Job Details

Bargaining Unit: EA

Rate of Pay: $25.15/hour + DOE

Summary

Community Health Advocates (CHA) are primarily responsible for assisting in delivery of services that address the social determinants of health, and bridge gaps betweencommunities, individuals and providers. They provide patient advocacy, supportive care, and assistance to culturally diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged patient populations to identify barriers to self-care and healing, decision-making, communication, and navigating the healthcare system. They assist patients in determining eligibility for organizational programs or other forms of assistance. They work closely with Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Care Coordinators, Dietitians and other members of the Care Management team, and consistently demonstrate high standards of ethical behavior, professionalism, sensitivity and confidentiality.

They also conduct community outreach and education and are responsible for managing programs in the community that promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health and assist individuals to adopt healthy behaviors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Assists clients in gaining access to needed services and increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency while also learning how to best utilize available tools and services (e.g., outreach, patient navigation and follow-up, community health education and information, informal counseling, etc.) in order to effectively serve our clients. Assists with referrals and linkage to follow-up services within the community and within the Organization.
• Assists with needs assessments and the development of patient plans.
• Conducts culturally appropriate skills building self-management education sessions on different topics for groups and individuals. Builds understanding of the ethnicity, language, socio-economic status and life experiences of the community served.
• Learns and assists in teaching basic concepts of health promotion, disease prevention, and self-management.
• Assists in documenting plans, goals, education and follow-up in a timely manner, utilizing agreed upon documentation standards.
• Administers evaluation tools to assess program effectiveness.
• Conducts outreach in public and community settings in order to raise awareness of health services/activities and enroll individuals in need of health care services.
• Reduces client access barriers by assisting assigned clients with navigating the healthcare system and educating clients about health system services and programs.
• Obtains additional trainings and/or certifications in specialty areas such as medical interpretation, motivational interviewing, health coaching, peer support, self-management leader training, etc.
• Links patients and their families to health and social services and resources by providing information, referrals and/or assisting with eligibility screening and applications (examples of social resources include health insurance/Medi-Cal, WIC, SNAP, SSI, etc.)
• Completes patient screenings as indicated (for example Social Determinants of Health (SODH) screening) and documents support and referrals provided.
• Interprets, translates, or provides cultural mediation related to health services or information for community members and clients in whose preferred language is Spanish.
• Assists all patients through the healthcare system and community resources by acting as a patient advocate.
• Works collaboratively with other members of the Tahoe Forest Health System as part of the Promotora Team.
• Confers, as needed and on a timely basis, with medical providers and staff regarding patient issues. Provides cultural insight into clients concerns and treatment plan.
• Collaborates with Clinical Team and receives clinical oversite from Care Coordination, Behavioral Health and Quality Incentive Pool (QIP) teams when assisting their patients.
• Contacts patients by phone, in person, or through home visits per healthcare request and under the direction of a Care Coordinator or QIP Coordinator (usually high-risk individuals) to monitor their progress, adherence to the treatment plan, and assess their needs and/or barriers to care.
• Supports and assists patients, clients and/or community groups to prevent and manage physical and mental health conditions, improve general health and develop healthy behaviors.
• Provides leadership with culturally appropriate client education and outreach regarding preventative care and disease management including: Chronic Disease Management, Smoking Cessation, Breastfeeding support, Preventative Health Screenings, Immunizations, Dental Health, Suicide Prevention, Prenatal Health, Substance Use Disorder, etc.
• Participates in primary care patient care meetings and team huddles as necessary to meet patient and family needs.
• Contributes to the quality initiatives and collection of data to promote quality improvement.
• Collaborates with other Promotoras at Sierra Community House, County Health Departments, and the lay community to assist with transferring client referrals and assisting with community-based needs.
• Distributes flyers, brochures, or other informational or educational documents and ensures appropriate language translation.
• Assists with periodic "Community Needs Assessment" focus groups.
• Participates in community meetings and/or health fairs as indicated to understand community issues or build relationships with community members.
• Reports incidences of child or elder abuse, neglect, or threats of harm to authorities, as required.
• Demonstrates System Values in performance and behavior.
• Complies with System policies and procedures.
• Performs other duties as required and assigned.

Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities
No supervisory responsibilities.

Minimum Education/Experience
No educational requirement and 6 months to 1 year relevant experience

Required Licenses/Certifications
Valid Driver's License in good standing - Upon hire

Other Experience/Qualifications

Required:

• Strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing in English and Spanish.
  
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish
• Knowledge of the community to be served.
• Strong interpersonal skills that encourage relationship building with a diverse group.
• Requires capacity building and advocacy skills.
• Able to work independently and able to organize and prioritize daily schedule.
• Ability to learn health content and ability to teach such to others.
• Willingness to work collaboratively with other community agencies.

Preferred:

• Stanford Chronic Disease Management and/or self-management training
• Certified or Qualified Medical Interpreter
• Teaching skills
• Knowledge of the Truckee/North Tahoe area and health/social services agencies