CHMC- HealthySteps Specialist

Claxton Hepburn Medical Center•Ogdensburg, NY

4d•$31 - $41•Onsite

About The Position

The innovative HealthySteps approach is based on the most recent scientific understanding of how early childhood development works, and how it can best be supported to ensure individual family, community, and societal well-being. HealthySteps, a program of ZERO TO THREE, promotes nurturing caregiving, which supports families and improves healthy development and well-being of babies and toddlers, preparing them for school and life. We aim to achieve this goal by weaving together the expertise of a child development expert, the HealthySteps Specialist, and the pediatric primary care provider. Together, just at the time when the brain is developing most rapidly, these experts bring focus to the important skills needed for families to foster healthy child development and life-ling well-being: social emotional development; language and literacy skills; cognition skills; and perceptual, motor and physical development. The entire practice works together to implement the HealthySteps model, with leadership from a Physician Champion and the HealthySteps Specialist. The HealthySteps Specialist is an early child development expert who will join the pediatric primary care team at Claxton-Hepburn Pediatrics to provide interventions, referrals, and follow-up for families with patients ages 0-3. The HealthySteps Specialist builds strong relationships with families and providers to increase the efficiency of the medical system and support team-based comprehensive care. Learn more about HealthySteps healthysteps.org

Requirements

Master's degree in psychology, social work, counseling, early childhood education, or related field preferred
Experience and knowledge about early childhood growth and development, parent-child relational health, infant and early childhood mental health, and family systems preferred
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Commitment to working with underserved populations in a community setting
Empathic, supportive, and patient
Strong motivational interviewing skills
Ability to work with people of many backgrounds and cultures
Ability to take initiative and a willingness to learn
Ability to work well in teams and independently
Ability to collect and enter data for program management, evaluation, and reporting purposes.
Interest in the use of technology to improve care quality (Google Suite, applicable EMRs, etc.)
Ability to multitask
Ability to work independently as the HS Specialist may be the only behavioral health professional on site

Nice To Haves

Clinically licensed mental health professional preferred but not required

Responsibilities

Promotes HealthySteps within the practice to families and providers
Conducts team-based well-child visits before, during, or following the primary care provider; visits focus on monitoring development, social-emotional functioning, and relational health, and providing anticipatory guidance
Conducts consultations on a short-term basis for needs regarding development and/or behavioral concerns such as sleep, positive parenting, picky eating, etc.
Maintains a family support line and responds to and tracks call requests within the designated response time
Participates in reflective supervision meetings
May conduct home visits and may accompany families to key medical, specialty, and community agency appointments as needed
May facilitate parent/caregiver groups
Creates and maintains community resource directory/database. Provides referrals and tracks follow-up as appropriate, to help families make successful connections to key resources within the community.
Reaches out to community providers within the first 6 months in position to share about HealthySteps, their role, and receive information to support referrals, warm handoffs, and ensure appropriate referral criteria is met.
Participates (when appropriate) in community-wide early childhood and/or mental health meetings
Is an active member of the HS Implementation Team and attends regular team meetings
Works with the front office staff to ensure scheduling of the HS Specialist's time in coordination coordination with provider visits (i.e., well-child visits)
Engages in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiatives to ensure the HealthySteps model is delivered with fidelity
Collaborates with HealthySteps implementation team to implement all eight Core Components including universal screenings, making positive parenting and early learning guidance information available, and adjusting workflows for optimal efficiency
Maintains open communication with all members of the primary care team
Works closely with pediatric primary care providers around care coordination, goal setting, coaching, and education about key aspects of a child's development
Maintains extensive databases required to meet HealthySteps fidelity metrics including both internal and external referrals.
Collaborates with HealthySteps Implementation Team to complete the required annual site reporting to the HealthySteps National Office at ZERO TO THREE, which may include analysis of both external database files and EHR data reports.
Documents all patient clinical activity and care coordination in EHR.
Tracks caseload to ensure capacity to deliver the HS services within the risk stratified service delivery model. This includes ensuring exit criteria is met and that families and children are elevated to higher levels of care or referred to community providers if needed.
Participates in HealthySteps training (Virtual HealthySteps Institute), annual model refresher course, and other model trainings as needed
Participates in administrative and clinical/reflective supervision meetings
Completes HealthySteps Competency Based Professional Development Assessment and develops and implements a professional development plan that is updated annually