Certificate of Proficiency (COP)

Community, Health, and Wellness Advocate

About The Program

The Community, Health, and Wellness Advocate (CHWA) is a multi-skilled care manager who helps the patient navigate the complex maze of health and social service providers to find appropriate care. The CHWA educates patients and family members about healthy behaviors, monitors compliance with care management plans, and can accompany a patient on healthcare appointments. The advocate fosters mutual trust with a patient to develop an ongoing professional relationship. Health and Wellness Advocates are required to have a wide-ranging skill set and knowledge base. Through a solid foundation in medical ethics and cultural awareness, the CHWA addresses the physical health, mental health, drug use, and social factors affecting a patient's health and wellness. The advocate must be familiar with the appropriate local, state, regional, and national agencies available to assist the patient, including familiarity with health information systems and healthcare funding.

Certificate Requirements

Communications:

5 credits - ENGL& 101 English Composition I OR BUS 119 Business Communications.
Quantitative Skills:

5 credits – BUS 104 Business Math Applications OR MATH& 107 Math in Society.
Diversity:

5 credits – BTEC 165 Cultural Awareness for Care Professionals.

Core Program Requirements

AH 166	Mental Health First Aid for Adults	1
BUS 100	Foundations of Business Success	3
BTEC 104 OR CS 110 AND BTEC 146	Intro to Business Technology OR Intro to Microcomputer Applications AND Powerpoint Fundamentals	5
BTEC 111	Word Processing I	5
BTEC 131	Introduction to Spreadsheets	5
BTEC 160	Medical Scribe	5
BTEC 164	Medical Office Law & Ethics	2
BTEC 165	Culture Awareness for Care Professionals:DIV	5
BTEC 170	Community Health Advocacy	5
BTEC 176	Social Determinants of Health	5
BTEC 177	Trauma Informed Care	5
BTEC 181 MEDA 101	Medical Terminology I OR Medical Vocabulary I	3
BTEC 182 MEDA 102	Medical Terminology II OR Medical Vocabulary II	3
BUS 294	Career Success	2
HLTH 105	First Aid, CPR and Bloodborne Pathogens	1

Diversity and Distribution Lists are available in the Lower Columbia College Catalog located at lowercolumbia.edu/catalog.

To earn a Community, Health, and Wellness Certificate of Proficiency, you must complete a minimum of 65 credits and pass each course listed in program requirements with a C or better.

Students completing this program should acquire the following skills and abilities:

Utilize a clinical decision support tool and electronic health records to view cross-system health and social service utilization to identify care opportunities
Provide in-person client health assessments
Accompany the client to critical appointments
Engage the client in developing a health action plan
Coordinate and mobilize treating/authorizing entities as necessary to reinforce and support the client's health action goals
Deliver culturally appropriate interventions, educational and informational materials

November 2022 (Effective Summer 2023)

Notes:

Program planning is based on information available at the time of preparation. It is the student's responsibility to meet with their LCC advisor.
Consult the LCC catalog for LCC graduation requirements.