TRAINERS FOR 16 YEARS.  Training covers a core curriculum and disease-specific information needed to assist people in increasing their health outcomes.  The training in this picture was for all Tri County Rural Health Network CHWs.  Other training takes place with CHWs in other organizations such as the UAMS research on increasing health outcomes for the Marshallese community in NW Arkansas, collaboratives in Dumas and Stuttgardt, and UC-Riverside's campus-community project.    

CONNECTING PEOPLE TO RESOURCES SINCE 2003.  TRHN is a minority controlled and operated 501c3 nonprofit committed to providing services needed to meet the increasing demand for trained CHWs.  It has trained and employed CHWs for 13 years and conducted the first evidenced based research in collaboration with UAMS to show effectiveness and cost savings go hand in hand when CHWs are a bridge between people in need and health resources.  Its training curriculum was written and tested by Executive Director Naomi Cottoms.  Recent grants and contracts include The State of Arkansas, RX Foundation, King Foundation, Forever Care, and UAMS.  Executive Director Naomi Cottoms has been instrumental in the founding of the Arkansas and National Associations for Community Health Workers.  TCRHN was incorporated in 2003 to increase access to health care for grassroots citizens.  Phillips County Health Unit Administrate Robyn Clark championed early development and Mid Delta Community Consortium headed by Anna Huff Davis awarded the first grant.  Research funded by The Foundation for the Mid South showed that the three main reasons people were not accessing healthcare were 1) individuals didn't trust healthcare institutions, 2) individuals didn't know services existed, and 3) individuals could not afford health services.  That is to say, people in the Delta were not asking for more or better services, they were asking for increased access to existing services.  CHWs were employed to increase access.