Rural Community Hub Community Health Worker (Resident)

C304 Purchase District Health Department; United States; On-site; USD 15,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Pension

401k and 457b plans offered

Paid holidays

Sick time and vacation accrual

Job summary

The Purchase District Health Department is seeking a Community Health Worker to support rural hubs and care coordination across the Purchase Area Development District. This role focuses on connecting residents with health and social resources, advancing Hub initiatives, and contributing to community health improvements.

Reporting to PDHD, the position emphasizes outreach, navigation, and collaboration with local partners to strengthen health equity for Kentuckians.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in community health work.
• Experience serving rural communities preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of chronic disease prevention and care coordination preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support care coordination, navigation services, and Hub initiatives.
• Help residents access health, social, and community resources.
• Build relationships with residents and local organizations.
• Document outreach activities and referrals.

Skills

Community health work

Care coordination

Navigation services

Outreach

Communication skills

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Advertisement Closes: 09/28/2026 12:00 AM Pay Grade: Non-Merit Grade Salary: $7.25 - $50.00 Hourly Time Type: Full time Health Department: Purchase District Health Department

Summary: Purchase District Health Department is seeking a community-centered and proactive individual to join the Rural Community Hubs for Chronic Care Innovation (RCH) program in the Purchase Area Development District.

Overview

This full time, term limited role is part of the Rural Health Transformation–RCH program, with Purchase District Health Department serving as the RCH Lead Organization for Purchase Area Development District and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky serving as a statewide, neutral convening and implementation partner for the RCH program. For more context about the overall project, click here. The Rural Community Hub (RCH) Community Health Worker serves as a connector between Rural Community Hubs and community residents throughout the Purchase Area Development District. Reporting to the Purchase District Health Department, the Community Health Worker supports care coordination, navigation services, community outreach, and Hub initiatives while helping residents access health, social, and community resources. This role also contributes frontline insight to Hub planning and implementation and participates directly in Hub-defined initiatives and collective efforts, helping reflect organizational capacity, gaps, and opportunities across the ADD. This position plays a critical role in strengthening connections among residents, providers, community organizations, and Hub partners while advancing the broader goal of improving health and well-being across rural Kentucky.

Why This Role Matters

This role offers the opportunity to be part of a long-term, cross-sector effort to improve health and well-being in rural Kentucky communities. Community Health Workers help bridge gaps between residents and the systems designed to support them by increasing awareness of available services, reducing barriers to access, and enabling community voices to inform Hub planning and implementation. By supporting care coordination, navigation, outreach, and community engagement, the RCH Community Health Worker helps create stronger connections across healthcare, social services, education, housing, and other community systems. Through these efforts, the role contributes to meaningful, measurable improvements in health outcomes and quality of life for Kentuckians.

About RHT

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has been awarded funding through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rural Health Transformation Fund (RHTF). This investment will empower Kentucky to launch and implement its Rural Health Transformation Plan (RHTP) — a community-driven strategy to expand access and improve health outcomes for rural residents across the Commonwealth. Read Governor Beshear’s press release. This project is 100% funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a total of $212.9 million in budget year 1 with 100% by CMS/HHS. The RHTF grant spans five budget periods aligned with federal fiscal years (FY2026–FY2030). Funding is disbursed annually by CMS based on achievement of performance metrics. 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. View the Notice of Funding Opportunity from CMS.

If you have any questions or would like any more information about this job posting please contact Lisa Wise at [e-mail].

Description

Community Engagement & Hub Support:

• Build relationships with rural residents and increase awareness of Hub services, programs, and opportunities
• Support community outreach, engagement activities, and local events
• Gather community input and elevate resident perspectives to Hub leadership and partners
• Contribute frontline insight to Hub planning and implementation efforts
• Provide health education, informal guidance, and social support to help residents build knowledge, self-management skills, and confidence in managing their health
• Complete and apply the RCH Chronic Health Specialization to support residents with chronic disease-related needs
• Participate in Hub meetings, events, and Hub-defined initiatives and collective efforts
• Care Coordination & Navigation Services: Support coordination across healthcare providers, community organizations, and Hub partners
• Help residents access health care, social services, and community resources
• Support residents in navigating services, reducing barriers to access, and completing referrals
• Promote successful connections through warm handoffs and follow-up support
• Strengthen referral pathways across Hub partners and community organizations
• Relationship Building & Collaboration: Build and maintain strong relationships with residents, local organizations, service providers, and community leaders
• Coordinate with Hub partners to promote collaboration and shared understanding of community needs
• Facilitate communication and knowledge sharing among Hub stakeholders
• Support operational excellence through partnership development and cross-sector collaboration
• Continuous Improvement & Documentation: Gather and communicate resident and partner feedback to support service improvements
• Document outreach activities, referrals, follow-up actions, and emerging community trends
• Stay informed about local resources, community priorities, and Rural Community Hub practices
• Support reporting and continuous improvement efforts through accurate and timely documentation

