§ 1616 — Community Health Representative Program

(a) Under the authority of section 13 of this title, the Secretary shall maintain a Community Health Representative Program under which the Service— (1) provides for the training of Indians as health paraprofessionals, and (2) uses such paraprofessionals in the provision of health care, health promotion, and disease prevention services to Indian communities. (b) The Secretary, acting through the Community Health Representative Program of the Service, shall— (1) provide a high standard of training for paraprofessionals to Community Health Representatives to ensure that the Community Health Representatives provide quality health care, health promotion, and disease prevention services to the Indian communities served by such Program, (2) in order to provide such training, develop and maintain a curriculum that— (A) combines education in the theory of health care with supervised practical experience in the provision of health care, and (B) provides instruction and practical experience in health promotion and disease prevention activities, with appropriate consideration given to lifestyle factors that have an impact on Indian health status, such as alcoholism, family dysfunction, and poverty, (3) maintain a system which identifies the needs of Community Health Representatives for continuing education in health care, health promotion, and disease prevention and maintain programs that meet the needs for such continuing education, (4) maintain a system that provides close supervision of Community Health Representatives, (5) maintain a system under which the work of Community Health Representatives is reviewed and evaluated, and (6) promote traditional health care practices of the Indian tribes served consistent with the Service standards for the provision of health care, health promotion, and disease prevention.