“Promotoras” is the Spanish term for community health workers. Promotoras are lay health workers who are dedicated to improving access to health care and providing critical health information to Latinx community members. Trained in public health issues and practices, promotoras share information and resources bilingually through outreach and education. A current focus of the Promotoras Program at OLHC is delivering information and resources about COVID-19 prevention, testing, and vaccination.

Claudia Ramirez is a member of our Promotoras team. Early on in the pandemic, Claudia demonstrated leadership and initiative in organizing volunteer groups to procure, assemble, and distribute self-care bags with PPE, hand sanitizer, and info about COVID-19 in Spanish. Claudia went door to door to distribute the bags to Latinx households and essential workers at restaurants and grocery stores. The information and resources she provided was life-saving and families and workers were receptive to her visits because she was a trusted member of the community. Her efforts and the efforts of the volunteers she worked with demonstrate that the community health worker model is impactful, especially in times of public health crises.

Claudia’s leadership has been recognized by the Mayors of Fairview and Wood Village, and also by Multnomah County Chair, Deborah Kafourey. Last summer, when we learned about Claudia’s efforts to bring essential resources to underserved Latinx households and essential workers, we asked her to join the Promotoras team and she has been working with us ever since.