Community health worker and patient navigation programs in Louisiana are used to build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities, like outreach, education, motivational counseling, social support, and advocacy.

A community health worker (CHW) functions in the community setting and facilitates access to health services. They’re a trusted member or someone with a deep understanding of the community being served, which enables them to act as an intermediary between health and social services and the broader community.

A patient navigator functions in a clinical setting to help patients accessing healthcare services through the system and reduce barriers to receiving appropriate care and treatment. They act as a liaison to the medical team and help the patient and their family manage logistics if follow-up appointments, tests, treatment, or additional specialists are needed.

Training Community Health Workers

We collaborate with existing CHW programs to provide training on breast and colorectal cancers so those workers can go on to better support their communities. Because the more people who understand the value of screening, their testing options, and where and how they can access care, the better chance we have at improving cancer outcomes.

In 2021, TACL trained 24 community health workers from six different organizations. These CHWs then went on to help 559 individuals in 60 out of 64 parishes in the state, educating others on breast and colorectal cancers and helping increase screening rates.

Managed Care Organization Pilot

Then in 2022, we expanded that training with the launch of the Managed Care Organization (MCO) Community Health Worker pilot program, in partnership with the Louisiana Payers Council. Through this pilot program, we facilitated the training of five CHWs with a special focus on colorectal cancer screenings.

The CHWs in this program don’t work for any particular Medicaid plan. Instead, this group of CHWs is shared among MCOs in Region 3, a high-need area of the state, with the help of Volunteers of America. This allows them to tailor their outreach around the needs of individuals within their communities — not the requirements or preferences of individual health plans — and achieve the greatest impact.

The MCOs share the cost and benefits of the pilot, while TACL tracks the region’s screening rates and acts as a neutral body among plans that normally compete with one another.

Proven Community Interventions

Community health workers help address the many non-clinical factors that influence a person’s health, including housing, education, literacy, income, discrimination, and more. They provide culturally competent, language-accessible health education, care coordination, and patient and caregiver support to help their communities overcome barriers to good health.

And for those who are justifiably anxious or hesitant to seek out traditional healthcare, CHWs can be an especially valuable resource. In fact, CHWs have proven particularly effective within communities of color, immigrant communities, and among the unhoused and formerly incarcerated populations. This community-based approach is essential to connecting all Louisiana residents with the care they need and deserve.

Explore Our Impact

Learn more about the impact of our work with community health workers and how we’re improving cancer outcomes.

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