Caridad Center is a leader and advocate of Community Health Worker (CHW) programs throughout Palm Beach County.  Our CHW programs provide our patients a trusted frontline public health worker that will come to their homes and serve as a liaison for them and their families.  Our goal is to ensure that our children and families receive the proper health and social services they so desperately need.

Our CHWs are typically bi-lingual, reside in the community they serve, and have extensive knowledge of the health and human services offered throughout Palm Beach County.  Caridad’s CHW programs provides patients increased screenings/testing, an enhanced understanding of health risk factors, and improved adherences to professional health recommendations.  We also address the social determinants of health which could influence our patient’s ability to achieve positive and healthy outcomes.  Currently, Caridad Center has approximately 60 active CHWs serving our community.

Caridad Center is a member of the Florida Community Health Worker Coalition (FCHWC).  FCHWC members work together to champion the advancement of the CHW profession.  South Florida has a significant need for well-trained CHWs.  This demand has necessitated the need for developing proper training programs.  For over fifteen years, Caridad is a recognized and accomplished leader in the training of CHWs.  More than 400 people have been trained in the various programs offered by the Center.   Caridad offers additional training in many specialized domains such as:

• Chronic disease self-management
• Diabetes self-management
• Skin care and cancer prevention
• Breast health education
• Nutrition
• Oral health education
• Identification of social determinants of health

Recent studies reveal that CHWs are the number one emerging occupation in the Healthcare Industry.  In 2018, Caridad was accredited by The Florida Certification Board as a trusted training center for new CHWs.  Our certification training program can be typically completed in approximately 31 hours.  For those interested, we offer both on-site as well as on-line training for only $999/per person (scholarships may also be available).  Please contact Marta Zuluaga at [email protected] to obtain additional information about our accredited CHW Training Program.