BHT Staff Member Represents Eastern Washington at National CHW Conference in DC

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From March 10th -12th over 100 Community Health Workers (CHW) gathered at a national conference in Washington DC to bring continued awareness to CHWs and oppose cuts to Medicaid. The event was an opportunity for CHWs and allies nationally to engage with the legislative process, build relationships with lawmakers and their staff, and raise awareness of CHWs’ role and contributions to community health and wellbeing. The event agenda included training opportunities, a CHW rally, a Congressional briefing, coordinated legislative meetings, and more!

There were over 300 applicants for this event, titled the 3rd Annual Capitol Hill Day event organized by the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) and Partners in Health-US (PIH). 100 CHWs were selected from across the nation to attend, including BHT’s own Kim Wilson.  

Follow along below as she shares a day in the life from her experience at the event!  

Kim Wilson, eastern washington community health worker stands in front of the capitol building in washington d.c.

Meet Kim Wilson!

Community-based Workforce Program Manager
[she. her. hers]
kim.wilson@betterhealthtogether.org

Kim Wilson has lived in Spokane for 34 years and truly calls it home, advocating for Eastern Washington whatever chance she gets. She has a vast array of experience, working with vulnerable populations from 5 – 95 years old in areas of education, advocacy, and empowerment. Her work with Community Health Workers first came in 2016 after she took a training while working at a local non-profit, and she has never looked back. Wilson truly believes CHWs are the “Heart, Head, and Hands” of communities. She works to support, train, and stand alongside community health workers in advocacy and education.

March 11th, 2025

 

7:30am (EST) 

I woke up super nervous and anxious for the day. I met with Mario Banuelos (my fellow CHW from Washington who was assigned as my partner) at the Marriott prior to the Rally on the Capitol lawn. We had our pitch and materials ready for the day.   

The following are the major points that we wanted to share with each lawmaker:   

  • National CHW Awareness Resolution support for Awareness week (last week of August) House Resolution 1389  

  • National CHW Access Act support, S. 3892  

  • Oppose cuts to Medicaid  

  • State Plan Amendment for CHW services (WA State) to include those who work in community (not just in medical)  

  • Share a personal CHW story (both Mario & I had those)  

Before the state CHW teams had meetings, we met on the east Capitol Hill lawn for a rally. Denise Smith (Executive Director of NACHW) engaged CHWs using a megaphone to be heard. A few minutes into her speech, the Capitol Hill police came to shut it down. Due to more than 30 gathering at one place, we could gather, but not use a megaphone. We also couldn’t take a photo on the Capitol Hill steps, but had to gather together where we were at.   

Mario and I started off to find the Senate buildings for our first meeting with Senator Murray. That was in the Russell building and the line was almost wrapped around the building. Thankfully, once you are inside the building, you can move to other buildings through a tunnel system.   

 

10:30am (EST)  

Our first meeting was with Senator Patty Murry (Absent), but met with Shauna Rust (Sr. Policy Advisor) and Rani Elwy (Policy Fellow) in the Russell Building; WA-S (D)  

Being our first meeting, there were definitely some nerves involved, but they were both gracious.  We shared 2 CHW stories. Rani Elwy (fellow) has worked with a team of CHWs in her past work, so she was able to share a little about her experience. We then had 20 minutes to ask questions, provide asks, and discuss with team. This went by fast!  

 

12:30pm (EST)  

We then had a meeting with Senator Maria Cantwell (Absent), but met with Staffer, Kevin Chang, HLA; WA-S (D). (Senator Cantwell was also not present due to work to divert government shut-down).  

We were especially excited that Cantwell reintroduced a bipartisan bill to create access to health engagement hubs to reduce fatal overdoses. These hubs would employ CHWs as a proven strategy! We then had 15 minutes with Kevin Chang to ask questions, share stories, and really made the direct, local connection with the health engagement hub.   

  

1:30pm (EST)   

We then had a meeting with House Representative Michael Baumgartner (Absent), but met with Jane Scarborough, LA) (WA-05) (R). Baumgartner was not present, because he had to vote on the floor on Medicaid cuts. We had 15 minutes to talk to his staffer.    

While we were waiting to see staffer, there was an article on the coffee table on Creole Resources and the reaction to Haitian community member deportation. Both Katia & Luc Jasmin have gone through our HRSA CHW training program. They are the founders and CHWs that created Creole Resources organization. They provide support to help anyone, but specifically, those fleeing the violence and trauma in Haiti. It was a special connection to see! 

When we met with Jane, I shared some of my story with Creole Resources. This helped to make a local connection to the content.   

  

2:30pm (EST)  

Next was our final meeting with House Representative Pramila Jayapal (Absent), but met with Alisya Solankhi, Fellow; WA-07 (D). We were joined by Ali Bloomgarden (PIH) for this meeting.   

Ali took the lead on national CHW workforce policy asks and then Mario & myself provided local connection. Alisya shared many representatives on both the Republican & Democrat side that would be great connections to ask for National CHW asks (i.e. Access Act & Awareness Resolution).   

  

4:00pm (EST) 

After a long day of meetings and advocacy, we were ready to sit down and decompress!  We had a chance to debrief of our meetings. We also started talking about reinvigorating the State CHW Association. Overall the mood was hopeful, and we were proud of the work we did to raise awareness for CHWs in Washington state. We look forward to future opportunities to meet with staffers and lawmakers to continue the conversation and build relationships.   

The BHT team would like to thank Kim Wilson for her continued advocacy for CHWs and for sharing her experience! See below for additional resources about CHWs in Washington and BHT’s training program: