Community Health Worker - Substance Use Services (4569)

BROCKTON NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER INC•Brockton, MA

3d•$22 - $29

About The Position

The Substance Use Services Community Health Worker (CHW) provides outreach, engagement, education, navigation, and care coordination to individuals impacted by substance use and related health and social needs. The CHW works across programs within Substance Use Services to support patients, which may include clinic-based services, community-based outreach, mobile services, shelter-based services, and collaboration with internal and external partners. This position builds trusting relationships with individuals who experience barriers to care, delivers harm reduction and health education, and supports connection to treatment, recovery supports, primary care, behavioral health, housing, and other community resources, with a commitment to cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed practice.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Social Work or related field preferred
Local travel as necessary.

Responsibilities

Conduct outreach and engagement to individuals impacted by substance use and at risk for overdose or other substance use-related health conditions, in settings such as the health center, community locations, and other service sites as assigned (e.g., mobile unit, shelter, etc.)
Build and maintain partnerships with community organizations, service providers, and other entities that support people affected by substance use (e.g., shelters, recovery supports, hospitals, and social service agencies)
Assess patient needs related to housing, benefits, food, transportation, and other social supports, and assist patients with resources to address their health-related social needs
Engage and support special populations experiencing barriers to care (e.g., individuals experiencing homelessness, people involved with criminal-legal involvement, people with co-occurring mental health conditions, and people from diverse cultural and linguistic groups) using trauma-informed, person-centered, and culturally responsive approaches
Support transitions of care across Substance Use Services, primary care, behavioral health, emergency departments/inpatient settings, and community organizations, as appropriate, including warm handoffs from internal BNHC departments
Provide individual and family support
Work as a member of the multidisciplinary Substance Use Services Department and BNHC team to support patient engagement, care coordination, and follow-up across departmental programs and service modalities
Incorporate cultural factors and patient preferences into education, engagement, and care planning; consult with the care team to support culturally responsive services
Coordinate language access supports, including providing interpretation services if certified
Adhere to regulations protecting patient information and privacy, including HIPAA, 42CFR Part 2, and other federal and state privacy standards
Attend required department and other staff meetings
Establish rapport quickly and to communicate effectively with patients, their family members and community providers.
Excellent knowledge of community resources for behavioral health and other social service needs
The ability to create and implement integrated care plans (if needed), ensuring access to an array of linked services, and the exchange of information among patients, family members, and providers
Maintains an understanding of the transient and chaotic nature of the lives of patients experiencing homelessness, carceral involvement, mental health disorders, and substance use disorders, and adjusts approach to offering treatment by meeting patients where they are at
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds; bilingual/multilingual skills are valued (e.g., Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, French, Spanish
Return patient and staff communications in a timely and appropriate manner
Appropriately document patient care in the electronic medical record
May be assigned to support various Substance Use Services programs and service sites (e.g., clinic-based, community-based, and/or mobile/field-based services) based on department needs
Other duties as assigned