Position Description:

Community Health Worker’s (CHW) are certified health educators working to advocate, integrate and coordinate services across the continuum of health for the prevention and management of chronic disease. CHWs offer interpretation and translation services, provide culturally appropriate health education and information, help people get the care they need, give informal counseling and guidance on health behaviors, advocate for individual and community health needs. The CHW is an integral part of the practice team. The practice team includes providers, medical assistants, nurses, dental team and BH teams. Using team-based care concepts the CHW will attend team huddles and meetings as well as perform pre-visit planning to ensure preventive screenings are completed. The Community Health Worker (CHW) is responsible for helping patients and their families to navigate and access community services, other resources, and adopt healthy behaviors. The CHW is responsible for identifying patients served by NVHC and monitoring selected patients to ensure compliance with screenings and treatment plans in all service lines. The CHW will participate in training programs to learn the best-practice methods for effective patient navigation and/or education. The CHWs will report up to the CMO of Clinical Services via the VP of Quality Management.

Desired Education or Certifications Criteria:

• H.S. Graduate or GED
• Community Health Worker (CHW) Certificate of Completion required or the ability to obtain certification within 6 months from date of hire
• Bilingual (Spanish) is strongly recommended
• Ability to maintain Basic Life Support (BLS) Training Certification
• Experience in a medical office and/or healthcare setting with a diverse patient population helpful.

Responsibilities / Functional Job Description:

Coordinates NVHC patients through screening and other services per the needs of identified patients.

Patient Encounters

• Elicits and records information
• Promotes health by educating the patient regarding prevention and/or treatment of health needs
• Provides emotional support, compassion and is sympathetic to patient needs
• Reviews charts on patient no shows" and cancelled appointments per NVHC policy and procedure

Medical Quality:

• Ensures compliance with HIPAA, OSHA & other regulatory agencies

Non- Clinical Case Management:

• Track patient's follow-up care for reporting purposes
• Complete reporting per scope of work requirements

EMR Responsibilities; when applicable:

• Verifies and ensures competency when utilizing EMR system
• Identifies and obtains information from EMR
• Utilizes EMR communication as needed
• Completes tasks as assigned
• Utilizes reports generated from EMR and EPM system; when applicable
• Identifies and reports documentation inaccuracies to supervisor
• Insures patient confidentiality
• Informs supervisor if inaccuracies are identified
• Follows all policies and procedures pertaining to EMR

General Duties:

• Ensures proper computer procedures are followed as per NVHC policy and procedure
• Performs other work related duties as requested by supervisor
• Works closely with outside agencies to ensure quality care of patients
• Orients and educates patients and their families by meeting with them and/or by telephone
• Explains the role of the CHW
• In conjunction with the patient’s direct care provider/s, initiates the care plan and provides educational information related to continuing care requirements
• Respects patients by recognizing their rights and maintaining confidentiality
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state-of-the-art practices

Customer Service:

• Exemplifies in daily behavior customer service standards of NVHC
• Returns patient calls, as needed, in a timely fashion
• Professional respectful communication with supervisor and co-workers
• Quality Management
• Constantly alert for ways to improve customer service, improve patient flow, increase productivity, and improve utilization of resources communicating ideas to supervisor
• Participates in quality management projects as requested
• Maintains quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards
• Adheres to policy regarding incident forms and/or patient complaints
• Notifies supervisor of unusual occurrences or risk management issues
• Attends and actively participates in team and provider meetings
• Follows all NVHC policies and procedures

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Knowledge of the essential functions, practices and procedures of a medical clinic and office
• Knowledge of CPT and ICD-9/10-CM coding and the Health Information Portability and
• Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Knowledge of an electronic medical record system
• Skill in operating personal computer utilizing word processing, databases, spreadsheets and email
• Skill in operating office equipment: calculator, copy machine, scanner, fax machine, and telephone
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of information, patient financial and medical information per HIPPA
• Ability to read, write legibly, calculate mathematical figures
• Ability to solve practical problems dealing with a variety of variables
• Ability to exercise good judgment in appraising situations and making decisions
• Ability to work and interact effectively and positively with other staff members to build and to enhance teamwork in the clinics and overall NVHC organization
• Ability to communicate in a courteous and professional manner
• Ability to interview and communicate with patients in a clinical setting in English and in Spanish
• Ability to understand and respond appropriately, effectively and sensitively to special population groups as defined by race, ethnicity, language, age, sexual orientation, etc.

Nevada Health Centers will provide equal opportunity employment to all employees and applicants for employment. No person shall be discriminated against in employment because of race, color, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or intellectual disability marital status, parental status, sexual orientation or any other category protected by law.

About our company:

Established in 1977, Nevada Health Centers is the largest provider of primary care for the uninsured, underinsured, and geographically isolated, with 17 health centers, three mobile health programs, and seven Women, Infants, and Children offices.

Our mission:

To provide access to quality healthcare services throughout Nevada.

Our vision:

To create an integrated, provider-led healthcare system that supports the delivery of safe, effective, quality-based primary care to all Nevadans.

Nevada Health Centers (NVHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) commonly called a Community Health Center (CHC). Patients are not discriminated against in the delivery of healthcare services based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, genetic information or source of payment.

Nevada Health Centers will provide equal opportunity employment to all employees and applicants for employment. No person shall be discriminated against in employment because of race, color, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or intellectual disability marital status, parental status, sexual orientation or any other category protected by law.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.

As part of Nevada Health Centers’ COVID-19 response and to protect the health and safety of our staff and patients, unless otherwise prohibited by law, new hires with a start date of November 1, 2021, or later are required to be fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated means at least 14 days past the last vaccination in an FDA-approved-vaccine series. For example, 14 days past the single-dose Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, or 14 days past the second dose of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine.

To prove vaccination, you must provide either 1) the CDC-issued card you received at the time of vaccination, or 2) a copy of your COVID-19 immunization record from a state-sponsored immunization record repository.