National Community Health Worker Awareness Week is an opportunity to celebrate the frontline champions who advance health equity, bridge gaps in care, and build trusted relationships that make healthier communities possible. We honor Community Health Workers (CHWs), Promotores de Salud, Community Health Representatives, Community Health Advocates, and all those who bring care, connection, and resources into the communities they serve.
At Intrepid Ascent, we are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside these incredible professionals. CHWs bring expertise, relationships, and lived experience that cannot be replicated by systems alone. Our role is to help build the policies, operational support, technology infrastructure, and financing needed to ensure CHWs can do what they do best, and that their contributions are recognized, supported, and sustained. Over the years, Intrepid has had the privilege of partnering with amazing organizations across the health and social care landscape to:
- Build Sustainable CHW Models: We help partners assess organizational readiness, operational requirements, and financial considerations to design and implement sustainable CHW programs. Our work helps organizations understand the investments, infrastructure, and partnerships needed to integrate CHWs into care delivery and support their long-term success.
- Strengthen Care Transitions with the CHW Toolkit: We developed the Step-Up/Step-Down Toolkit to help organizations strengthen transitions between Medicaid care management programs and CHW services. By creating clearer pathways across levels of support, the toolkit helps individuals maintain continuity of care as their needs evolve.
- Create Continuity Beyond Intensive Care Management: We help organizations integrate CHW services into ongoing care and community-based support, creating pathways for individuals to maintain trusted relationships and access essential resources as they transition from more intensive care management.
Demonstrating CHW Value Through Data: CHWs make a profound difference in the lives of the people and communities they serve. Data can help ensure that impact is seen, understood, and valued. Intrepid is a firm believer that when organizations build data infrastructure, then can demonstrate value by connecting activities with member outcomes and system-level performance, giving leaders the evidence they need to strengthen programs, identify areas of improvement, and support continued investment.
- Systemwide Performance Dashboards: We’ve designed multi-clinic, systemwide dashboards within Epic and other data environments to monitor, evaluate, and demonstrate the reach and impact of CHW services across care settings.
- Workflow & Case Management Integration: We’ve guided the selection and implementation of CHW-friendly case management and data systems to simplify workflows, support consistent documentation and tracking, and give organizations tools to manage and scale CHW programs.
Operationalizing Workforce Pathways & Contracting: Intrepid believes that for CHWs to thrive, the systems around them must work, too. We help community-based organizations and healthcare partners navigate the operational and contracting structures needed to create stronger pathways for CHWs to participate in and be sustained within this ecosystem. We’ve done that through:
- Technical Assistance for CBOs: Providing hands-on support to community-based organizations navigating Medicaid provider requirements, supervisory structures, workforce training, and certification pathways.
- Optimizing Contracting Structures: Guiding partners in designing and implementing direct and intermediary contracting pathways with health plans and other healthcare organizations, creating sustainable opportunities for community-based organizations and CHW programs.
A Thank You to Our CHW Partners
Most importantly, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the CHWs and community-based organizations who have chosen to partner with Intrepid Ascent. We are deeply grateful for the trust you place in us and for the opportunity to learn from your expertise, collaborate on meaningful projects, and work together to build stronger systems of care. The work you do every day, showing up for individuals and families, building trust, navigating barriers, and connecting people to the resources they need, is at the heart of meaningful health transformation.
CHWs demonstrate every day that healthcare doesn’t just happen in hospitals, clinics, or doctors’ offices. It happens in communities, through relationships, trust, and connection. This week, and every week, we celebrate the CHWs who make that transformation possible. We are honored to work alongside you and remain committed to building the operational, technical, and strategic infrastructure that recognizes, elevates, and sustains your essential work.