Community health workers are saving thousands in avoided ED visits and hospitalizations, but they are still an underfunded resource in healthcare, The New York Times reported April 18.
Community health workers have been around since the 1960s and tend to work in rural and low-income areas. There are about 65,000 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found, though the National Association of Community Health Workers says is probably an underestimate. These workers go by a number of titles, including community health educators, outreach specialists and promotores de salud. These health workers handle a number of problems, including installing wheelchair ramps, helping patients apply for food and housing benefits, coordinate follow-up appointments and administer cognitive and mental health screenings.
The cost per patient for a 90-day program in Oregon is $1,500, and workers earn $25 an hour along with full benefits.
“Community health workers should be part of every healthcare team,” Elizabeth Eckstrom, MD, chief of geriatrics at Portland-based Oregon Health and Science University, told the Times. “They support the patient in ways the medical system just can’t, no matter how hard we try.”
In oncology clinics in Arizona and California, two bilingual community health workers conducted regular phone calls with cancer patients older than 75 to assess symptoms. They were able to alert healthcare teams when problems arose, and as a result, had an average cost savings of $12,000 per patient in avoided ED use and hospitalizations.
Despite better outcomes for patients, community health worker programs have struggled to find stable funding. Medicare began covering some services in 2024, and Medicaid covers some services in select states; However most community health workers rely on short-term grants, the Times reported.
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