Community Health Worker

About the role

The Community Health Worker (CHW) provides community support services by partnering with other community agencies to help at risk / high risk individuals and their families navigate complex social service and health care systems to services to promote healthy behaviors and manage conditions that affect their health and social well-being. This culturally and geographically connected individual serves as a link between underserved communities and existing community resources. Through client visits and community engagement, the CHW assists clients in overcoming barriers to health, social services, education, and employment and other Social Drivers of Health. Under the direction of the CHW Supervisor, the CHW is responsible for providing and coordinating health education and disease management education, assisting individuals with navigating the health and social care systems, and providing case management services (under supervision). The CHW will work within an interdisciplinary team and will serve as a bridge between the patient and the medical system by building trusting relationships with community members served by the health care entities or program(s). Home visits will be required for some interventions; however, the CHW team may also provide education and services in other settings such as group sessions, health fairs, clinics, and other community locations as well.

Qualifications

• Basic Life Support (BLS) within 30 days — American Heart Association (AHA)
• Proof of Auto Insurance
• Driver's License — Illinois Secretary of State (ILSOS)
• Community outreach experience

Responsibilities

• Perform assessment on assigned clients at assigned intervals along with Social Determinants of Health screenings
• Monitor nutrition of adults living with chronic health conditions and other high-risk groups
• Advocate for clients when they are unable to speak for themselves
• Continue to update plans and promote adherence to facilitate positive outcomes
• Refer community members to needed health services
• Document all client interactions and assessments
• Establish trusting relationships with patients
• Assist clients with problem-solving barriers to health by identifying, locating, connecting to, and navigating needed community and medical system services; may include accompanying clients to appointments and assisting with completion of forms to access needed services
• Link clients to and inform them of available community resources
• Educate clients on how to obtain care and self-manage their conditions
• Build individual/client, community, and team capacity
• Attend interdisciplinary care team discussions
• Maintain a client caseload
• Perform social determinants of health screening to identify needs and develop plan to address health equity needs
• Remain apprised of current CHW policies, procedures, and standards
• Remain apprised of current CHW best-practices
• Include complementary education and outreach, when appropriate (e.g., flu prevention and immunizations)
• Increase program visibility by performing outreach in the community (i.e., faith communities, health fairs, senior centers), participating in community education initiatives, and providing collaboration and referrals with community providers
• Work with the CHW Supervisor to identify, develop, and implement innovative community outreach and engagement of high-risk populations
• Work with the community through peer led focus groups to gather data on the factors most affecting healthy lifestyles, especially around nutrition and physical activity in the proposed project areas

Pay

The compensation range for this position is $19.74 per hour – $31.98 per hour. This represents a good faith minimum and maximum range for the role at the time of posting by Carle Health. The actual compensation offered a candidate will be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, qualifications, location, training, licenses, shifts worked and compensation model.

Benefits

Carle Health offers a comprehensive benefits package for team members and providers. Learn more at careers.carlehealth.org/benefits.