About VCHO
Who We Are
The Virginia Center for Health Outreach (VCHO) is funded through a special initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration and administered through the Office of Rural Health Policy.
The purpose of the VCHO is to develop an infrastructure to strengthen the practice, policy, and research of the Community Health Worker (CHW) field in Virginia while acknowledging and capitalizing upon the key roles CHWs play in improving public health, providing preventive services, and facilitating access to primary care.
Community health workers are trained laypersons that serve as health resource persons in the communities where they live and work. As accepted members of their communities, CHWs effectively promote health among groups that have traditionally lacked adequate care and help low income and minority communities gain access to America's health care system. They also remove barriers to primary and preventive health care by implementing culturally appropriate health education and outreach.
CHWs are an integral part of the Center's efforts and the reason for its existence. Their input helps guide and direct Center activities. The Center's key activities, found in its management plan, are policy, education, coordination, research, and funding/sustainability. These components form the VCHO's framework and were generated by an initial planning group that worked to establish the Center.
To achieve each of the management plan components, the Center works closely with Virginia's diverse CHW programs and cultivates partnerships with related agencies and academic institutions. The Center is uniting and equipping CHWs and these stakeholders to address common issues and interests. Offices of the Virginia Center for Health Outreach (VCHO) are located at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
