The following definitions and those found in chapter 182-500 WAC apply to community health worker (CHW) services.

"Agency" - See WAC 182-500-0010.

"Care coordination and health system navigation" - Helping clients to:

(a) Identify providers to receive services;

(b) Make appointments for services, arrange transportation to health care appointments, and attend appointments with clients for health care services; and

(c) Find other relevant community resources such as support groups.

"Client" - A person who is an applicant for, or recipient of, any Washington apple health program, including managed care and long-term care. See definitions for "applicant" and "recipient" in RCW 74.09.741.

"Community health representative (CHR)" - Community health representatives (CHRs) are well-trained, medically guided, tribal and Native community people, who provide a variety of health services within American Indian and Alaska Native communities. CHRs are recognized as CHWs for the purposes of CHW services.

"Community health worker" or "CHW" - A frontline public health worker who is a trusted member, or has a close understanding, or both, of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the CHW to provide direct services as well as serve as a liaison, link, or intermediary between health or social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.

"Community health worker services" - A type of preventive health services that:

(a) Helps prevent disease, disability, and other health conditions or their progression; prolongs life; and promotes physical and mental health and efficiency;

(b) Provides tailored support and system navigation to help address unmet health-related social needs that significantly limit a practitioner's ability to carry out a medically necessary treatment plan; and

(c) Provides navigation in the treatment of a serious, high-risk condition or illness. These services help guide the client through their course of care including addressing any unmet social needs that significantly limit the client's ability to engage and follow their plan of care.

"General supervision" - The medicaid-enrolled, licensed practitioner supervising the CHW is responsible for providing guidance, support, and oversight to ensure that CHWs and CHRs are effectively performing their roles, monitoring the course of care, and delivering quality services to the community.

"Health education and promotion" - Helping clients to:

(a) Contextualize health education provided by the client's treatment team with the client's individual needs, goals, and preferences, in the context of the principal illness and/or SDOH need(s) and educating the client on how to best participate in medical decision making; and

(b) Build client self-advocacy skills, so that the client can interact with members of the health care team and related community-based services addressing the principal illness and SDOH need(s), in ways that are more likely to promote personalized and effective diagnosis or treatment.

"Health-related social needs (HRSN)" - Health-related social needs (HRSN) are an individual's unmet, adverse social conditions (e.g., housing instability, homelessness, nutrition insecurity) that contribute to poor health and are a result of underlying social determinants of health (conditions in which people are born, grow, work, and age).

"Lived experience" - Having first-hand knowledge and insight gained from navigating challenges similar to those faced by the people in the community. This can include shared experiences like cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic status, health conditions, or barriers accessing the health and social service systems.

"Medicaid agency" - See WAC 182-500-0070.

"Person-centered assessment" - Conducting a person-centered assessment to understand the client's life story, strengths, needs, goals, preferences, and desired outcomes including understanding cultural and linguistic factors and including unmet SDOH needs to establish a plan of care.

"Preventive services" - Services that help prevent disease, disability, and other health conditions or their progression; prolong life; and promote physical and mental health efficiency.

"Supervision" - Key aspects of supervision include, but are not limited to:

(a) Training and professional development;

(b) Performance monitoring;

(c) Support and mentorship; and

(d) Problem-solving and conflict resolution.

"Washington apple health" - See WAC 182-500-0120.