Maternal and Infant Health Community Health Worker

Southern Indiana Community Healthcare•Paoli, IN

1d•$16 - $22•Hybrid

About The Position

The Maternal and Infant Health Community Health Worker (CHW) serves as a trusted bridge between pregnant and postpartum patients, infants and families, the healthcare system, and community resources. Working as an integral member of the maternal and infant health team, the CHW provides culturally responsive, patient-centered, trauma-informed outreach, education, advocacy, and support to individuals and families throughout pregnancy, the postpartum period, and early infancy. The CHW helps patients and families overcome barriers that may prevent them from receiving timely healthcare and social services. The position builds trusting relationships with patients, assists families in identifying their goals and needs, connects them with appropriate resources, provides approved health education, supports appointment engagement, and follows up to determine whether identified needs have been addressed. The CHW does not independently provide clinical care or perform duties outside of the individual's training, certification, or scope of practice. The CHW instead works closely with nurses, providers, care coordinators, behavioral health staff, social workers, patient navigators, and other members of the interdisciplinary care team. The CHW will support the organization's Grow Grant goals and measurable outcomes by helping improve access to prenatal care, postpartum care, infant preventive care, social services, health education, and community-based resources.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Experience working with patients, families, community members, or vulnerable populations.
Experience providing community support, outreach, education, social services, customer service, or related services.
Basic computer proficiency.
Ability to learn electronic health record systems.
Ability to use email, electronic communication, and Microsoft Office or comparable systems.
Ability to learn grant tracking and reporting systems.
Ability to establish trust with patients and families.
Ability to work with individuals experiencing significant barriers.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Empathy and patience.
Excellent verbal communication.
Strong listening skills.
Ability to communicate using plain language.
Ability to communicate effectively with diverse populations.
Ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Understanding of local community resources.
Ability to identify appropriate resources for individual patient needs.
Ability to develop relationships with community organizations.
Ability to manage multiple patients and follow-up activities.
Strong attention to detail.
Ability to meet deadlines.
Ability to maintain accurate documentation.
Ability to identify barriers.
Ability to help patients develop practical solutions.
Ability to recognize when issues need to be escalated.
Ability to work effectively with clinical and non-clinical team members.
Ability to participate in interdisciplinary care.
Ability to accept direction and feedback.
Treats patients and families with dignity, respect, compassion, and empathy.
Understands the community and connects patients with meaningful resources.
Takes responsibility for completing assigned outreach, follow-up, documentation, and program activities.
Communicates clearly, respectfully, and consistently.
Works effectively with clinical teams, organizational staff, and community partners.
Recognizes and respects differences in culture, language, beliefs, and family circumstances.
Follows through on commitments to patients and coworkers.
Responds positively to changing patient, program, and organizational needs.
Protects patient information and follows HIPAA and organizational privacy requirements.
Helps patients identify and overcome barriers while respecting patient choice and autonomy.
Comply with HIPAA, Organizational privacy and confidentiality policies, Organizational compliance requirements, Applicable federal and state laws, Grant requirements, Documentation requirements, Information security policies, Patient safety policies, Employee conduct standards, Applicable CHW standards and certification requirements.

