Central Massachusetts Area Health Education Center (CMAHEC)

Central Massachusetts AHEC, Inc. (CMAHEC) is a recognized leader in addressing issues relative to:

 Health Disparities

 Workforce Development

 Cultural and Linguistic Access

 
 Initiatives include:

CMAHEC collaborates and participates with Community, Academic, and Governmental partners.
Activities include:  

  • Critical MASS: A Private and Governmental Coalition to Eliminate Health Disparities Steering Committee
  • Central Mass Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Co-Chair, Diversity Work Group
  • City of Worcester , Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) Selection Committee
  • Common Pathways, Leadership Support Team
  • Community Health Assessment of North Central Massachusetts
  • Diabetes Education Project of Latino Education Institute of Worcester State College
  • End of Life Initiative
  • Henry Lee Willis Center, Inc., Board of Directors
  • HIV Consortium of Central Mass
  • Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force
  • Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network (MACHW)
  • Massachusetts Medical Interpreter Association (MMIA)
  • Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA)
  • MDPH New Refugee Conference Planning Committee
  • UMass Medical School Pathways Project
  • UMass Medical School Community Clerkship
  • UMass Medical School Interclerkship
  • UMass Medical School Preventive Residency, Advisory Board
  • Willis Social Enterprises, Inc., Board of Directors
  • Worcester Common Ground, Treasurer, Board of Directors
  • Worcester Homeless Action Committee
  • Worcester State College Next Step Initiative, Management Team 

     

2005-2005 Academic Calendar   Outreach Worker Training Institute
2006 - 2007

 

Course Brochure PDF icon
Academic Calendar   PDF icon
Application for Admission   PDF icon

OWTI provides professional development opportunites for community health workers (CHW) and their supervisors by offering a  45-Hour Community Health Worker Certificate Course and an 18-Hour Supervisor Certificate Course . The classes are scheduled to begin on: October 10, 2006 for the CHW Certificate course in Worcester; March 13, 2007 for the Supervisor Certificate course in Worcester; and April 12, 2007 for the Supervisor Certificate course in Gardner.  Contact Tatyana Gorodetsky, OWTI Director, CM AHEC, Inc. at 508-756-6676 ext. 12 for more details.  


SERVICE PERFORMANCE REVIEW

HRSA National Community Health Worker Workforce Development Study
 Central Mass AHEC’s Outreach Worker Training Institute (OWTI) received a designation by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to represent

Massachusetts (in partnership with MACHW) in the HRSA National Community Health Worker Workforce Development Study.  Massachusetts is one of only four states selected to participate in this national initiative.

Home of the Latino Mental Health Project
 Central Mass AHEC was selected as the home of the Latino Mental Health Project (Proyecto de salud mental para Latinos), a collaborative of the MA Department of Mental Health, Great Brook Valley Health Center, Family Health Center, Clark University, and faith based and community based organizations.  The Project conducted 166 interviews of Latinos in

Worcester to examine the mental health needs and resources. The final report, with recommendations, was released in June 2005.

Federation for Children with Special Needs Annual Conference
 Central Mass AHEC coordinated an annual conference for the Federation for Children with Special Needs with an attendance of 650.  The Federation is a center for parents and parent organizations to work together on behalf of children with special needs and their families.  In FY04, Central Mass AHEC also began collaborating on a Medical Home effort for Children with Special Health Care Needs, funded by HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Dispatch Medical Interpreter Program
The Central Mass AHEC’s Language Link program runs a dispatch medical interpreter program to support health care providers in the Worcester/Central Massachusetts area.  The Language Link Program dispatched medical interpreters for 3,692 interpreting encounters in FY04, primarily in Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Albanian and Russian.

Written Translation Services The Language Link program also provides written translation services.  Language Link contracted with Medicaid to translate patient education and prevention materials,  eligibility and member application materials, and the 52 page booklet, MassHealth and You: A Guide for Persons 65 or Older or those Needing Long Term Care Services, into Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, Lao and Khmer.

Language Link began working with other state agencies, including the Department of Mental Health to translate the 116 page newly developed Consumer Medication Manual.   The manual and Individual Service Plans were translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese in collaboration with the UMass Department of Correctional Health for interpreter services and translation.