Montana Community Health Worker Summit Draws Statewide Attendees to Helena

The 4th Annual Community Health Worker Summit brought health workers, trainers, and health professionals from across Montana to Helena on March 10 and 11, centering two days of sessions on the workforce pressures, policy gaps, and rural care challenges that define the CHW landscape in the state.

Organized with participation from the Montana Primary Care Association and the Montana Office of Rural Health & AHEC, the summit covered ground that ranged from Medicaid coverage updates to substance use recovery to the politics of navigating the state legislature. The Montana Office of Rural Health & AHEC, which is housed within Montana State University in Bozeman, posted the event information and a drafted agenda through its Healthinfo Montana platform.

The agenda opened each morning with a networking breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by tightly scheduled breakout sessions running through the afternoon. In the first breakout block, Dillon Sarb and Han Pate of Catalyst Montana led a session titled "Navigating the Legislature," while Dan Tronrud from Sweet Grass County presented on justice involvement in communities under a session connected to the Montana Angel Initiative, which focuses on helping individuals break the cycle of substance use disorder.

The second breakout block put CHW policy directly in the spotlight. Stacey Anderson of the Montana Primary Care Association and Mackenzie Petersen of the University of Montana Center for Children, Families, & Workforce Development co-presented "CHW Policy in Montana: An Unfinished Story." Jamie Vanderlinden, also of the Montana Primary Care Association, offered a session titled "Don't Boss Me!" addressing autonomy and scope within the CHW role. The Montana Primary Care Association's own Community Health Worker Series frames the challenge plainly: "Community Health Worker, Care Coordinator, Care Manager, Case Manager, Care Navigator — the list goes on, and so do the expectations and duties."

Later sessions brought in Amanda Harrow from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to discuss the Rural Healthcare Transformation Program, and Catherine Orr of the Ravalli County Council on Aging presented on supporting older adults in the community. The afternoon breakout featured Beth Ayers of Family Peers for Hope on peer support and family services, while Montana Primary Care Association staff members Olivia Ruitta and Tierney Queen-Stewart walked attendees through what CHWs specifically need to know about the Cover Montana Medicaid update.

The midday lunch block also served as a membership meeting for MTCHWA, the Montana Community Health Worker Association, folding organizational business into the summit schedule.

Lodging support was available for out-of-town attendees at the Delta Colonial Helena. Registration for the event had closed February 26.