1. National Health Corps: A Case Study for Training as a Driver for Member Engagement
Sara Wein, MSS, MLSP, LSW
Caitlin Hoge, MPS
Jennifer Larramore, MPH

2. Session Objectives Use National Health Corps as a case study to:
Gain an understanding of how program-specific, as well as broader-based (CNCS) core competencies create the foundation for member-led training
Gain an understanding of how member-led training promotes member engagement in the national service experience
Identify which of the three key components are applicable to guide member training within your own national service program
Presentation of National Health Corps (NHC) Training Model (45 mins): Utilizing a PowerPoint, the facilitators will provide an overview of the NHC training model, focusing on the 3 key components. The facilitators will define the 6 core competencies and provide examples of member-led trainings from each of NHC’s 4 operating sites. Through this presentation, participants will gain an understanding of how program-specific, as well as broader-based (CNCS) core competencies create the foundation for member-led training.
Independent Assessment (15 mins): Participants will complete a self-assessment tool on their own program’s training model, and identify: a.) applicability; b.) opportunities and/or challenges to utilization; c.) potential for increasing member engagement.
Group Brainstorm (30 mins): Participants will break into groups to share take-aways from the independent assessment. Groups will identify 3 core competencies that apply to all national service members.

3. Who is National Health Corps (NHC)?
An AmeriCorps national direct service program established in 1994
Mission: to foster healthy communities by delivering and connecting those who need it most with health and wellness education, benefits and services, while developing tomorrow’s compassionate health leaders
Long-Term Goal: Improve health outcomes in underserved communities throughout Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago and North Florida

4. NHC Structure PARENT ORGANIZATION OPERATING SITES NHC PROGRAMS
HOST SITES
NHC PROGRAMS
OPERATING SITES
PARENT ORGANIZATION
Health Federation of Philadelphia
88 members
Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition
NHC Florida
23 member slots
Host Sites
Allegheny County Health Department
NHC Pittsburgh
18 member slots
NHC Philadelphia
27 members slots
Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago
NHC Chicago
20 member slots

5. How do we do it?
Each year, National Health Corps (NHC) recruits, trains and places emerging health leaders In organizations that aim to improve the health outcomes of underserved communities throughout Chicago, North Florida, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
In 2015, 88 National Health Corps members served in more than 60 organizations, reaching nearly 80,000 kids and adults.

6. National Health Corps Objectives
Empower youth and adults to make smart choices about their health and lead healthier lives
Objective #2:
Foster emerging leaders’ knowledge and skills related to professional development, commitment to health-related careers, ethic of service, and reducing health disparities
Objective #3:
Support organizations that aim to improve health outcomes in underserved communities
Mention on this slide that this presentation will be focusing on the member development focus area as we break down the NHC training model

7. NHC Member Development Activities
Trainings
Hands-on Experience
Opportunities for Reflection
To achieve the second NHC program objective aimed at member development, National Health Corps staff and partners provide members with three major activities:
Trainings: NHC training is a shared responsibility between members, program staff and host sites where members serve. All play a role in assessing members’ training needs, designing and delivering trainings to members and continuously evaluating and improving NHC training goals and objectives.
Hands on Experience: NHC members gain hands-on-experience in their service positions at their host sites, through professional development committees that they participate in and lead, and through outside service/volunteer opportunities they engage in throughout their 46-week term of service.
Reflection: NHC members participate in a number of activities that provide them with opportunities to reflect on their personal and professional growth, and overall service experience. Activities include, blogging, interactive reflection activities such as personal asset mapping, roundtables and group sharing, visual representation activities, one-on-one discussions and case studies.
the purposes of this presentation we will be focusing on Training

8. NHC Training Model Key Components: Core Competencies
Member-led Committees
Evaluation
Core Competencies – the knowledge and skills that NHC expects all members to acquire through participation in national service
Member-led Committees – charged with planning trainings which incorporate NHC’s core competencies; they are critical drivers of member engagement, creating an esprit de corps, and fostering leadership and skills
Evaluation: It is important to continuously monitor how well trainings meet each core competency and members’ expectations. Therefore, staff conducts surveys following each following each monthly member training.

9. NHC Core Competencies Public Health Public Health Practice Skills
Cultural Competency
Communication
Professional Development
Civic Engagement
NHC members receive a series of trainings delivered by NHC program staff and partners, as well as host sites where they serve throughout their 46-week term of service that focus on a number of core competencies.
During the 46-week term of service, all NHC sites require members to attend one full day of monthly "in-service trainings"based on the NHC training core competencies, which were adopted from training core competencies
recommended by the Council on Linkages between Academia and Public Health Practice. Thus, no
matter where NHC members are serving in the country, all members will leave their term of service
with a standardized set of core public health knowledge and skills that they can utilize in their future
careers and service opportunities. During members' 46-week of service, NHC assesses training needs
through formal surveys and engages members in the development of training activities to meet their
specific interests and needs. NHC host site supervisors develop a host site-specific training plan for
members that is reviewed by NHC operating site staff during quarterly program visits.
Other than the actually competencies here are some ideas for what we can talk about:
How we created them
How they are presented to members
How members utilize them

10. How are NHC Members trained?
Pre-Service Orientation
Monthly training days
Outside training events organized by members (e.g. conferences, speaking events)
EXAMPLES OF TRAINING

11. What does an NHC Member Training Day look like?
All NHC members participate in at least one full day of member training a month. Some components of these training days are:
Trainings led by the member-led committees that meet the NHC Core Competencies (e.g. lectures, roundtables)
Updates and announcement from program staff
Training led by staff, if needed, for upcoming program requirements
Corps support activity (e.g. reflection, team building, esprit de corps)
Committee updates

12. Member-led Committees
Each of the four operating sites has some variation of these four member-led committees:
Training
Communications
Corps Support
Service
Things to discuss
Purpose of each committee
Member requirements related to committees
How these committees increase member engagement, create and esprit de corps, and foster leadership and skills – this is the key point we need to make

13. Evaluation
Surveys following each member training evaluate progress towards core competencies
Survey development and evaluation training
Needs assessment
Send out a survey to corps

14. Questions?

15. Individual Assessment
15 minutes
Do we want to create a worksheet hand out for this or just have the questions up on the screen? I am leaning towards a handout but what are your thoughts?
As a reminder here are the goals of the assessment: Independent Assessment (15 mins): Participants will complete a self-assessment tool on their own program’s training model, and identify: a.) applicability; b.) opportunities and/or challenges to utilization; c.) potential for increasing member engagement.
I am thinking we can ask some variation of these questions for each of the 3 key components (core competencies, member-led committees, evaluation)
Do you utilize (insert key component) in your program’s member training model?
A. If so, how?
If you do not, answer these:
What opportunities are there for you to utilize (insert key component) in your program’s member training model?
What barriers or challenges do you face in utilizing (insert key component in your program’s member training model?
How would adding (insert key component) to your program’s member training model increase member engagement?
If you do, answer these:
What success have you had with (insert key component)?
What challenges have you faced with (insert key component)?
How has (insert key component) increase member engagement in your program?
Question about Key Core Competency

16. Group Brainstorm 30 minutes
These are the goals of this that we wrote in the proposal
Share results of individual assessment
Develop 3 core competencies that can be applied to any national service program.
I am thinking that they can talk in small groups and we can have some prompts for them? Do we do a present back to the large group?

17. Thank you!
Caitlin Hoge, Program Director, NHC Chicago – Jennifer Larramore, Program Director, NHC Florida – Sara Wein, Program Director, NHC Philadelphia -
Prep work –
Flesh out notes on all slides
Do Individual Assessment