Community Wellness Advocate

BMC Software•Boston, MA

1d•$23 - $32•Hybrid

About The Position

The Adolescent OB Clinic Community Wellness Advocate (CWA) is a key grant funded member of Adolescent OB Teen Clinic who will help to promote and maintain stable health and wellness for adolescent clients in the prenatal and postpartum periods by connecting hospital and community-based services to these adolescent clients and their families. Their responsibilities will include: ensuring adequate scheduling of all client’s prenatal, postpartum and ultrasound appointments; facilitating access and coordination among social service resources and other internal and external resources; helping coordinate transportation for clients in need via PT-1/Uber; maintaining data on our adolescent pregnant and young parents educational and employment status; co-facilitating Centering Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Support/ Adolescent Parent Postpartum Support Groups; creating individualized interdisciplinary care plans that focus on a client’s health/education and employment goals and monitoring their progress; problem solving with clients to both accelerate and enhance access to concrete supports; and holding weekly check-ins with clients either in person or virtually. CWAs provide clinic-based, in-home or community-based one-on-one, family, and/or interdisciplinary group support and collaborate with all members of the care team to conduct needs assessments to identify and respond to barriers to the families’ health and wellness. As a member of an innovation team tasked with testing new and novel care delivery approaches, the specific activities of the CWA may evolve over times as the Adolescent Teen OB Clinic evolves. The CWA position is grant funded by the Massachusetts Pregnant and Parenting Teen Initiative( MPPTI). The MPPTI program model and services to mitigate the negative economic and social/emotional impacts on expectant and parenting youth ages 14-24 and their families through increasing life opportunities and enhancing family stability in the community of Greater Boston.

Requirements

HS Diploma preferred with knowledge of MA community services landscape (specific knowledge of services in Dorchester and Roxbury preferred) or Associates degree minimum.
MA Driver’s License required
2-5 years of prior healthcare, public health, mental health, or community-based programmatic experience preferred
Bilingual, preferably in English and either Spanish or Haitian Creole
Basic knowledge of healthcare system and social service landscape
Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills
Understanding of how language, culture and socioeconomic circumstances affect health

Responsibilities

Functions a key member of an inter-disciplinary team (nurse, social workers, behavioral health clinicians, physicians, resource specialists, clinical support staff, etc.)
Provides parent coaching and support, including outreach to and engagement with families to define individual goals, promote healthy development and access to care and services
Schedules and completes initial hospital, clinic, or community-based (homes, shelters, housing agencies, substance use treatment programs, etc.) visit screening, care plan, and follow up visits and phone calls for enrolled patients within specified timeframes
Assists families in addressing and overcoming barriers with a range of concrete supports, including but not limited to: healthcare support services, behavioral health, financial mobility coaching, school-based interventions, early-intervention, child-care and caregiver support, housing, support with utility bills, food, financial entitlements, clothing, transportation, food pantries, violence prevention, social isolation and any other appropriate community resources
Teaches families key educational and developmental messages using a variety of culturally, linguistically and educationally appropriate strategies, in a variety of settings
Clearly documents all activities in the patient’s record and care management system.
Records and monitors the participants’ progress toward goals within specific timeframes.
Documents assessments and key patient updates in Epic system; documents relevant day-to-day activities and patient data.
Communicates plans and updates with members of the care team
Works in partnership with the SW Case Management and SW Integrative Behavioral Health to comprehensively assess families’ needs and strengths
Develops and maintains strong relationships with the community and community resources to ensure patient access
Engages in ongoing training and learning
Attend monthly staff meetings with Adolescent OB Clinical Care Team.