110 HRES 1406 IH: Recognizing and supporting the work of U.S. House of Representatives 2008-07-31 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1406 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 31, 2008 Ms. Solis (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Doggett, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Schwartz, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mr. Towns) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Recognizing and supporting the work of Community Health Workers.

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes Community Health Workers as trusted and respected members of the community who provide information, education, and formal and informal community-based, health-related services to community members; Whereas Community Health Workers and Promotoras are volunteers or paid individuals and are often identified by titles such as Community Health Advisor, Lay Health Advocate, and Community Health Representative; Whereas in 2005, the United States had an estimated total of more than 121,000 Community Health Workers across all 50 States; Whereas in 2000, the number of organizations employing Community Health Workers was 6,300; Whereas Community Health Workers conduct significant work almost exclusively in community settings and serve as connectors between healthcare consumers and providers; Whereas according to the National Rural Health Association, Community Health Worker programs are significant as they focus on assisting hard-to-reach populations and the workers usually are indigenous to the target population; Whereas Community Health Workers are in a distinctive position to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality, improve the quality of life, and increase the utilization of available preventive health services for medically-underserved communities that face barriers to care, including poverty, geographic isolation, language, cultural differences, lack of transportation, low literacy, and lack of access to services; Whereas Community Health Workers, which are primarily women, can be a critical component in conducting health promotion and disease prevention efforts in medically-underserved populations and connecting disenfranchised and medically-underserved populations to the health and social service systems; Whereas Community Health Workers serve communities that are Latino, African-American, White, Asian and Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native; Whereas approximately 1,400 Community Health Representatives work with tribal managed or Indian Health Service programs in most of the more than 500 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native communities; Whereas uninsured individuals, immigrants, homeless individuals, isolated rural residents, and migrant workers receive services from Community Health Workers; Whereas Community Health Workers facilitate and support activities across the Nation to help accomplish the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s goal of eliminating the preventable burdens of diabetes through public health leadership, linkages, research, programs, and policies; and Whereas a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children in families who worked with Community Health Workers were almost twice as likely to obtain health insurance than children whose families received traditional Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program information and outreach, and were more than twice as likely to remain continuously insured: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)recognizes the unique work of Community Health Workers in providing access to preventative care and other health services in underserved and health disparity communities; (2)recognizes the role of Community Health Workers in supporting and strengthening communities of color, particularly in improving the health behaviors of minority women and children; and (3)encourages those in our healthcare system to learn about and support the distinctive role and impact of Community Health Workers to improve the health of all Americans.