COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER

Cooper University Health Care; Camden (NJ); On-site; USD 32,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Cooper Norcross Health is seeking a Community Health Worker to identify and alleviate social barriers affecting patient care in the Camden city area. The role involves field visits, home visits, and providing culturally competent health education and navigation services to patients and families.

The CHW will support patients with transportation, appointments, and linkages to community resources, while documenting interactions in the EMR.

Qualifications

• 0-2 years required in a Community Health or Public Health setting.
• Bachelor's degree preferred; high school diploma required.

Responsibilities

• Create and set patient-specific goals using brief action planning to address barriers.
• Field work in home and community settings to provide health education and resources.
• Coach patients toward self-management using motivational interviewing techniques.
• Assist with scheduling health care and social appointments, transportation, and other needs.
• Collaborate with providers and community organizations to support patient goals.
• Maintain relationships with community organizations and act as liaison between patient and organizations.
• Keep detailed calendars and ensure timely follow-up with patients.

Skills

0-2 years experience

Public Health

Community Health

Clerical/Administrative

Education

High School Diploma

Bachelor's Degree (Preferred)

Job description

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER

Camden, NJ

Job ID 69765

Job Type Full Time

Shift Day

Specialty Clerical/Administrative

About us

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

Cooper Norcross Health 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.

The health system operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as four hospitals - its 663-bed flagship Cooper Norcross University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper Norcross University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, Children's Hospital at Cooper Norcross Health in Camden, and The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper, a substance abuse rehabilitation and inpatient treatment facility, in partnership with American Recovery Services.

Cooper Norcross 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 eight years.

More than 2.54 million patients visit Cooper Norcross Health facilities annually. Its 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 Norcross Health, a not-for-profit health system, was named one of America's Best Large Employers for 2026 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation. Visit CooperHealth.org (opens in new window) 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

Hourly Rate Min $23

Hourly Rate Max $37

The New Jersey Pay Transparency Act requires disclosure of the pay range for this position.

A salary offer will vary based on the job role, candidate experience, qualifications, internal pay equity and market data.

Cooper University Health Care is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to equal employment opportunity for all team members. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, or any other status protected by law or regulation. To request reasonable accommodation, contact [e-mail]