Advancing Health Equity through Community Health Workers: 3rd NYU Langone CHW Innovations Summit

The 3rd Community Health Worker (CHW) Innovations Summit, hosted by NYU Langone Health on March 5, 2024, marked a critical moment in the ongoing national dialogue around health equity and the sustainability of community health worker programs. With the theme “Policies and Partnerships to Support CHW Programs: Insights from Maternal Health and Housing Interventions,” the summit brought together thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and community partners from across New York and beyond. The event aimed to elevate the role of CHWs as central to the delivery of equitable care and to address systemic barriers that hinder their recognition and long-term integration into health systems. Beyond presentations, the summit facilitated deep engagement with issues such as workforce development, Medicaid reimbursement, maternal-child health, and housing-based health interventions.

CHWs serve as trusted liaisons between healthcare systems and underserved populations, playing a crucial role in addressing the social determinants of health. Their unique positioning—often being members of the communities they serve—enables them to build trust, communicate effectively, and address barriers to care in ways that clinicians and traditional healthcare providers cannot. According to the American Public Health Association (2014), CHWs improve health outcomes through community-based education, support, and advocacy. Systematic reviews substantiate these claims. For example, Perry et al. (2017) documented CHWs’ ability to improve maternal and child health outcomes across multiple contexts, while Kangovi et al. (2018) found that CHW interventions led to a significant reduction in hospital readmissions and emergency visits. The economic value is equally compelling: Kangovi et al. (2020) reported a return of $2.47 for every dollar invested in CHW programs, and Brownstein et al. (2011) identified improved preventive care and lower cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in CHW-led interventions.

A major focus of the summit was maternal and child health. During Panel 1, titled “Advancing CHW Sustainability in Maternal/Child Health Programs,” participants from institutions such as NYU-Presbyterian, Suffolk County Health Department, and the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership shared successful strategies for integrating CHWs into care models for birthing people. Several speakers emphasized that sustainability requires embedding CHWs into multidisciplinary teams with well-defined roles, training pathways, and evaluation metrics. The Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership shared outcomes from their home visiting models, which reduced preterm births and low birth weight among Black and Latina mothers. Similarly, the MOMS Partnership®, a Yale-led initiative, demonstrated that CHWs integrated into maternal mental health services helped increase employment rates and reduce depression symptoms in low-income mothers (Davis et al., 2020). Evidence suggests that culturally concordant care, where CHWs share linguistic and cultural ties with clients, boosts engagement in prenatal visits and improves patient satisfaction (Rural Health Information Hub, 2021).

Panel 2 focused on the intersection of health and housing—an area where CHWs are increasingly being recognized for their value. Titled “The Role of CHWs in Improving Residents’ Health in Housing-Based Interventions,” this panel included representatives from NYCHA, NYC DOHMH, Public Health Solutions, and Healthfirst. The discussion revolved around how housing conditions—mold, pests, overcrowding, and unsafe structures—directly impact health outcomes. Poor housing is associated with asthma exacerbations, lead poisoning, injury risks, and chronic stress (Taylor, 2018). CHWs working in housing-based models help residents navigate complex systems, connect with housing courts, access legal advocacy, and address environmental hazards. Research presented by the Health x Housing Lab at NYU demonstrated improved asthma control and reduced emergency room visits after CHWs were integrated into NYCHA communities. Similarly, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (2021) reported a 32% reduction in asthma-related hospitalizations when CHWs were deployed as part of environmental health teams.

The summit also shed light on the critical infrastructure required to support CHWs. One of the most innovative tools showcased was the Community Health Worker Resource Hub, developed by NYU Langone. This digital platform curates materials from 29 CHW programs spanning maternal health, diabetes, housing, and other focus areas. The hub includes logic models, training curricula, evaluation templates, and workflow documents, allowing for easy adaptation and scaling of evidence-based CHW models. In parallel, the CHW Research & Resource Center (CHW-RRC) provides technical assistance and evaluation consultation to community-based organizations (CBOs) and healthcare systems. The center supports mixed-method evaluations—combining quantitative data such as A1c levels and PHQ-9 scores with qualitative techniques like focus groups and photovoice methodologies. This dual-pronged evaluation approach captures both statistical impact and lived experiences, providing a holistic understanding of CHW program outcomes.

Another impactful component discussed at the summit was the Community-Led Grants Program. This initiative provides funding and capacity-building support to CBOs implementing CHW programs in New York City. The grants have addressed a wide spectrum of public health challenges including food insecurity, mental health support, Alzheimer’s and dementia education, and care coordination for immigrant communities. By pairing grassroots organizations with NYU faculty, students, and staff, the program ensures that community-defined needs shape the intervention design, while also strengthening the local evidence base. Notably, the model empowers communities to publish their findings and advocate for scalable solutions rooted in local wisdom.

The policy dimension of the summit was unambiguous: for CHWs to thrive, systemic changes must occur. NYU Langone and its partners called for the expansion of Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services—a move already undertaken in states like Oregon and Massachusetts. New York’s own Medicaid waiver initiatives, such as DSRIP and the Health Equity Reform Waiver, are beginning to explore similar models, and the summit’s presenters urged these to be scaled and made permanent. Certification was another recurring theme.

Without a statewide certification process, CHWs remain vulnerable to role misinterpretation, exploitation, and professional marginalization. Standardized training, clear scopes of practice, and career ladders are essential to recognizing CHWs as full-fledged members of the healthcare workforce. Recommendations included not only reimbursement and certification, but also funding CHW-led CBOs, embedding CHWs in value-based care teams, and mandating living wages and health benefits to promote workforce stability.

In conclusion, the 3rd Community Health Worker Innovations Summit went far beyond being a convening of stakeholders; it was a landmark event that merged academic research, community expertise, and policy foresight. The collective message was clear: Community Health Workers are not ancillary. They are essential to the success of public health systems and to the realization of health equity. From reducing maternal mortality and asthma hospitalizations to navigating housing crises and managing chronic illness, CHWs bring measurable value. But impact alone is not enough—long-term success depends on sustainable investment, policy integration, and community-driven leadership. In a time of deepening health disparities, CHWs offer not just hope, but a proven, scalable model for justice-centered care.

References

Kangovi, S., et al. (2018). "Effect of a community health worker support intervention on hospital readmission among patients with multiple chronic conditions." JAMA Internal Medicine.

Perry, H., et al. (2017). "Comprehensive review of the evidence regarding the effectiveness of community health workers in improving maternal and child health." Journal of Global Health.

Viswanathan, M., et al. (2010). Outcomes of Community Health Worker Interventions. AHRQ.

Brownstein, J.N., et al. (2011). "Community health workers as interventionists in the prevention and control of heart disease and stroke." American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Davis, L., et al. (2020). "The MOMS Partnership: Addressing Maternal Mental Health through Community-Driven Intervention." Harvard Kennedy School.

Taylor, L. (2018). "Housing and Health: An Overview of the Literature." Health Affairs Health Policy Brief.

Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (2021). "The Impact of CHW Interventions on Asthma Control."

Rhoades Cooper, L. (2022). "Community-defined Evidence: Centering Equity in Research & Evaluation." Prevention Institute.