Community health workers and non-clinical patient navigators: A critical COVID-19 pandemic workforce

Authors: Kristen J.Wells, Andrea J.Dwyer, Elizabeth Calhound, and Patricia A.Valverde

This paper comments on the ways that community health workers should be deployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. CHWs are members of the communities they serve, making them skilled in community engagement and health communication at a time when social distancing mandates are a possible barrier in connecting vulnerable communities to resources. The authors encourage state, local, tribal, and territorial public health agencies and healthcare systems to gainfully employ CHWs to address the COVID-19 pandemic.