COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER

COOPER PEDIATRICS; Camden (NJ); On-site; USD 38,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Cooper University Health Care in Camden, NJ is seeking a Community Health Worker to identify and address social barriers impacting patients' health.

You will provide telephonic and in-person support, connect patients with resources for housing, food, transportation, and help navigate the healthcare system.

The role emphasizes culturally competent outreach, collaboration with care teams and community organizations, and documentation in the electronic medical record.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma required; Bachelor's preferred.
• 0–2 years in a Community Health or Public Health setting; 3–5 years preferred.
• Community Health Worker Certification or Disease-Specific Health Education Certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Create patient-specific goals using action planning to address social barriers.
• Field work – meet patients in home and community settings to deliver health education and connect resources.
• Coach patients towards self-management and motivate using motivational interviewing techniques.
• Assist patients in scheduling health care and social appointments, transportation, and other needs.
• Work with providers, care teams, and community organizations to support patient goals.
• Maintain relationships with community-based organizations and act as liaison between patients and organizations.
• Maintain calendar and ensure timely follow-up; document all interactions in EMR.
• Keep current knowledge of social determinants of health and local resources.

Skills

Field work

Motivational interviewing

Community outreach

Education

High School Diploma

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

About us

About Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system affiliated with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Cooper, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has revenues of more than $3 billion and an A+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch Ratings.

Cooper has nearly 14,000 team members, including more than 2,200 nurses, more than 1,200 employed physicians representing 95 specialties and subspecialties, and more than 700 advanced practice providers.

Cooper operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as three hospitals – its 663-bed flagship Cooper University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, and Children’s Regional Hospital in Camden.

Cooper University Hospital in Camden is the only Level 1 trauma center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region. The hospital has been recognized as a top-performing regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals annual survey for six years.

More than 2.54 million patients visit Cooper’s facilities annually. Cooper’s ambulatory network encompasses three outpatient surgery centers, seven urgent care centers, a wound care center, and more than 130 physician, physical therapy, and radiology offices extending from the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore.

Cooper was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2026 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation.

Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.

Short Description

The Community Health Worker (CHW) position is to identify, address and alleviate social barriers that prevent patients from achieving their highest health level.

Cooper’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment reports that 4 primary zip codes for Camden City have the highest (5.0) Community Needs Index which assesses for socioeconomic indicators including income, cultural barrier, education, health insurance, and housing (Cooper.CHNA.CHIP.2022.pdf (cooperhealth.org).

The CHW primarily service Cooper patients living in and around the Camden-city area.

The CHWs offer patients telephonic and in-person support to provide the necessary resources and navigation services to address social determinants of health including food insecurity, housing, transportation, and more.

In turn, patients are more able and willing to attend to and seek help for their health care concerns.

Responsibilities

• Create and set patient-specific goals using brief action planning skills to address and eliminate social barriers effecting care
• Field work – meet patients in the home and community settings including hospital and ambulatory clinical settings to deliver culturally competent and linguistically appropriate health education materials and community resources related to goals to patients and family/support systems
• Coach patients towards effective self-management and self-efficacy for goal achievement using motivational interviewing techniques.
• Assist patients in scheduling health care and social appointments, transportation, and other appointments, as needed
• Work closely with medical providers, primary care teams, health advisors, community-based organizations and other agencies to support patients’ goals.
• Visit and maintain relationships with Community-based organizations. Act as liaison between patient and community-based organization.
• Maintain detailed calendar and bookkeeping to ensure timely follow-up to patients and track activities.
• Documentation must include all interactions and outreach performed by team members and completed in the electronic medical record.
• Maintain current knowledge of social determinants of health, community-based organizations, CHW best practices, and understanding of social landscape and vulnerability of target population.

Experience Required

0 - 2 years required in a Community Health or Public Health setting

3 - 5 Preferred

Education Requirements

REQUIRED: High School Diploma

PREFERRED: Bachelor's Degree

Population Health, Public Health, Community Health, Health Sciences, Social Work

Special Requirements

PREFERRED:

Community Health Worker Certification

Disease Specific Health Education Certification (ex: Diabetes Educator/Paraprofessional)

Complex Care Certification