A New Pathway for Community Health Workers at Urban College of Boston
Urban College of Boston Approved as Community Health Worker Training Site
We are proud to announce that Urban College of Boston is now licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as an approved Community Health Worker (CHW) training site!
This milestone strengthens our commitment to workforce development, and expands our students’ access to meaningful, community centered careers.
Watch Human Services Program Chair Caleb Sabatka and AVP of Workforce Development Daliza Nova, MBA discuss what this approval means for our students and our communities:
What Does This Mean for Students?
Urban College’s Elder Care Certificate now includes an embedded license-track CHW training as a core component of the program. CHW training is now also available as an optional track within the Children’s Behavioral Health Certificate and as an elective within the Human Services programs.
Now, students can earn their certificate and prepare for their CHW license simultaneously, reducing the required work-experience hours by 50%. This allows capable, well-prepared community health workers to enter into high-impact healthcare roles more quickly.
What do Community Health Workers do?
Community Health Workers are trusted members of the communities they serve. As Human Services Program Chair Caleb Sabatka explains, “A community health worker is a member of the community who helps high-risk patients improve [their health outcomes] by connecting them with hospital, home- and community-based services.”
CHWs are responsible for:
Providing advocacy and case management services
Developing comprehensive care plans based on the individual patient needs
Conducting needs assessments in coordination with medical care teams
Facilitating access to social services and removing barriers to care
Monitoring the patient’s progress, and supporting families in problem-solving
CHWs provide in-home, community-based, clinic, or hospital care. They collaborate with primary care teams, other healthcare providers, and community organizations to ensure patients receive the appropriate, and timely, care they need.
Why the Demand for Licensed CHWs is Growing
Across Massachusetts and the United States, we are facing an increasingly dire healthcare crisis. In multilingual and other historically underserved communities, there are still significant barriers to care. Long waitlists, limited access, and systemic inequalities continue to impact health outcomes in these communities.
Community health workers help close this gap.
Because CHW services may be reimbursed by Medicare, hospitals and community-based health organizations are increasingly hiring for these roles. The need for trained, linguistically and culturally competent workers has never been greater. By becoming an approved CHW training site, Urban College is helping fill this critical workforce gap.
How to Earn Your CHW Training Certificate at Urban College
Urban College’s CHW training can be accessed in several ways:
As a standalone professional pathway
Embedded within the Elder Care Certificate
As an optional track within the Children’s Behavioral Health Certificate
As an elective within the Human Services programs
Through workforce development cohorts
Workforce Development Cohorts
Urban College also offers workforce development cohorts for employers seeking to enroll their staff in training.
Current CHWs or employers interested in full academic certificates through the college can contact Dr. Caleb Sabatka, Human Services Program Chair.
By enrolling your employees in Urban College’s CHW training, they will receive approved training and earn a certificate completion that supports their eligibility for certification and licensure in Massachusetts. Participants can also pursue further college credit by enrolling in an eligible Urban College certificate program.
Employers also have the opportunity to launch customized cohorts for their teams, tailored to workforce needs, scheduling, and organizational goals.
To explore cohort options, pricing, and partnership opportunities, contact Daliza Nova, AVP of Workforce Development.
Strengthening Healthcare, Together
We need community health workers in order to build healthier, more equitable communities. With this approval, we strengthen Urban College of Boston’s commitment to preparing our graduates with the right training, cultural competency, and practical skills needed to make an immediate impact.
We are proud to support the next generation of CHW graduates and the organizations that rely on them.