Community Health Worker - Salinas

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Salary Range: $26.00 - $30.00 per hour

Reports To: Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Location: Salinas, CA

Travel: Up to 80%

Work Type: Regular

Schedule: Full Time

About the Role

The Community Health Worker (CHW) supports patients and their families by helping them navigate and access community services, resources, and adopt healthy behaviors. The CHW works through an integrated approach to care management and community outreach, promoting, maintaining, and improving the health of patients and their families. Responsibilities include providing social support, informal counseling, and advocating for individuals and community health needs.

Responsibilities

• Educate members about ECM services, assist with enrollment, and serve as the primary liaison between the member and needed services.
• Support individuals and families as they navigate the health care system and transition to improved self-care and health care management.
• Establish trusting relationships with patients and their families while providing general support and encouragement.
• Provide ongoing follow-up, basic motivational interviewing, and goal setting with patients and families.
• Bridge conversations with members and remove barriers preventing access to health and social services.
• Conduct face-to-face outreach to a panel of members for appointment scheduling, needs assessment, and care gap closure.
• Meet members in clinics, facilities, or at home to identify social determinants of health impacting their well-being.
• Collaborate with the full care team to create individualized, linguistically and culturally appropriate care plans.
• Assist members in accessing health-related services and community resources, including accompaniment to specialist appointments and assistance with enrollment forms.
• Facilitate communication between members, families, colleagues, and community-based organizations.
• Document interactions with members in the medical record within 24 hours of contact.
• Follow up with patients via phone calls, home visits, and visits to other settings.
• Help patients set personal health-related goals and attend appointments.
• Provide referrals to community agencies as appropriate.
• Help patients connect with transportation resources and provide appointment reminders in special circumstances.
• Exhibit excellent working relations with patients, visitors, and staff while effectively communicating the organization’s mission.
• Work closely with medical providers to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care plans.
• Collaborate with other clinical personnel assigned to the same patient.
• Stay knowledgeable about community resources appropriate to patient and family needs.
• Provide consistent communication to the Case Manager to evaluate patient and family status.
• Act as a patient advocate and liaison between the patient/family and community service agencies.
• Record patient care management information in the EMR and other software within 24 hours of contact.
• Manage an assigned caseload of patients.
• Maintain HIPAA compliance at all times.

Competencies

• Good organizational skills to handle multiple priorities while remaining professional and calm.
• Ability to work with diverse populations, including children and teenagers.
• Effective telephone skills.
• Strong level of confidentiality due to the sensitivity of materials and information handled.
• Ability to make suggestions on workflow or system efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ability to work independently, be self-directed, and flexible.
• Ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
• Ability to perform functions with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work at a high-volume level of accuracy.

Position Expectations

• Commitment to the mission of the COPE Health Solutions ECM Program.
• Professional behavior, consistently demonstrating and promoting values of respect, honesty, and dignity for patients, families, and all members of the health care team.
• Commitment to the constant pursuit of excellence and teamwork in improving patient and family care in the community.
• Punctuality for scheduled work and appropriate use of time.
• Performance of duties in a conscientious, cooperative manner.
• Completion of required work in a timely fashion with a minimum of errors.
• Neat and professional appearance.
• Maintenance of confidentiality and protection of program operations, patients, and employees by abiding by laws and principles related to confidentiality.

Qualifications

• Valid California Driver’s License.
• High school graduate or equivalent required; Associate's Degree in Business Administration or related field preferred.
• Successful completion of a Community Health Worker formal training program (e.g., from a college or other education institution) is preferred.
• Written and oral fluency in English and Spanish is preferred.
• Experience working in a multi-cultural setting.
• Willingness to learn and understand a variety of different cultures, perspectives, and norms.
• Experience working in a community-based setting for at least 1 to 2 years preferred.
• Basic computer skills required; electronic medical record (EMR) experience preferred.
• Understanding of the community served and community connectedness.
• Good communication skills, such as listening well and using language appropriately.
• Ability and willingness to provide emotional support, encouragement, and motivation to patients.

Benefits

COPE Health Solutions offers comprehensive, affordable insurance plans for team members and their families, along with unique benefits such as:

• A yearly stipend for wellness-related activities.
• A paid parental leave program.