COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER - 40009601

Durham County • Durham, NC

49d • $40,528 - $68,849 • Onsite

About The Position

The purpose of this job is to serve as a bridge between the client, family, community, provider, and the health and human services system. Serves Durham communities most impacted by health disparities. This position’s roles and activities are tailored to meet the unique needs of their communities and depend on factors such as whether they work in the health care or social services sectors.
This position works under close to general supervision according to set procedures but determines how or when to complete tasks.

Requirements

• Requires High School graduation or GED equivalent supplemented by two (2) years of experience in social work, health services, counseling or related work; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
• Requires demonstrated possession of knowledge, skills, and abilities as stated above through at least one year of experience in performing similar tasks in a hospital, clinic, nursing home, medical corps, or other social or rehabilitation services.
• Possession of a valid North Carolina driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.
• General knowledge of Microsoft Office and Outlook programs.
• Familiarity with community resources.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to work well independently and with a team.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Understanding of neighborhood and community values.
• Ability to work with diverse communities.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred applicants are those with "lived' experience of incarceration who also have case management experience and knowledge of completing day to day tasks in an office setting.
• Position is working with formerly incarcerated residents and prefers candidates to have "lived" experience with incarceration themselves and knowledge of the process of transitioning back into the community to model changed behavior and support to clients.
• Candidates who do not have direct lived experience of incarceration must have knowledge of working directly with formerly incarcerated individuals, services that support a successful transition home to include, health care, employment, housing etc.
• Knowledge of how to obtain services to support care of chronic health conditions.
• Candidates should be knowledgeable of the re-entry resources in Durham County and how to navigate these resources independently.
• Candidates with peer support experience that have provided case management strongly preferred.
• Candidates with an understanding of mental health services and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) services for clients with Opioid Use Disorder preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a front-line public health staff member working with justice involved individuals in partnership with NC-FIT (Formerly Incarcerated Transition) Program.
• Works individually and with groups of residents to connect them with health information and services; assists in the navigation of these services.
• Promotes wellness and self-management by providing culturally appropriate health information and education to participants and providers.
• Conducts ongoing patient assessments in the home environment and community.
• Recruit new participants and enroll them into the program.
• Documents all client encounters in the electronic health system.
• Participates in community events to increase knowledge base of available community resources and programs.
• Assists participants in gathering needed documents and completing forms for community resource enrollment.
• Educates residents on the importance of having a medical home and helps with access to care to medical home.
• Connects uninsured residents with low and no-cost services when necessary.
• Assists in provider-patient care relationship building.
• Identifies and connects residents with community sites that offer educational programming and internet access for health resources.
• Helps residents understand how to use resources to find health coverage or apply for assistance when uninsured.
• Helps participants to manage chronic conditions through education about their treatment plan.
• Assists other staff/community members in community capacity building and mobilization activities.
• Participates in continuing education and other training on specialized topics pertaining to position responsibilities.
• Attends and participates staff, committee, departmental and other project meetings.
• Supports the majority of the Substance Abuse and Opioid Use Disorder Referrals from the community and Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network/JCOIN Program.
• Connects clients that are in need to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Programs for substance/opioid treatment.
• Performs related work as assigned.

Benefits

• Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccination/immunity
• Varicella-Zoster Virus (Chicken Pox) vaccination/immunity
• Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
• Tuberculosis (TB) baseline screening within the last twelve (12) months prior to employment
• Hepatitis B vaccination/immunity – only required for DCoDPH employees with potential Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) exposures.
• Required vaccination, serological testing to determine immunity, and baseline tuberculosis screening are available for all Public Health employees who elect to become DCoDPH patients upon request and at no cost.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED