Community Health Worker – Special Populations (Community Liaison Worker Level ll), Public Health Corps/Woodhull *Temporary/Grant Funded*

About NYC Health + Hospitals

Empower Every New Yorker — Without Exception — to Live the Healthiest Life Possible

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the United States. We provide essential outpatient, inpatient and home-based services to more than one million New Yorkers every year across the city’s five boroughs. Our large health system consists of ambulatory centers, acute care centers, post-acute care/long-term care, rehabilitation programs, Home Care, and Correctional Health Services. Our diverse workforce is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible.

At NYC Health + Hospitals, our mission is to deliver high quality care health services, without exception. Every employee takes a person-centered approach that exemplifies the ICARE values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence) through empathic communication and partnerships between all persons.

Job Description

Summary of Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the direction of a Community Health Worker (CHW) Supervisor and as part of the NYC H+H Public Health Corps, Special Populations CHWs work with patients with specialized needs relating to complex medical and social issues, including adult patients returning to the community after custody/incarceration, patients experiencing homelessness, and children in the foster care system, performing patient-centered, community health work in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams in NYC H+H primary care and specialty care clinics. CHWs are specially trained frontline public health workers who are trusted members of and/or have a thorough understanding of the communities they serve. The CHW participates in community outreach activities within the communities of NYC, engaging patients and providing resources and assistance needed to address issues preventing them from staying healthy. The CHW motivates and supports individual patients to achieve their health goals, through facilitating connections to primary and specialty care clinics, creating health goals, and helping them find affordable healthy food options.

General Tasks And Responsibilities Will Include

• Participate in ongoing education and specialized training to learn and maintain CHW skills, as well as public health emergency response skills, relevant for the Public Health Corps
• Engage and recruit eligible patients in hospital and community settings, including outreach in the field in conjunction with mobile units
• Conduct clinical or community-based assessments and interviews to identify and prioritize their health and social services goals and needs
• Assess and address health, social and service-related needs of assigned/identified patients and create individualized, patient-centered, goal-directed care plans for each patient
• Engage with patients frequently, including a high number of touchpoints both in-person and virtually
• Support and motivate patients to achieve their health goals by coaching them and relevant family members through behavior change and identifying their strengths and community support systems
• Help patients connect to a primary care provider, specialty care providers, community services and/or mental health services, attend medical appointments, reconnect after missed appointments, and fill prescriptions
• Engage patients during inpatient stays and, where possible, emergency department visits both within H+H and in other health systems, to facilitate transitions back for primary care and support the patient in their treatment course during an acute illness
• Accompany patients during medical appointments and provide in-person support during hospital stays as needed; communicate with their internal care team and, as appropriate, external service providers to help coordinate care; schedule appointments as appropriate
• Assess ability of patients to manage their chronic physical and mental health conditions and work with care team to connect them to appropriate education and monitoring programs
• Assist patients with social needs such as food insecurity, housing issues, legal needs, insurance or other health care coverage, or transportation and provide referrals and follow-ups, as needed (for example, helping patients fill out benefit applications or escorting them to community organizations to obtain needed services)
• Access and update specialized information systems to support the coordination of resources across government agencies in accordance with compliance mandates
• Assist patients with obtaining vital records to enable access to appropriate services
• Educate patients regarding available community services, health services, and patient rights; provide feedback from patients to NYC H+H to inform quality improvement efforts
• Collect and track data to support achievement of patient-centered care plan using assessment tools, surveys, and logs, as appropriate
• Document each patient encounter in the electronic medical record (Epic) and use other electronic systems (e.g., NowPow) in accordance with established policies and procedures

Minimum Qualifications

• One year of full-time experience in a government agency or community organization in providing community services to the public or in assisting members of the community in obtaining community services; or
• Completion of an approved six month training program of combined classroom training and on-the-job experience in community liaison work, plus six months of full-time experience as described in 1 above.

In addition to meeting the qualification requirements of Assignment Level I, appointment to Level II requires:

• Two additional years of full-time experience in counseling, community work or community health activities in a government agency or community organization engaged in providing community services to the public, assisting members of the community in obtaining community services or maintaining liaison with schools, community organizations or other government agencies for the purpose of providing assistance and obtaining participation and support for implementation of community or public service programs; or
• Education and/or experience equivalent to 1 above. Study at an accredited college in sociology, psychology or other behavioral science may be substituted on the basis of 30 semester credits for each year of the experience described above. However, all persons must have at least one year of the full-time experience described above.

Department Preferences

• New York City residency (Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island) preferred.
• Professional and/or direct experience with homelessness, incarceration or other components of the criminal-legal system, foster care, and/or preventive services, preferred.
• Previous experience engaging clients with behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorders.
• Familiarity with email, word processing and Internet usage and comfort learning new computer programs.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Proficiency in speaking a language other than English, preferably Spanish, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Bengali, Russian, Cantonese, French, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Albanian, or Korean.
• Ability and willingness to conduct home visits (including street and shelters) and outreach activities within assigned borough(s) of NYC.

How To Apply

Please be advised that proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required prior to hire.

If you wish to apply for this position, please apply online by clicking the "Apply Now" button.

If applying online, please include your cover letter in the same file attachment with your uploaded resume.

NYC Health and Hospitals offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive Health Benefits for employees hired to work 20+ hrs. per week
• Retirement Savings and Pension Plans
• Loan Forgiveness Programs for eligible employees
• Paid Holidays and Vacation in accordance with employees' Collectively bargained contracts
• College tuition discounts and professional development opportunities
• Multiple employee discounts programs