Public Health Assistant

The County of Santa Clara; California (MO); On-site; USD 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

The County of Santa Clara is seeking a Public Health Community Worker to assist professional staff across hospital and clinic sites in California. Under supervision, you will perform clinical and community tasks to support health programs and services.

Two years of experience and 30 semester units in nursing, nutrition, health care, or related fields are required; additional education may substitute for work experience.

Qualifications

• Two years of experience comparable to a Community Worker and 30 semester units in nursing, nutrition, health care or related health field.
• One additional year of education (at least 30 semester units) may substitute for a maximum of one year of the required work experience.
• When assigned to the Public Health Nursing Division, possession of a valid California license as a Vocational Nurse may be substituted for the required education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Visits and interviews patients/clients and families to collect pertinent health related information.
• Participates in preparing plans for counseling toward improvement of health needs.
• Observes and reports on individuals' basic health condition.
• Clarifies professional instructions to individuals and families.
• Interprets public health policies and regulations.
• Provides paraprofessional counseling on health care related problems.
• Locates residents in the community who need medical or other health services.
• Collaborates with the professional staff in the referral of these individuals and families and encourages them to take advantage of these resources.
• Attends appropriate staff and in-service meetings.
• May pursue job-related educational courses.

Skills

Basic public health knowledge

Interpersonal communication

Education

Core nursing/health coursework (30 semester units)

Job description

Under supervision, to assist professional Public Health Bureau personnel by performing a variety of clinical and community related support tasks.

Bilingual (Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese) candidates are encouraged to apply.

Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) is the second largest public health care system in California and includes four acute care hospitals, 14 clinics and 60+ specialty and sub-specialty services. Our mission is to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare and excellent service to everyone in Santa Clara County.

Because we serve patients throughout multiple hospitals and clinics, you may have to work at different sites. We will meet any obligations we may have when this occurs.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

SCVMC is a full-service tertiary acute care teaching hospital with 699 licensed beds providing a wide range of specialized services, including Rehabilitation, Burn, Trauma, and NICU. SCVMC was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as #6 Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation and #1 in the West and designated as a 2024 High Performing hospital for Maternity Care, Heart Failure, Stroke, Hip Fracture, and Pneumonia.

O'Connor Hospital

O'Connor Hospital (OCH) is a 358 licensed bed acute care facility offering a full range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and specialty programs to residents of Santa Clara County. It was founded in 1889 as one of the first hospitals in the county. OCH has grown significantly in both its inpatient volume and its Emergency Department visits. Along with these volume increases other ancillary and clinical departments like imaging, lab, pharmacy, and respiratory have seen growth as well.

St. Louise Regional Hospital

Since 1989, St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) has been caring for the residents in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical specialties. SLRH has 93 beds, is a Designated Primary Stroke Center, and is the only acute care hospital in the area. Located in Gilroy, SLRH maintains a CALSTAR 2 emergency helicopter base on the premises.

Regional Medical Center

Regional Medical Center (RMC) is a 265-bed hospital that is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions for more than 60 years. Since the SCVH integration of RMC effective 4/1/25, RMC has expanded the critical services including Level II trauma, Thrombectomy capable Stroke Center and STEMI care, and has been seeing an increased number of emergency visits and inpatient volume.

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• Visits and/or interviews patients/clients and families to collect pertinent health related information;
• Participates in preparing plans for counseling toward improvement of health needs;
• Observes and reports on individuals' basic health condition;
• Clarifies professional instructions to individuals and families;
• Interprets public health policies and regulations;
• Provides paraprofessional counseling on health care related problems;
• Provides liaison with community residents explaining health and other available community services and programs;
• Locates residents in the community who need medical or other health services;
• Collaborates with the professional staff in the referral of these individuals and families and encourages them to take advantage of these resources;
• Participates in basic community educational activities;
• Collects data to assist in the formulation of plans and programs;
• Prepares various reports including patient/client information forms, activity and progress reports;
• Advises of and assists in enforcing compliance with health practices and regulations;
• Investigates public complaints in areas of preventive medicine, and communicable disease;
• Assists professionals in clinic settings by providing information to the public, preparing patients for medical tests, obtaining instruments and supplies and recording test results;
• Makes appointments for clinic residents;
• Attends appropriate staff and in-service meetings;
• Attends on-the-job training sessions;
• May pursue job-related educational courses;
• May act as a team leader over a number of Community Workers and performs other related duties as required.

Two years of experience comparable to a Community Worker and 30 semester units in the field of nursing, nutrition, health care or other related health field. One Additional year of education (at least 30 semester units) may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required work experience.

(When assigned to the Public Health Nursing Division, possession of a valid California license as a Vocational Nurse may be substituted for the required education and experience).

Special Requirement

Designated positions may be required to speak Spanish.

Possession of a valid California driver's license may be required.

Knowledge of:

• Problems, needs, attitudes, and behavior patterns of community residents;
• Available community resources;
• General departmental procedures and policies, programs and services;
• Routine counseling techniques used in both individual and group situations;
• Fundamental purpose, policies, procedures and techniques of the assigned program;
• General health disorders and home care problems of the community.

Ability to:

• Be aware of and sensitive to feelings, attitudes, and trends in the community;
• Recognize and understand the problems of the community and identify appropriate resources;
• Work effectively with professional and other staff members;
• Explain instructions to clients, patients and others on a variety of health related issues;
• Maintain confidentiality of information about clients/patients;
• Establish rapport with people of the community;
• Understand and follow oral and written instructions;
• Maintain accurate records;
• Advise and direct subordinate personnel.