community to change the trajectory.”
She said the CHW training helped her learn the statistics and how these challenges can affect not just the people around you, but the world.
For the past year, Tiffany has touched over 100 lives, helping provide services and resources. While her background includes work at a homeless shelter and a domestic shelter in Las Vegas, getting certified has shown her just how much her job is needed.
“It’s easy for me to relate to our clients from my own personal experiences. I had three kids by the time I was 19,” she said. “My heart is in this work.”
“Eighty percent of a person’s health status is due to the social determinants of health—the places where we live, work, play, worship, and go to school,” said Lisa Godenick, data coordinator for the Nevada Community Health Workers Association. “My hope for our graduates is to support clients while they navigate the health and social services systems we have while also advocating to improve those systems—and to improve CHW job benefits.”
To learn more about the Nevada Community Health Workers Association and the CHW training program, visit https://nvchwa.org/
Intermountain Health was 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 $1.5 million with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources.