Community Healthcare Worker-Bowdoin Street

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you’re making a difference in people’s lives.

Licensed and operated by BIDMC, Bowdoin Street Health Center has been an integral part of the Dorchester community since 1973. Multi-lingual, multi-ethnic services include: pediatric and adult preventive and primary care, family practice, geriatrics, OB/GYN, physical therapy, optometry, behavioral health, nutrition services and a variety of community health programs.

The Community Health Worker (CHW) is an integral member of our medical home teams. This particular CHW position will work closely with our Behavioral Health Team to provide high quality support to patients with behavioral health diagnoses. The CHW engages in team-based care coordination with clinical social workers, psychiatrists, and primary care providers, and outside providers. Supporting patients includes patient advocacy, health system navigation, and outreach with a focus on illness management and wellness promotion. Our wonderful CHW Team provides a number of services to our patients including connection to resources, some accompaniment to specialty medical appointments and to services in the community, assistance with housing application process, insurance enrollment, transportation, emotional support, financial needs assistance, appointment reminders, and enhancing communication with the care team.

This Community Health Worker will primarily support Bowdoin Street Health Center's food access programming and support patients experiencing food insecurity.

The CHW works in close collaboration with Nurse Care Managers, Social Workers, Primary Care Providers, and other health center staff to assist patients with resources, navigating healthcare and social service systems, advocacy, and issues related to the social determinants of health.

Skills and experience needed include: familiarity with healthcare system, strong ability to connect and partner with culturally diverse individuals and families, work effectively with staff across the health center and in the community, a strong commitment to interdisciplinary care, experience with care coordination, and a commitment to quality improvement.

Cape Verdean Creole or Spanish language capacity strongly preferred.

Job Description:

Job Summary: Under the direction of a manager or supervising social worker, the Community Healthcare Worker conducts resource assessments and collaborates with social work and/or medical staff to obtain community resources for community health center patients and families. Within developed area of expertise, provides orientation and ongoing training related to community resources to staff, medical providers, patients and families.

Essential Responsibilities:

Determines, independently or in collaboration with other staff, the resources that will optimally meet patients' and families' needs. Develops a multifaceted service plan to meet complex patients' needs. Acts as case manager to coordinate care with medical providers. Makes independent decisions about services to recommend to a patient/family and how to teach them to become self-reliant.

Maintains a caseload with many patient contacts per day including phone calls, paperwork and face to face contacts. Provides timely and appropriate documentation in the online medical record. As part of the patient centered medical home, takes part in team meetings to coordinate care with medical and mental health providers.

Advocates on the patient's behalf in written and verbal communications. Assists patients with such tasks as accessing entitlement programs and provides such information as requested by outside facilities who are helping the patient.

Documents and advises supervisor and clinical staff of obstacles to obtaining services and potential ways to manage them. Develops liaisons with community and state agencies to facilitate negotiation of complex systems. Visits relevant agencies to broaden knowledge and relationships.

Makes home visits as needed and appropriate. Masters specific areas of expertise such as domestic violence, childhood trauma, fitness or HIV and family planning.

Required Qualifications:

High School diploma or GED required. Associate's degree preferred in Human Services field.

1-3 years related work experience required.

Minimum 2 years of related work experience without a related Associate's degree

Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Experience with computer systems required, including web based applications and some Microsoft Office applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Preferred Qualifications:

Bilingual in English and Spanish and/or Cape Verdean Creole.

Competencies:

Written Communications: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.

Oral Communications: Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families and external customers.

Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.

Team Work: Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.

Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Age based Competencies:
Employees in this job must be competent to provide patient care to the following age groups: Youth: 6 months to 16 years, Young adult: 16-30 years, Middle Age: 30 - 60 years, Elderly: 60 -.
Physical Nature of the Job:
Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force frequently to move objects. Some elements of the job are sedentary, but the employee will be required to stand for periods of time or move through out the hospital campus

 

 

Pay Range:

$28.50 - $38.36

The pay range listed for this position is the base hourly wage range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law.  Compensation may exceed the base hourly rate depending on shift differentials, call pay, premium pay, overtime pay, and other additional pay practices, as applicable to the position and in accordance with the law.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) as a condition of employment.

More than 35,000 people working together. Nurses, doctors, technicians, therapists, researchers, teachers and more, making a difference in patients' lives. Your skill and compassion can make us even stronger.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled