Lead Community Health Worker

Description

The Lead Community Health Worker (CHW) advances health equity by addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and supporting improved outcomes for Fenway Health’s diverse patient population. Working in close partnership with medical providers, care teams, and community organizations, this role helps drive whole-person, integrated care.

Representative Duties

• Care Coordination
  • Supports the Nurse Care Coordinators with care coordination requests.
  • Provides coverage of care coordination duties as needed.
  • Aids patients with completion of paperwork.
  • Provides patients with updated and accurate information regarding care coordination services.
  • Builds good working relationships with clients and colleagues.
  • Aids patients with applications for enrollment in programs as needed.
  • Documents in EHR for each patient interaction.
  • Aids department with care coordination administrative tasks such as completing and faxing client paperwork.
  • Aids with outgoing phone calls to community resources as needed.
  • Aids with distributing program materials to clients via mail as needed.
  • Conveys the purposes and services of a program to the patient population and the impact that program or service would have.
  • Helps patients develop health management plans and goals.
  • Follows up with health management/care plans with both patients and providers.
  • Coaches patients in effective management of their chronic health conditions and self-care.
  • Aids patients in understanding care plans and instructions.
  • Documents activities, service plans, and results in an effective manner while strictly adhering to the policies and procedures in place.
  • Establishes positive, supportive relationships with participants and provides feedback.
  • Aids patients in accessing health related services, including but not limited to: obtaining a medical home, providing instruction on appropriate use of the medical home, overcoming barriers to obtaining needed medical care and social services.
  • Facilitates communication and coordinates services between providers.
  • Motivates patients to be active, engaged participants in their health.
  • Builds and maintains positive working relationships with the clients, providers, nurse case managers, agency representatives, supervisors and office staff.
  • Continuously expands knowledge and understanding of community resources, services and programs provided; human relations and the procedures used in dealing with the public as part of a service or program; volunteer resources and the practices associated with using volunteers, operations, functions, policies and procedures associated with the department or program area, procedures and resources available to handle new, unusual or different situations.
• Collaborates With Other Agencies
  • Develops and maintains resource listings appropriate for Fenway Health patients.
  • Participates in community councils, boards and groups as appropriate to further departmental objectives.
  • Works with Medicaid, Medicare, Welfare, Social Security, housing, educational, day care and other institutions to assist clients.
  • Consults with a variety of health center and community staff (Nutritionists, Home Health Aides, Nurses, Behavioral Health staff and Medical staff) about specific clients and general approaches to patient treatment.
• Performs and completes administrative tasks in a timely and efficient manner:
  • Writes case notes for each client interaction within 48 hours of interaction.
  • Aids clients with applications for enrollment in entitlement programs.
  • Aids medical teams with community resource administrative tasks.
  • Participates in staff and team meetings and conferences.
  • Participates in professional activities to maintain professional standing.
  • Participates in program reporting and accountability as required by funding agencies.
• Provides training, supervision and support to assigned students/interns following Fenway policies and procedures:
  • Supervises interns/students on the CHW team as needed.
  • Provides ongoing guidance and supervision to CHW interns/students as needed.
  • Provides written evaluations of CHW interns/students as needed, following program and agency evaluation guidelines.
• Provides training and support to CHW staff members following Fenway policies and procedures:
  • Collaborates with supervisor to develop/maintain a comprehensive program orientation for CHW team members.
  • Provides training for CHW team members during orientation and as needed regarding the full range of their responsibilities.
  • Provides resource information and consultation on an as needed basis to other CHWs.
• Aid the Supervisor with program innovation and initiatives.

Requirements

• Requires a Bachelor’s Degree.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience as a Community Health Worker.
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and effectively with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. This includes engaging constructively with colleagues, patients, clients, and vendors in a manner that reflects professionalism, empathy, and cultural awareness, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, or other protected characteristics as defined by applicable law.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with an ethnically, culturally and racially diverse work staff.
• Prior case management experience in a medical setting and experience working with people who are living with HIV.
• Bilingual in Spanish.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to meet the following physical requirements with or without reasonable accommodations:
• Sit at a computer station for extended periods of time.
• Keyboard for extended periods of time.

Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, and for those who qualify, an excellent benefits package; including comprehensive medical and dental insurance plans, and a retirement plan with employer match. We also provide 12 paid holidays, paid vacation, and more. LGBTQIA+ identified persons, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), and individuals from other historically underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply.