Community Health Worker

North Star Health; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 36,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Generous paid time off

Wellness programs

Job summary

North Star Health is seeking a Community Health Worker to join our Community Health Team in Vermont and New Hampshire. You will conduct screenings, provide brief interventions, and connect clients to services—addressing behavioral health, substance use, housing, food security, and economic needs.

Ideal candidates are community-minded, good listeners, and advocates who can work across clinics and home visits, coordinating with local organizations to reduce barriers to care.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering direct services in healthcare or social services.
• Ability to listen actively and build rapport with diverse clients.
• Proficiency in documenting encounters and coordinating with teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Empathy and patient-centered advocacy for individuals with complex needs.
• Flexible, collaborative team player who can adapt to changing circumstances.

Responsibilities

• Promote North Star Health's mission and connect with community members to improve access to care.
• Collaborate with primary care, behavioral health, and social service teams.
• Conduct screenings and motivational interviews to identify priority needs.
• Coordinate referrals and assist with scheduling, transportation, and follow-up.
• Document patient encounters and maintain electronic records.
• Support team members by handling phone inquiries and other tasks as needed.

Skills

Direct service experience

Community engagement

Motivational interviewing

Communication skills

Empathy and advocacy

Team collaboration

Job description

Description

North Star Health, an FQHC comprised of multiple PCMH practices delivering team-based care in Southern VT and Southwest New Hampshire, is seeking a Community Health Worker (CHW) to be a part of our Community Health Team (CHT) and play a critical role in helping individuals access the care they need through the provision of screening, brief interventions and connections to services to address a range of needs including behavioral health services and substance use treatment, food insecurity, housing and economic assistance. Our ideal candidate will be a team player who is community-minded, an exceptional listener and advocate, with experience in meeting people where they are at and providing assistance to help them access the service they require, ideally in a healthcare or social service setting.We have positions serving our Ludlow and Londonderry Vermont health centers.

In this role you will:

• Promote and work to achieve our mission and vision to connect with and care for our community so everyone may enjoy health and wellness.
• Work as part of the Community Health Team, in collaboration with primary care, behavioral health and substance use treatment teams
• Reach out to individuals following a psychosocial assessment; foster relationships as the face of North Star Health and key point-of-contact to assist individuals in achieving goals, identifying needs, and coordinating services.
• Conduct follow-up assessments and engage individuals through motivational interviewing to identify priority needs and areas for intervention or follow up
• Identify next steps to address findings including referral to an appropriate level of care either with North Star Health or an external service provider
• Provide brief interventions as appropriate to address screening results, either directly or through referral
• Outreach to both organizations and individuals, including meeting individuals in their home and going to a variety of service locations;
• Assist in coordinating care for individuals, identifying and addressing their barriers to and social influences on good health; assist in patient enrollment, schedule appointments, assist with transportation, and follow up on care delivery.
• Collaborate with local health and social service organizations to assist them in enhancing services and addressing systemic barriers to health and social services.
• Documents all patient encounters; complete required reports; maintain electronic patient files, including referrals, releases, assessments and other documents acquired on behalf of the patient.
• Support fellow team members in answering phones and addressing patient requests and other tasks as needed.

Requirements

Requirements for the role

• You have experience with direct service provision, preferably in a healthcare or social service setting working with individuals with a variety of needs including behavioral health and substance use issues
• You have a passion for working within the community you are a part of, or have been a part of in the past.
• You are flexible, team-oriented, and willing to wear different hats
• You have an ability to effectively and independently plan, organize, and coordinate access to health services.
• You have excellent communication skills, including writing, listening and organizing information
• You excel at empathy and human interactions, and want to improve the health of individuals and communities.
• You are comfortable working with people who are in distress and who may be experiencing a range of challenges and difficulties in their lives and living circumstances
• You are an independent self-starter and a strategic thinker who is eager to learn, improve, and grow.
• You have experience or the capacity to use computer-based tools including typing, web-based applications and client-related databases
• You are excited about how technology can support your work and help drive the ongoing evaluation toward new, better, care.
• Unrestricted Driver’s License

We take care of our team!

• medical, dental, and vision coverage
• a 401(k) with company match
• generous paid time off
• engaging wellness programs that make it easy and fun to stay healthy

We're committed to supporting your well-being—at work and beyond.