She says, “Health coaches are embedded in care teams as behavior-change specialists who empower patients to identify health goals for the self-management of their chronic conditions. Health coaching is beyond disease management and health education. It helps patients to recognize where they are in the change process and determine the resources and support needed to achieve optimal wellbeing.”
“Both the Advanced and associate’s degree graduates will be eligible to sit for the national exam leading to Health Coach Board Certification through the National Board of Medical Examiners,” adds Honoré.
The coursework will be built on the three pillars of population health – public health, health care and public policy. The Beginner Curriculum includes courses in Principles of Health Coaching and Health Navigation, Chronic Disease Management, Motivational Interviewing, Electronic Health Records and Information Systems, Foundations in Population Health, and Public Health. Course topics for the proposed Health Navigator curriculum include Principles of Health Navigation, I, II, and III; Team-Based Care; Chronic Disease Management II; Population Health Management; Nutrition; Foundations in Quality; Anatomy and Physiology; Pharmacology; Health Care Delivery and Insurance Systems; and Ethics and Cultural Competencies.The Program will provide a pathway to increase the health care workforce as well as professional development opportunities in the greater New Orleans area that will also improve health outcomes for New Orleanians.
Information Sessions will be held at Delgado on May 9 at 10:00 a.m. and May 23 at 5 p.m. Dana Smith, MPH, an alumna of LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health and one of Dr. Honoré’s former students, is the Health Coach Certificate Program Coordinator at Delgado. She is the point person for inquiries about the program, which should be sent to dsmith4@dcc.edu.