Kansas Adopts Bilingual Training for Health Care Workers
TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that from now on the core curriculum training for community health workers will be taught in Spanish as well as English.
The first-time initiative is being offered under the auspices of both the department and the Mid-America Regional Council, a nonprofit based in Kansas City, Missouri.
Both entities said the newly created, 100-hour Spanish training program is a crucial step towards making health care more accessible and inclusive.
Best of all, the course is free for those who attend, they said.
“It has been an incredible and rewarding experience to collaborate with a supportive team to translate and culturally adapt the CHW curriculum into Spanish, providing students with all supplemental curriculum material in Spanish,” said Crystal Rodriquez, the department’s program manager for community health workers, in a written statement.
“This will mark the inaugural of a cohort conducted entirely in Spanish, with all the training materials available in Spanish to enable students to actively participate in a Spanish-only environment,” she said.
The new Spanish language program was developed with the support of the Kansas Community Health Worker Coalition.
Officials involved in the initiative said the relationship between community health workers and their communities acts as a bridge, facilitating access to services and improving the quality and cultural competence in the delivery of services.
The training session will be held on Saturdays, beginning Sept. 7 and ending on Nov. 23. Each session will last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Anyone with questions regarding the program and registration is urged to contact [email protected].
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
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