title: Community Health Workers as a Component of the Health Care Team.
abstract: In restructuring the delivery of primary care to improve the wellness of a community, every community must review its own circumstances for factors such as resources and capacities, health concerns, social and political perspectives, and competing priorities. Strengthening the health care team with community health workers to create a patient-centered medical home can enhance health care access and outcomes. Community health workers can serve as critical connectors between health systems and communities; they facilitate access to and improve quality and culturally sensitive medical care, emphasizing preventive and primary care.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
authors: Sheri L
authors: SL
authors: Johnson
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Population Health Management, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, PO Box 1997, C525, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1997, USA. Electronic address: vgunn@chw.org.
authors: Veronica L
authors: VL
authors: Gunn
mesh_terms: D003150:Community Health Workers; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team
keywords: Care continuum; Care coordination; Community health worker; Health care access; Navigators; PCMH; Promoters