August 24, 2026

Highlighting the work of KP Community Health Workers as CCHE Celebrates CHW Awareness Week

As Kaiser Permanente (KP) recognizes Community Health Worker (CHW) Awareness Week during the last week of August, we would like to highlight the important work of CHWs at Kaiser Permanente. They are often critical to helping members overcome barriers to health by connecting them with critical resources and support. Stories like the one shared here highlight the impact of addressing the social factors that influence health.

CCHE and our KP partners have been conducting an evaluation of the Community Health Worker Program in Kaiser Permanente’s NW region. We found that participation in the CHW Program led to a measurable positive impact on inpatient admissions, hospital days, and emergency department visits that was strongly sustained at 12 months. These findings were largely consistent with findings from a previous pilot randomized controlled trial in the NW region. We also focused on learning how and for whom the program was working. We estimated $369 per member per month in total care savings for participants in the CHW program after 12 months, mostly due to prevented hospitalizations.
Picture1.pngMember Highlight:  Mary Morales During a medical visit, Mary shared that climbing the stairs to her apartment was putting her safety at risk. At the same time, the Community Health Worker (CHW) program had identified her as being at increased risk for hospitalization. Through collaboration across teams, Mary was connected with a community health worker who recognized that Kaiser Permanente’s Medical-Legal Partnership program could help address her housing needs and keep her safe.

As Kaiser Permanente expands CHW programs into additional regions, these efforts will bring community-based support to more members and communities. CCHE’s evaluation support will help assess the reach and impact of these expanded programs, providing valuable insights into member outcomes, experiences, and opportunities for continued growth. We are currently conducting a quantitative evaluation that includes a randomized design in KP’s Georgia region. We are layering in a qualitative evaluation, interviewing program teams, CHWs, and members to better understand how the program is working and what can be done to improve it. The results from the GA CHW program evaluation will support ongoing development of a best-practice playbook to guide implementation and sustainability of strong CHW programs within KP and beyond.

For more information about KP’s CHW evaluation, contact Elena Kuo at CCHE or Amal Harrati at KP Program Office.

Mary’s story was made possible through strong partnerships across Kaiser Permanente, including the work of Liliana Herrera Acosta from the Social Health team and Jaclyn Eaton, who leads Kaiser Permanente’s housing investments in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Their collaboration helped connect Mary to the resources she needed and demonstrates the power of working together to improve community health.

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