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Community Health Works!

Mission: To advance health equity through community defined solutions that are effective and affordable.

WellShare envisions a world where your zip code, your skin color, and your birthplace do not determine your access to quality healthcare, and where all people can achieve optimal health and wellness.

WellShare is the pioneer of the community health worker model in Minnesota. The community health worker model fosters local, sustainable solutions that address the root causes of health disparities and advance wellness for individuals, families, and communities. We lead programs that promote healthy living, reduce health disparities, and increase cost-efficacy, all things that support a brighter future for our communities.

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WellShare works with underserved communities in Minnesota and Africa to disrupt the cycle of generational poverty, disease, and trauma. We currently serve 16 Minnesota counties and dozens of villages in the Bariadi district of Tanzania. WellShare has offices in Minneapolis and Mankato, Minnesota.

What is a community health worker? 

A community health worker (CHW) is a trusted community member that bridges both language and cultural barriers that prevent many from accessing quality healthcare. Many of our CHWs are first or second-generation immigrants from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Their lived experience fosters credibility and trust, making them uniquely qualified to provide support.

CHWs ensure our programs are informed by our collective experience and cultural understanding of systemic and situational barriers to health equity. They are skilled educators in a wide range of health topics and help equip our clients with tools and resources to increase access to quality healthcare and positive health outcomes.

Why community health workers? 

Science tells us what we have known for a long time — community health works!

With the right resources and support, community health workers effectively address social determinants of health, improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Evidence of results include:

Community health workers are included in the President’s American Rescue Plan (section 2501) and are acknowledged as a health and racial equity workforce.

History

In 1979, WellShare began work in post-war Vietnam refugee camps, where Minnesotan clinicians cared for over 80,000 people. As our mission and impact across continents expanded, we ‘transferred’ our expertise in implementing the community health worker model in international settings – to serve underrepresented communities in Minnesota.

For 45 years, we have served hundreds of thousands of people. Our vision for each person has remained the same: enabling them to ensure their optimal health and well-being.

To achieve this, we design, implement, and evaluate community-based public health programs that focus on increasing access to healthcare, eliminating barriers to care and providing culturally tailored health education.

Today, WellShare has programs in Tanzania and the United States. We have become a ‘go to’ partner and service provider for many. We are committed to expanding our capacity to deliver life sustaining interventions to excluded and underserved communities.