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The
Community Health Worker Apprenticeship program recently celebrated the
graduation of its third cohort of apprentices on Feb. 4, 2026.
The program is a collaborative effort of Blue Ridge Community College and Blue Ridge Health working together to support students. It is also a registered North Carolina Apprenticeship with the N.C. Department of Labor.
A Community Health
Worker is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of
and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served.
This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a
liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the
community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and
cultural competence of service delivery. A community health worker also
builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge
and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach,
community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy.
Shanda Bedoian,
director of corporate and customized training at Blue Ridge Community
College, shared the importance of the program.
“Community Health
Workers benefit the community by improving access to care, increasing
health education, and reducing health disparities through trusted,
culturally responsive support from local community members,” she said.
“We have already seen improved access to healthcare and social services,
increased health knowledge, stronger trust between residents and
providers, earlier use of preventive care, and reduced health
disparities in our communities following the graduation of the first two
cohorts of the program.”
The February graduates of the program included:
Adrianna Argueta
Karen Darity
Shirley Hines
Shauntey Jives
Jyaire McEachin
Alexandria Parnell
Chelsea Peeler
Cheryl Plott
Charlotte Shelton
Kelly White
Devin Wiley
Learn more about Apprenticeship Blue Ridge at www.blueridge.edu/apprentice. Source: Blue Ridge Community College | 
