About CHWSD

Mission

To promote, support, and sustain the Community Health Worker (CHW) profession in South Dakota.

Vision

A well-established statewide network of CHW professionals who provide a wide range of services for South Dakotans.

Our Goals

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Raise awareness

about the CHW profession and share information about the benefits of CHWs with applicable employers in South Dakota.

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Develop

a statewide training curriculum and promote a statewide certification program.

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Work collaboratively

with statewide partners to develop sustainable reimbursement models for CHW services.

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Outline

a career ladder and career lattice for CHWs seeking to expand their work in South Dakota.

Introductory Webinar

Community Health Worker and CHWSD Webinar

Learn more about Community Health Workers and the CHWSD by viewing the introductory webinar. This webinar provides an overview of CHWs, the CHWSD, and the current and future work to promote, develop, and sustain the CHW profession in South Dakota.

View Webinar

Collaborative Guidance

The Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota is guided by the South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH), Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion – specifically the Diabetes Prevention and Control and Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Programs.

The CHWSD is coordinated by Sage Project Consultants of Sioux Falls and Vermillion, SD. Ben Tiensvold with Sage Project Consultants serves as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the CHWSD.

BEN TIENSVOLD

Ben Tiensvold serves as the Community Outreach Coordinator (COC) for the Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota. For the past six years, Ben served as the Coordinator for the South Dakota Diabetes Coalition (SDDC) through his work as a Communications Specialist and now Project Coordinator with Sage Project Consultants. Ben is excited to take on this new role as the COC for the CHWSD and previously worked with the SD DOH in 2015 and 2016 on Community Health Worker-related introductory projects. This work led to key recommendations for CHWs (which the SD DSS then used to develop CHW reimbursement).

Email Ben

Future Strategic Plan

The initial groundwork for the CHWSD was completed from January 2020 to June 2020. To continue to build upon this groundwork, the SD DOH will engage in a strategic planning process with key stakeholders to develop a 3-year strategic plan for Community Health Works and the CHWSD. If you are interested in serving on the strategic plan task force, contact Ben Tiensvold, Community Outreach Coordinator (ben@chwsd.org).

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CHWSD Collaborative Support

The Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota (CHWSD) is funded by the SD DOH to provide coordination efforts and activities to support CHWs in South Dakota. More information about the SD DOH and additional CHW initiatives can be found here:

VISIT WEBSITE

The CHWSD is coordinated by Sage Project Consultants, LLC, of Sioux Falls and Vermillion, SD. More information about Sage can be found here:

VISIT WEBSITE