Central Oregon Community College is the only school in Central Oregon that offers a course to certify community health workers. Community health workers are front line public health workers who are able to provide basic care. With spring term starting in just two weeks, there is still time to enroll in the course to get certified to become a community health worker.

There’s a low barrier for entry, meaning almost anyone interested can join. There are no academic prerequisites, not even a requirement for a high school diploma. One principle of the course is that everyone in it is interested in working to better the health of the community. 

The course includes many topics ranging from; essential public health knowledge to collaborating with different programs and case management. The course leads to a state-recognized certification through the Oregon Health Authority. 

Janessa Wells took the course last fall and successfully became a certified community health worker. “(The course) opened the door to what I’m doing now,” Wells said. Wells now works as a workforce navigator at a nonprofit ​called the Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials. She’s working on a federal grant that will pay for people in the community to not only become certified community health workers but also licensed medical assistant’s.

Many health organizations in Central Oregon need and hire community health workers, including Thrive Central Oregon, Central Oregon Pediatric Associates, Mosaic Medical, St. Charles Health System and others. The course is a great way to get started in a public health career, and interested students can register via the COCC website. The course is called Community Health Worker (HHP 282) and the course number for spring is 25303.

“I wanted access into the public health world, and taking this class seemed like a really great way,” said Wells.