Patient Advocate

Neighborhood Health Center; Connersville (IN); On-site; USD 24,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Neighborhood Health Center is seeking a Patient Advocate to support access to services and wellness in our Indiana community. You will build rapport with patients, families and staff to coordinate care and connect patients to health and social resources.

This one-year grant-funded position emphasizes outreach, education, and advocacy with a focus on reducing barriers to care and improving health outcomes for diverse populations.

Qualifications

• High school graduate or GED.
• Preferred: Associate degree in business or related field such as medical assistant, paramedic, MT, or CNA.

Responsibilities

• Establish trusting relationships with patients and families while providing general support and encouragement.
• Use standardized assessments to determine appropriate evidenced-based interventions.
• Provide support and advocacy before and during initial medical visits to assure patient needs.
• Assist patients in understanding their care plans and instructions.
• Provide ongoing follow-up, motivational interviewing and goal setting with patients/families.
• Identify socio-economic barriers affecting health and develop health/social management plans.
• Facilitate access to community resources and act as advocate with external agencies.

Skills

Communication

Confidentiality

Cultural competency

HIPAA compliance

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate degree (preferred)

Job description

Schedule: Monday - Friday: 8am to 4:30pm, may vary depending on outreach events

Pay: beginning at $20.70

Position Summary

The Patient Advocate supports Neighborhood Health Center (NHC) in accordance with the policies of the Board of Directors, the CEO, and funding agencies. The Patient Advocate is a trusted member and has a close understanding of the community we serve. This trusted relationship enables the Patient Advocate to serve as a liaison and build rapport between our patients/families, our clinics/staff, health/social services, and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality of healthcare and introduce our patients to all elements of wellness. The Patient Advocate builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy.

This position is funded through the Rural Health Transformation grant and is approved for one year only; during which time,employment is at-will. The grant may be renewed for a second year if funding continues, and program requirements and outcomes are achieved. If the grant is not renewed, the position will end at the conclusion of the one-year funding period. Continued employment opportunities may be available through other grants, contracts, partnerships, or organizational funding, but would depend on funding availability, program needs, and organizational approval at that time.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• No supervisory responsibilities

Professional Behaviors and Expectations

• Maintains strict confidentiality of patient and organizational information.
• Documents so anyone reading can understand the story; if you didn’t document, it didn’t happen.
• Embraces change, as change is constant. Has a mindset that is open to new knowledge and perspectives.
• Never stops learning and growing. Inspires growth in others.
• Presents a positive attitude.
• Holds oneself and others accountable. Focuses on doing things right and doing the right things.
• Supports team by recognizing and celebrating successes and failures, giving credit publicly, actively participating in team activities, treating team members with respect and dignity.
• Perseveres to the finish.
• Assists, where needed, to meet the needs of the organization, even if it’s not a task that is part of your normal routine. (Examples: office cleaning, shoveling snow off the sidewalk, attending an outreach event, assisting in another clinic) You will not be requested to complete any tasks outside of your scope of practice.
• Ensures compliance with all organizational policies, safety standards, and regulatory requirements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Establishes trusting relationships with patients and their families while providing general support and encouragement.
• Uses standardized assessments to determine most appropriate evidenced based interventions.
• Provides support and advocacy prior to and during initial medical visit and when necessary to assure patient’s medical needs.
• Assists patients in understanding their care plans and instructions.
• Provides ongoing follow-up, basic motivational interviewing and goal setting with patients/families.
• Assists patients with identifying socio-economic barriers that affect their overall health and develop health/social management plans and goals.
• Facilitates patient’s use of family, social and community resources; acting as an advocate with external resources and agencies and self-help programs.
• Provides/facilitates patients and their families with referrals for services to community agencies as appropriate.
• Participates in outreach events and community education to remain knowledgeable of community resources.
• Works closely with providers and clinical personnel assigned to the patient to ensure comprehensive and coordination of care plans.
• Exhibits professional working relations with patients, families, visitors and staff.
• Records patient care management information in electronic health record (EHR).
• Maintains HIPAA compliance at all times.
• Arranges transportation services for any patient in need.
• Coordinates hospital follow-up appointments for all patients.
• Manage Gleaners2Go program by assisting patients with enrolling and placing orders, leading and participating in each food distribution, and completing any follow up necessary to keep the program running.
• Performs other duties, which may be assigned by the Care Coordination/Patient Advocate Supervisor.

Qualifications-Education

Required

High school graduate or GED equivalent.

Preferred

Associate degree in business or related field such as, medical assistant, paramedic, medical technologist (MT), or certified nursing assistant (CNA).

Qualifications-Experience

Required

6 months experience working in customer service or with the public.

Preferred

Previous work experience in the medical field and knowledge of medical terminology. Experience with an electronic health record (EHR). Spanish bilingual.

Required Licensure/Certification

Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification – certified or successful completion of CHW formal training program within first year of employment.

Food Safety Certification – certified or successful completion within first 6 months of employment, which is required for the Gleaners2Go program.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• This position requires a high degree of confidentiality, initiative, diplomacy, visibility, and the exercise of sound and responsible judgment.
• Professionalism at all times as a representative of NHC in the community, to our patients and staff, and to all other agencies and vendors.
• Schedule flexibility to meet the needs of the patient/family along with participation with outreach events.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills required.
• Ability and willingness to provide emotional support, encouragement and motivation to patients and their families.
• Strong prioritization, organizational skills.
• Skilled at recognizing and creating opportunities and leveraging resources.
• Commitment to cultural competency and sensitivity; experience working with individuals and groups from diverse racial, cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Setting

Overtime

as needed to care for patients

Holidays

as needed for outreach events

as needed for outreach events

Different Shifts

Prior to 8:00 am and evenings to meet the needs of our patients and their families, and for outreach events

On-Call

Travel

as needed for outreach events and between practices and administration

Physical Requirements

Heavy Lifting

Exposure Limit: not greater than 15 pounds 10% of the day; up to 50 pounds 10% of the week

Pushing Pulling

Exposure Limit: not greater than 15 pounds 10% of the day; up to 50 pounds 10% of the week

Standing

Exposure Limit: 20% of shift or less

Exposure Limit: 80% of shift or less

Walking

Exposure Limit: 30% of shift

Climbing

Exposure Limit:

Fine Manipulation

Exposure Limit: 75% of day

Other Exposures: Communicable diseases (influenza), body substances, pests, and angry/upset patients.

This description is intended to describe the general nature and most essential duties to be performed by people assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Management has the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to the job at any time. All NHC campuses are smoke-free.

"This Rural Health Transformation Program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $206,927,896.80 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government."

Neighborhood Health Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer, drug free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations, as applicable.