NRHA & Connected Care for Older Adults CHWs 2nd Webinar

Rural Health Programs Collaborating with Community Health Workers to Deliver Rural Age-Friendly Care

Join the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) and the Connected Care for Older Adults (CCOA) program team on Thursday, April 9, from 3:00 - 4:00 PM EDT (2:00 - 3:00 PM CDT) for an engaging webinar with four additional organizations that collaborate with Community Health Workers (CHWs) to provide age-friendly care to rural older adults

The Connected Care for Older Adults program is an innovative model that works with CHWs in partnership with primary care providers to improve care for frail older adults in rural areas. Through Connected Care, CHWs trained in Age-Friendly Health Systems principles conduct a series of home visits with patients and families and implement Connected Care protocols based on the 4Ms Framework: What Matters to older adults, their Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. 

During this panel discussion, representatives from each organization will describe how their various programs are training CHWs and linking them to rural primary care practices to enhance the care provided to older adults.

Panelists will discuss: 

• How to engage with leaders/stakeholders to gain support to utilize CHWs for age- friendly care
• How CHWs can be integrated into primary care practices to improve patient care and clinic efficiency, and improve health outcomes and reduce costs
• How to train CHWs to provide age-friendly care to rural older adults
• How their CHW program is funded (including examples of the CMS Rural Health Transformation Program)
• Challenges and lessons learned in building an Age-Friendly CHW Program
• There will be time for audience questions!

This collaborative webinar is presented in partnership with the Oregon Health & Science University, through the Oregon Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, the University of Texas at Arlington, Trager Institute at University of Louisville, Northwest Technical College, and the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative, a collaborative effort led by the National Rural Health Association with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation, dedicated to advancing age-friendly care across rural communities.

 Webinar Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026

Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM EDT (2:00 - 3:00 PM CDT)

Registration is required: Register here 

Presenters:

Moderator: Elizabeth Eckstrom, MD, MPH, MACP 
 Professor & Chief of Geriatrics, Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR

Lindsay Miller, MBA 

Director, Connected Care for Older Adults - a program of the Columbia Gorge Health Council, Hood River, OR

Denise Hernandez, PhD, MPH, CHWI

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Sam Cotton, PhD

Trager Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

Wendy Potratz, PhD, MCHES, 

Northwest Technical College, Bemidji, MN

Dani Luniewski, CHW, CGCP

CHW Solutions