Public Health Workforce Collaborative
- Overview
Overview
Health & Medicine convenes the Public Health Workforce Collaborative (PHWC) – a coalition of over 40 public health employers, training providers, academic institutions, funders, and other relevant stakeholders committed to building a robust, representative, and resilient public health workforce. The PHWC’s mission is to coordinate, expand, and sustain the systems, structures, and supports necessary to assure a skilled, sustainable, responsive, and permanent public health workforce in Chicagoland.
Formed in December 2020, the PHWC’s work has evolved from centering on Community Health Workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to focusing on the broader public health workforce, and members established three Action Teams that work to realize their mission. The Supporting Workers Action Team is working to ensure all public health workers have access to professional development, mentorship, resources for addressing unmet determinants of health, and mental health support. The Career Pathways Action Team is working to create more opportunities for individuals to enter and advance their public health careers by creating training pathways, building awareness of public health careers, and supporting employers in creating internal career pathways. The Capacity Building Action Team is working on exploring opportunities for alternate and sustained funding for public health employers, operationalizing Medicaid reimbursement for Community Health Worker services, and providing employer mentorship support.