Western Virginia Workforce Development Board Receives Funding for Nine New Community Health Worker Positions

The Western Virginia Workforce Development Board - in partnership with Carilion Clinic, United Way of Roanoke Valley and the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health District - has received a $414,938 federal grant to assist with area COVID-19 efforts. The funding will be used to create nine new community health worker positions.

In the community health worker role, individuals will assist with COVID-19 education, vaccination efforts and address social determinants of health issues amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The positions will be administratively managed by Carilion and reimbursed through grant funding.

Funding stems from a National Dislocated Worker grant allocated to the Commonwealth of Virginia in July 2020 by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The goal of the grant was twofold:

• To create disaster relief employment opportunities to temporarily employ individuals in occupations critical to the Commonwealth’s pandemic response.
• To offer career and training funding for additional support to individuals directly impacted by the pandemic.

“We are thrilled for this opportunity to strengthen our community’s COVID-19 response,” said Morgan Romeo, Executive Director of the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board. “The Virginia Department of Health and community partners like Carilion and United Way have been working tirelessly to combat COVID-19, and this will serve as additional support for their teams as they keep our communities safe and healthy.”

The nine new positions are posted online, and Carilion is currently accepting applications. To be eligible, applicants must meet at least one of the following qualifications:

• Temporarily or permanently laid off because of the pandemic
• Dislocated worker
• Long-term unemployed worker
• Self-employed individual who became unemployed or significantly under-employed because of the pandemic

Once hired, the community health workers will have the opportunity to work with partner organizations to assist with efforts like vaccination clinics, resource fairs, hiring events and more. They will serve eight localities within the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany Highlands, including the Counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke and the Cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem.

"It’s been rewarding to see how much the spread of COVID-19 disease has decreased in our region recently, and our work isn’t finished yet,” said Cynthia Morrow, MD, MPH, health director for the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts. “Our goal is to ensure that all community members have access to both the COVID-19 vaccine itself and to good information about the vaccine. These new positions will be essential in meeting that goal.”

To learn more and apply for the community health worker positions, view the full job posting here.