The Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation & Policy | | IHE Celebrates Education as a Driver of Health | | |
Work and education are important social drivers of health.
This September, we interviewed Yedalis Ruíz, M.Ed., PhD about the latest workforce and training developments at Caring Health Center's Tania M. Barber Learning Institute, where Dr. Ruíz serves as the Executive Director.
An educational researcher and scholar/practitioner with over two decades of experience working in community educational programing of STEM education, assessment and evaluation, Dr. Ruíz leads the development and implementation of a workforce development model designed to enhance the success, retention, and personal development of Caring Health Center’s employee community.
In the interview, we hear from Dr. Ruíz about what brought her to this work and how the work of the Institute supports a diverse and inclusive workforce in healthcare.
| | Equal Access to Education | Living History | The Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education declared the end of legalized racial segregation in schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" doctrine set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. | |
The landmark decision gave the Legal Defense Fund a celebrated victory in a long, storied history of fighting for civil rights and marked a defining moment in US history. IHE raises up this important moment in history as we look forward to the future of education in the health care workforce.
Learn more.
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Tania M. Barber Learning Institute at Caring Health Center in Springfield, MA
An Interview with Yedalis Ruíz, M.Ed., PhD
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Could you tell us about the Learning Institute, including its mission and founding, and also about your role with the Institute?
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have historically prioritized hiring from the community and offering entry points into community health center work to ensure representation and delivery of culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Creating a formal access opportunity and pathway that is centered on adult learning methods, work and education as social determinants of health, and on the infrastructure, policy and funding needed to sustain successful training completion and integration into the workforce requires a focused strategy and leadership model. Caring Health Center (CHC) has developed the Tania M. Barber Learning Institute (TMB LI) to address these needs and commitments.
The TMB LI mission is to serve as a leader in access and workforce development in FQHCs through a "lifting others up" framework for training, education, career advancement, and research founded on a commitment to caring.
Founded by Tania M. Barber, MBA, ABD, the President and CEO of CHC, the TMB LI reflects her long-standing vision to address systemic workforce barriers affecting underrepresented communities in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ms. Barber began as a switchboard operator at CHC and often refers to the opportunities for education and advancement that were offered to her by her predecessors. Carrying that spirit forward, she aimed to transform her experience into a model that would offer similar pathways to members of the community who often face the cyclic barrier linked to accessing and affording training, education and work opportunity. Through her vision, Tania recruited me to bring the vision into action.
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I am Dr. Yedalis Ruíz, Ph.D., M.Ed., a scholar/practitioner of access and equity in higher education and workforce development. I have over two decades of training and experience in creating educational and access programming and evaluation strategies in community and academic settings and with developing frameworks of practice created by and with the community. After conducting a Board required feasibility study to demonstrate the need, capacity, and sustainability of the Learning Institute, I was hired at CHC to serve as the Chief Workforce Development Officer and the Executive Director of the Learning Institute. In this capacity, I oversee the Office for Workforce Development and Training and work in partnership with Human Resources and all CHC departments.
As the executive director of TMB LI, I developed the Learning Institute's framework and model. We strategically integrate workforce development to improve outreach, recruitment, engagement and retention. Through the Learning Institute, we build career entry and bridge access to professional development for internal employees and external candidates with a particular focus on entry among those with little or no training and/or prior professional experience in healthcare.
What brings you to this work?
I am a first-generation college graduate and went on to obtain a master’s and a Ph.D. My educational and professional pathway stems from my lived experience and lifelong commitment to advocating for access and equity among communities primarily through education, workforce and healthcare in both community and higher education settings.
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My early career began in community-based harm reduction educational pathways and youth action research programs in Hartford, CT and eventually led to my obtaining access to higher education and being faculty at UMass Amherst College of Education. Now, in my role at Caring Health Center and having led the development and implementation of TMB LI, my commitment to creating access points into learning, development, and workforce center on frameworks of community sustaining pedagogies and humanizing approaches to care.
After conducting the six-month mixed-method feasibility study which included focus groups with CHC staff, pilot learners, and external stakeholders and which built on the founding concepts developed between Tania and Dr. Lucila Bruno, dentist and former Chief Dental Officer at CHC, the CHC Board of Directors approved the proposal and we initiated the official build of the Learning Institute model, funding, and implementation strategy.