Nice To Haves

Associate's or bachelor's degree in Public Health, Community Health, Social Work, Human Services, Maternal/Child Health, Psychology, Sociology, Healthcare, Nursing, or another related field.
Experience working in a healthcare setting.
Experience in an FQHC or community health center.
Experience working with pregnant individuals, mothers, infants, children, or families.
Experience as a Community Health Worker.
Experience with patient navigation.
Experience addressing social determinants of health.
Experience working with Medicaid or uninsured populations.
Experience with community outreach.
Experience working with social service agencies.
Experience with grant-funded programs.
Experience documenting services in an electronic health record.
A current Community Health Worker certification is preferred or required based upon organizational and/or grant requirements.
Bilingual ability, particularly English/Spanish, is preferred and may be required based upon the population served.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain trusting relationships with pregnant individuals, postpartum patients, infants, parents, caregivers, and families.
Serve as a consistent and supportive point of contact for assigned patients.
Engage patients using respectful, nonjudgmental, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed communication.
Meet patients where they are and recognize individual strengths, priorities, preferences, and circumstances.
Encourage patients to participate actively in their healthcare and identify their own goals.
Provide ongoing encouragement and support throughout the maternal and infant health journey.
Help patients feel comfortable communicating questions and concerns to their healthcare team.
Build relationships with patients who may have previously experienced barriers or difficulty engaging with healthcare systems.
Assist with approved screenings.
Discuss identified needs with the patient.
Provide information about available resources.
Make appropriate referrals.
Assist patients with completing applications when permitted.
Follow up regarding resource connections.
Document services provided.
Escalate urgent or high-risk concerns according to organizational policy.
Maintain knowledge of community programs and resources serving pregnant individuals, infants, children, and families.
Provide patients with accurate information and help facilitate connections when appropriate.
Explain the purpose of the referral in understandable language.
Provide patients with contact information and instructions.
Assist with scheduling when appropriate.
Identify barriers to completing referrals.
Help patients understand what they need to do to access services.
Follow up after referrals.
Document referral-related activities.
Notify the appropriate care team member when a referral has not been completed or additional assistance is needed.
Serve as a patient advocate within the boundaries of the position.
Listen to patient concerns.
Help patients communicate questions to the healthcare team.
Help patients understand available services.
Support informed participation in care.
Identify barriers that may prevent patients from accessing services.
Help patients identify potential solutions.
Support patients who may have difficulty navigating healthcare systems.
Respect patient choices and self-determination.
Participate in community-based outreach activities designed to increase awareness of maternal and infant health services.
Represent the organization professionally and consistently with organizational policies.
Conduct approved community Activities.
Provide approved education.
Assess non-clinical barriers to care.
Connect families to community resources.
Assist with appointment engagement.
Provide resource information.
Support care-plan follow-through.
Follow up on previously identified needs.
Document the visit and services provided.
Work closely with the interdisciplinary care team.
Participate in team meetings and huddles.
Provide appropriate updates regarding patient barriers.
Communicate completed interventions.
Identify patients requiring additional assistance.
Participate in case review when requested.
Support warm handoffs.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Escalate concerns promptly.
Provide accurate and timely documentation of services provided.
Complete documentation according to organizational standards and within required timeframes.
Use the organization's electronic health record and approved technology systems to support patient care and grant activities.
Protect patient information and follow all HIPAA, privacy, cybersecurity, and organizational requirements.
Actively support the organization's Grow Grant objectives.
Understand the purpose and goals of the Grow Grant.
Complete grant-funded activities as assigned.
Meet established outreach expectations.
Support patient engagement goals.
Complete required documentation.
Track assigned program activities.
Support collection of grant-required information.
Participate in program meetings.
Participate in quality improvement activities.
Identify barriers that affect program participation.
Provide feedback regarding patient and community needs.
Support grant performance measures.
Ensure that work performed under the grant is properly documented and attributable to the approved program.
Follow up with patients regarding missed appointments, referrals, community resources, transportation, social needs, prenatal care, postpartum care, pediatric care, health education, hospital or emergency department follow-up, and other identified patient goals.
Document the outcome of follow-up efforts and escalate unresolved barriers as appropriate.
Provide culturally responsive services and recognize the diversity of the patients and communities served.
Respect cultural beliefs and practices.
Use plain language.
Respect patient preferences.
Avoid stigmatizing language.
Practice trauma-informed communication.
Support patients in identifying their own goals.
Use qualified interpreter services according to organizational policy.
Recognize how culture, socioeconomic conditions, transportation, housing, and other factors may influence healthcare access.
Interact with patients using principles of trauma-informed care.
Build trust.
Promote safety.
Provide choices whenever possible.
Avoid judgment.
Recognize patient strengths.
Support patient autonomy.
Maintain appropriate boundaries.
Avoid re-traumatization.
Recognize when a patient needs additional professional support.
Focus on what the patient and family can do and what resources can help them succeed, rather than solely focusing on barriers.
Recognize situations that require immediate assistance from clinical or leadership staff.
Promptly escalate medical emergencies, behavioral health emergencies, threats to patient or staff safety, suspected abuse or neglect, domestic violence or other safety concerns, significant changes in patient condition reported during contact, urgent social needs, and other situations outside the CHW's role or scope.
Help establish positive working relationships with organizations that support maternal and infant health.
Maintain knowledge of local resources.
Provide community resource information.
Participate in community partner meetings.
Support referral relationships.
Identify gaps in community resources.
Communicate changes in community resource availability.
Provide feedback regarding patient experiences accessing community services.
Contribute frontline knowledge to improve the Grow Grant program.
Identify recurring patient barriers, gaps in community services, problems with referral processes, appointment access issues, communication barriers, transportation challenges, opportunities to improve patient engagement, opportunities to improve patient education, and other system-level issues affecting maternal and infant health.
Communicate these observations to the Navigator/Coordinator or supervisor.