Resource Library

The National HCH Council developed this resource guide to share experiences and successful recruitment and supervision strategies with other HCH projects looking to employ CHWs. This guide incorporates current research and uses feedback from administrators, supervisors, CHWs, hospital staff, community members, and clients involved in the HCIA project.

About this Resource Guide
In June 2015, the National Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Council completed a 3-year pilot
project funded by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) through a Health Care
Innovation Award (HCIA). The project aimed to connect individuals experiencing homelessness who
were also high users of hospital services with Community Health Workers (CHWs) in order to
increase utilization of primary care and reduce unnecessary utilization of emergency services.
CHWs were employed by and stationed at Health Care for the Homeless projects. Partnering
hospitals referred high utilizers to CHWs on an individual basis or the HCH project notified CHWs
when a high utilizer was in the clinic (based on a high utilizer list shared by a partnering hospital).
Over the course of 3-years, CHWs enrolled 355 high utilizers into the project. This project not only
demonstrated the significant impact CHWs can have on the lives of people experiencing
homelessness but also presented an opportunity to assess effective practices in recruiting,
supervising, and supporting CHWs as part of a health care workforce.
The National HCH Council developed this resource guide to share experiences and successful
recruitment and supervision strategies with other HCH projects looking to employ CHWs. This guide
incorporates current research and uses feedback from administrators, supervisors, CHWs, hospital
staff, community members, and clients involved in the HCIA project.