Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities (CCR)
About CDC’s Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities Initiative
Overview
CDC’s Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities (CCR) initiative helps put more trained community health workers (CHWs) in the communities that have been most affected by COVID-19. CHWs are frontline public health workers and trusted members of the communities they serve. This trust allows the CHW to better connect community members to community resources like health care and social services.
Program Priorities
Despite prevention efforts, some communities are more affected by chronic diseases than others. Public health crises like COVID-19 worsen these differences in health. CHWs are well-positioned to:
- Reach the communities most affected by COVID-19.
- Stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Help communities move toward health equity.
CCR aims to decrease the effect of COVID-19 on people who are most at risk. It also aims to improve communities’ ability to respond to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies. To do this, CCR-funded programs are carrying out activities aligned with three high-level strategies over three years:
- Train CHWs on the knowledge, roles, and skills needed to support the COVID-19 public health response.
- Deploy CHWs to help manage COVID-19 outbreaks and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Engage CHWs to strengthen community resilience, which is a community’s ability to provide the resources, support, and interactions necessary to help community members improve overall health, cope with trauma, and prepare for future public health emergencies.
Recipients
To support the hiring, training, and deployment of CHWs nationwide, CDC is investing more than $340 million across 67 organizations.
CDC is also funding three partners to help CDC evaluate the CCR initiative and provide support, training, and resources to CCR-funded programs:
Evaluation Partners
- Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
- Washington State Department of Health
Training and Technical Assistance Partner
Accomplishments
Since its launch in August 2021, CCR has made a big impact. With over 408,000 referrals made to health care services and social services, CCR-funded programs help connect members of their communities with needed resources.
CCR-funded programs have also:
Trained over 2,000 CHWs in COVID-19 response efforts.
Supported over 4,800 vaccination events, including pop-up clinics.
Integrated CHWs into over 1,100 organizations and developed over 400 new partnerships to enhance CHW efforts.
Reached over 9.2 million people with education and messaging.
Program Contacts
For questions about the CCR initiative, please contact us at nccdphp_chw@cdc.gov.