What are some updates since the Institute was founded? What are the current projects and initiatives?
| | The Learning Institute model of training and learning on the job (TLOJ) for workforce development is now a locally, state, and nationally disseminated model (Mwangi & Ruiz, 2025). Tania and I participate and serve in leadership roles on various advisory boards, design teams and stakeholder leadership opportunities. Our participation in these roles has enabled the TMBLI to come together with other health center-led learning and workforce programs and teams to champion both shared and unique approaches. One example is a recent opportunity convened by the Mass League to develop and implement a Humanizing Oral Healthcare training. | | |
CHC hires “employee / learners” – entry level individuals who are engaged in “earn-while-you-learn” programs that span 6-9 months of training with didactic, clinical and professional development elements. The programs include dental assistant, medical assistant, and phlebotomist, and community health worker professional development programs. Licensure, certification and all training and time/effort costs are included in the programming and additional supports have been developed to address the academic development and social care needs (e.g., emergency housing, food, transportation, childcare, and utility) of the employee / learner cohorts.
A series of TLOJ cohorts have successfully graduated from the programs and secured employment at Caring Health Center in their respective roles. Next steps include co-creating and implementing additional TLOJ programs for entry and mid-career learners as well as health center leadership and placement of TLOJ learners in other FQHC and/or related community-based healthcare settings. As a scholar/practitioner model, program development and implementation is regularly disseminated at the Mass League Community Health Institute and other state and national platforms. Additional scale and spread efforts are underway.
| How does the work of the Institute support a diverse and inclusive workforce in healthcare? Why is this important? | |
The TMB LI model interrupts the cycle of inequity that directly impacts our community’s access to career opportunities and development. Our work is grounded in the belief that our communities possess forms of capital, which are strengths they bring with them when they join our workforce. Some of these strengths help them cope with systemic oppression by being resilient, and by persevering against barriers and adversity. Our workforce model acknowledges these strengths and realities by honoring the wisdom that they bring with them to CHC and supporting them through bridging systemic gaps.
The Tania M. Barber Learning Institute can be very instrumental to the promotion of agency and healing from the effects that our community experiences from navigating against barriers for our community.
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References/Resources: George Mwangi C., Ruiz Santana Y. (2025) (Re)Framing College Access by and with Communities of Color: Our Knowledge, Our Process, Our Choice. NY: SUNY Academic Press.
Yedalis Ruíz, PhD, M.Ed., is the Chief Workforce Development Officer at Caring Health Center and the Executive Director of the Tania M. Barber Learning Institute. Learn more about Dr. Ruiz.
| | NeighborHealth Launches Boston’s First 24/7 Public Health Vending Machine | | |
On September 18, NeighborHealth marked the launch of Boston’s first 24-hour Public Health Vending Machine. This new technology marks a major milestone in the organization’s recovery support services, offering free, anonymous access to life-saving resources in a judgment-free setting.
Read more here.
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| September is Recovery Month | | |
September is National Recovery Month (Recovery Month).
This observance started in 1989 to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery from possible.
Several Recovery Month events organized by Massachusetts health centers this September include:
| Whittier Street Health Center hosted "It Takes a Village," a luncheon and presentation to support recovery, promote mental health wellness, and raise awareness. | |
Uphams Corner Health Center in Dorchester hosted a week of Recovery Month events in mid-September for patients and community members to celebrate mental wellness, recovery, and health.
Bowdoin Street Health Center is hosting a Recovery Dinner on Thursday, September 25. The community is invited to connect over a nice dinner during National Recovery Month to celebrate, share and uplift stories of recovery.
Learn more about Recovery Month.
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Latino/a/é Heritage Month: 9/15-10/15 | |
September 15 through October 15 is Latino/a/é Heritage Month — a time to honor and celebrate the diverse histories, cultures, languages, traditions, values, and contributions of people whose roots trace to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. What began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968, amid the Civil Rights Movement, officially expanded to a full month in 1988.
Fenway Health in Boston is observing this heritage month with the theme of “Heritage Voices: Past, Present, Future” and invites you to consider a variety of ways to celebrate and engage
Learn more about how Fenway Health is observing Latino/a/é Heritage Month.
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Office of Culture and Community Engagement at Harvard Medical School | |
The Office of Culture and Community Engagement (OCCE) has several upcoming events with very interesting speakers and topics. The next two events are: What on Earth is “Pluralism” for American Life Today? on 10/8 at 1pm-2:30pm in the Countway Library and Opening Doors: A Conversation with Dr. Edward Kravitz on 10/9 at 2pm in Gordon Hall and streamed on Zoom.
View the full list of OCCE.
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| The Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation, and Policy | |
In 2023, The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (Mass League) created the Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation, and Policy, Inc. (IHE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to support Health Center-led Science driven by community health centers.
IHE convenes communities and supports the scientific infrastructure, implementation, program evaluation and training needed to identify and sustain the most effective strategies for attaining equity in health and healthcare, as defined by those with lived experience of health inequities.
Learn more about IHE on our webpage of the Mass League website and on our LinkedIn page.
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