Community Health Worker
Job Description
Community Health Workers (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. A CHW also builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Promoting wellness and prevention
- Conduct outreach and engage members in care management programs (as part of care team)
- Assist with cross-enrollment in existing benefit programs, including Women, Infant and Children
(WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Connect members to needed medical visits and follow up on referrals, services, including well-child visits and screening appointments.
- Conduct outreach to members to close gaps in care
- Assisting members who may qualify for the Healthy Opportunities Pilots to engage with a care
manager who assesses their Pilot eligibility and helps navigate to authorized Pilot services
- Driving attention to upstream populations and services outside of care coordination
- Serving as a trusted partner and engaging and educating members who struggle to navigate the
complex healthcare system
- Advocating for the member and supporting the member in receiving culturally and linguistically
appropriate care
- Leveraging lived experience and understanding of the community to build trust and successfully
engage members in screenings
- Employing knowledge of community-based services and application processes to expedite
member applications and promote timely movement off relevant waitlists.
Qualifications and Education:
- High school diploma or equivalent required
- Preferred: NC Community Health Worker Standardized Core Competency Training
- Preferred: associate or bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, nursing, or a related field.
- Be at least 18 years old
- Experience working in community-based settings
Skills:
- Communication (i.e., effective listener, group communication skills)
- Interpersonal (i.e., work with diverse groups, develop relationships)
- Service (i.e., coordinating care, developing care plans)
- Capacity Building (i.e., supporting clients and skill building)
- Advocacy
- Education regarding health promotion and healthy behavior
- Outreach knowledge required to connect clients to community services
- Knowledge and understanding of the social drivers of health
- Promote and advocate for clients
