Community Paramedicine Social Worker

CommonSpirit Health; Lexington (KY); On-site; USD 31,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, KY is seeking a Community Health Worker to bridge patients with essential community resources and address health disparities. You will assess needs, connect to health, social, educational, and employment resources, and provide guidance to overcome barriers to care.

The role emphasizes empathy, resilience, and strong problem-solving as you engage with diverse populations and collaborate with care teams to plan individualized care and referrals.

Qualifications

• MSW degree from an accredited school of social work.
• Licensed Social Worker in Kentucky at hire.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and patients to assess medical and physical needs.
• Identify social determinants affecting patients and plan referrals for resources (mental health, substance abuse, public health).
• Participate in plan-of-care to meet individual patient needs and continuity of care.
• Advocacy and education for patient/family self-care and health management; ethics referrals and coordination training.
• Psychosocial management including crisis intervention, counseling, and referral networks for housing, food insecurity, etc.
• Patient/Family Care Conferences to coordinate continuity and transitions of care.

Skills

Empathy

Problem-solving

Collaboration

Communication

Education

MSW (Master of Science Social Work)

Licensed Social Worker (KY)

Job description

Job Summary and Responsibilities

As our Community Health Worker, you will be a vital link between individuals and essential community resources, actively working to reduce health disparities and improve access to support services.

Every day, you will proactively engage with clients, assessing their needs and identifying pathways to care and support. You'll connect individuals to relevant health, social, educational, and employment resources, providing guidance and practical assistance to overcome logistical barriers.

To be successful in this role, you will possess a profound understanding of diverse community needs, exceptional problem-solving abilities, empathy, and resilience. Your dedication to empowering clients and removing barriers to care will be paramount.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and patients to evaluate and assess patients’ medical and physical needs.




• Identify social determinants affecting patients (individual, community, transportation economics, environment, social support, etc).Identify special needs variables, cultural variables and mental health variables affecting patient care (language, religion, ethnicity, race, physical disability, dementia, age, cognitive disorders, substance disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety, depression, autism, abuse, neglect, malnutrition, PTSD, medical literacy, etc).




• Participate in plan-of-care as determined to meet individual patient needs; determine need for community resources (mental health, substance abuse, public health, etc); provide referrals for community resources.Providing developmentally appropriate care for all populations served: plan for the continuity of care, recognize and plan for the unique needs of all ages, the physically disabled, mentally ill, chronically ill, terminally ill, vulnerable patients, etc.




• Advocacy and education: patient/family self-care management; patient/family health management education; bioethics referrals and management; physician, staff, and community education; case/care management/coordination education and training; risk management identification and referral.




• Psychosocial management: crisis intervention; psychosocial assessment/functioning; counseling support and referral; abuse/neglect/trafficking identification, assessment, and referral (partner, child, elder, etc.); family issues affecting care; coping/emotional adjustment; grief/bereavement support (individual and group); adoption, surrogacy, and safe surrender support, management, and resources; health/wellness promotion; substance abuse screening, management, and resources; psychiatric screening, management, and resources; staff support; assessing, addressing, managing, and resources related to social determinants of health (e.g. housing and food insecurity, transportation).




• Patient/Family Care Conferences: interdisciplinary care communication/coordination related to continuity/transitions of care planning and management.

Job Requirements

Required

• Masters Of Science Social Work; from a school of social work accredited by the Council of Social Work Education, upon hire and



• Licensed Social Worker: KY, upon hire

Preferred

• Minimum 3-Year healthcare experience, upon hire

Where You’ll Work

Welcome to Saint Joseph Hospital, a 433-bed hospital founded in 1877 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth as the first hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Led by Sister Euphrasia Stafford, the mission to provide compassionate care to the underserved is still carried out today. Saint Joseph Hospital holds over two dozen national ranks and recognitions and is recognized as a 2024 Best Place to Work in Kentucky.

Saint Joseph is part of CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. With approximately 175,000 team members and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians.

Our commitment to serve the common good is delivered through the dedicated work of thousands of physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, and staff; through clinical excellence delivered across a system of 140 hospitals and more than 2,200 care centers serving 24 states.

Pay Range

$22.51 - $31.79 /hour

We are an equal opportunity employer.