Your Background

• Community Health Worker certification or eligibility to obtain certification preferred
• Experience serving rural communities and/or Purchase Area Development District communities preferred
• Knowledge of chronic disease prevention, self-management support, or care coordination practices preferred
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent lived or professional experience in public health, social work, human services, community development, or a related field preferred
• 4+ years of experience in community health work, outreach, care coordination, navigation, social services, or other community-facing support roles
• Deep commitment to improving health outcomes and quality of life for Kentuckians
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with residents, community partners, and stakeholders
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while supporting both direct resident needs and broader Hub initiatives
• Familiarity with healthcare, social service, education, housing, and other community resource systems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to travel throughout the ADD for meetings, community visits, and events

What you bring

• Experience building relationships with diverse community members and partners
• Strong understanding of community resource systems and resident navigation needs
• Ability to coordinate services across healthcare, social service, and community-based organizations
• Experience supporting outreach, engagement, and community-based initiatives
• Ability to identify and reduce barriers that prevent residents from accessing needed services
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Commitment to community-centered approaches and health equity
• Experience documenting activities and supporting continuous improvement efforts

You are good at

• Community Engagement: Building relationships with residents and supporting meaningful participation in Rural Community Hub services and activities
• Care Navigation: Helping residents successfully access and move across healthcare, social service, and community resource systems
• Collaborative Implementation: Supporting Hub planning and execution by connecting community insight with partner action and service delivery
• Relationship Building: Developing productive relationships with residents, providers, organizations, and community leaders
• Documentation & Insight: Tracking outreach, referrals, and resident needs to support reporting, follow-up, and continuous improvement efforts

SALARY RANGE

$17-$19/hour based on qualifications and experience

About Purchase District Health Department

The Purchase District Health Department (PDHD) is a public health agency with jurisdiction in five counties (Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton, Hickman, and McCracken) in the Purchase area. The mission of PDHD is to provide environmental, preventive, curative, and health maintenance services to area citizens. Our primary goal is to have individuals in the Purchase Area adopt habits and behaviors that support a long and productive life span. This goal can be reached by direct health care, health education and counseling, and enforcement of laws that protect health and the environment. To enable our clients to achieve their optimal functional level, we provide quality cost, effective care to all clients served regardless of their race, color, religion, age, sex, economic status, handicap status, political beliefs, or national origin. We treat all clients with dignity and respect as we strive to help them.

Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• HRA if medical is waived, if applicable
• Flex spending account
• Pension, 6% of wages
• 401k and 457b plans offered (employee funded)
• 5% wage increase at successful completion of 6 months of employment
• National Health Service Corps Site
• Time off: 13 paid holidays including two days at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's
• 3.5 hours of sick time accrued per pay period
• 3.5 hours of vacation time accrued per pay period
• Additional leave for jury duty, inclement weather, and elections

Purchase District Health Department provides equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment and to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or because the individual is a smoker or nonsmoker. It is the policy of the Purchase District Health Department to promote equal opportunity in matters of hiring, training, promotion, pay, employee benefits and other conditions of employment.

About the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH)

The mission of DPH is to improve the health and safety of people in Kentucky through prevention, promotion and protection. The department oversees programs designed to improve the lives of citizens and visitors through prevention of negative health outcomes, promotion of healthy lifestyles and protection from diseases, injury and environmental health impacts. DPH has almost 150 different programs to help Kentuckians become healthier in cooperation with its partners such as local health departments, universities, private providers, etc. To support many of these programs, the department relies on high-quality data to guide decision making at the state and local levels such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Immunization Registry and Office of Vital Statistics. The department is organized into seven divisions with the Commissioner's Office providing oversight and support for the divisions and programs. The Office of Health Equity and the Public Health Nursing Office are located in the Commissioner's Office. More information about each division can be found under Related Agencies at the bottom of this page.