Community Health Outreach Worker

Wellness Equity Alliance (WEA) is a novel national public health organization comprised of a multidisciplinary team of population and public health experts with backgrounds in infectious disease, public health, emergency medicine, primary care, cardiology, pediatrics, psychiatry, community health work (CHW), nursing and advanced practice pharmacy. We work nearly exclusively with underrepresented communities, fundamentally addressing health-care disparities and the social determinants of health (SDoH) that have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritizing the following:

• People experiencing homelessness
• Indigenous communities
• Immigrant communities
• Rural communities
• BIPoC communities
• LGBTQIA+ communities
• Justice-impacted communities

The WEA team is diverse, inclusive, and nimble enough to assemble teams of healthcare professionals within days using our proven local staff recruitment models to address population health crises and communicable disease outbreaks. The WEA team’s partnership model is collaborative and allows hospitals, health jurisdictions, state/local government agencies to provide timely care using equity-based strategies for individuals and marginalized communities.

Elevate your career to new heights with an opportunity that transcends traditional healthcare boundaries

Wellness Equity Alliance is actively seeking compassionate and driven individuals for several pivotal roles in our groundbreaking Street Medicine program. Street Medicine is an innovative and compassionate approach to healthcare, designed to meet individuals experiencing homelessness right where they are: on the streets, in shelters, or within underserved communities. Working for WEA is more than a job; it's a calling to serve those who are most in need, directly in their environment.

Purpose of the position

This position is focused on conducting community outreach among unhoused populations. The Community Health Outreach Worker (CHOW) care coordinator will play a crucial role in identifying individuals with active HIV/HCV and STI cases and ensuring they are connected to appropriate care. This includes verifying that patients have received the correct treatment and follow-up care.

Staff selected for this role will contribute to a vital and sustainable street medicine program designed to serve unhoused communities in the South Los Angeles area. Often, the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness have encountered repeated failures from institutions throughout their lives, leading to a deep mistrust of authorities, institutions, and healthcare providers. This mistrust, while initially a form of self-protection, can become a significant barrier to accessing care and resources that could significantly improve their quality of life.

The street medicine team will work to build trusting relationships with people who are in need of medical services, work to decrease the logistical barriers that block access to health care and provide care directly to the places where unhoused individuals live.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach activities within a specific health program and/or defined patient populations with the goal of engaging multiple local businesses, schools, and other relevant organizations in our public and community health services.
• Conduct outreach with patients to identify social determinants of health impacting patient's health and overall wellness
• Utilize coaching, motivational interviewing, and other evidence-based techniques to support patients in achieving their goals
• Utilize technology and digital resources to monitor ongoing care activities
• Identify barriers to achieving targeted clinical or social outcomes, and engage the care team to revise the care plan when necessary
• Documents all participant encounters; completes and submits monthly reports; maintains comprehensive electronic participant files. Documents activities, service plans, and outcomes achieved by study participants in an effective manner.
• Works collaboratively and effectively within a team. Establishes positive, supportive relationships with participants and provides feedback to other members of the team. Builds and maintains positive working relationships with the participant, providers, nurse case managers, agency representatives, research staff, supervisors, and office staff, from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Works to reduce cultural and socio-economic barriers between participants and institutions.
• Engage eligible Enhanced Care Management (ECM) members.
• Accompany ECM member to office visits, as needed, and in the most easily accessible setting, within Plan guidelines.
• Health promotion and self-management training.
• Arrange transportation.
• Assist with linkage to social supports.
• Distribute health promotion materials.
• Communicate with member to facilitate visit with care coordinator.
• Connect ECM member to other social services and supports the member may need.
• Advocate on behalf of members with health care professionals.
• Monitor treatment adherence (including medication).

Essential Skills and Qualifications:

CHWs must have either lived or professional experience that aligns with and provides a connection between the CHW and the clients being served. This may include, but is not limited to experience related to incarceration, military service, pregnancy and birth, disability, foster system placement, homelessness, mental health conditions or substance use, or being a survivor of domestic or intimate partner violence or abuse and exploitation. Lived experience may also include shared race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, or cultural background with one or more linguistic, cultural, or other groups in the community for which the CHW is providing services. Supervising Providers (the organizations employing or otherwise overseeing the CHWs with which the MCP contracts, as described below) are encouraged to work with CHWs who are familiar with and/or have experience in the geographic communities they are serving. Supervising Providers must maintain evidence of this experience.

The CHW serves as an advocate for the health needs of individuals by assisting community residents in effectively communicating with healthcare providers or social service agencies. Act as liaison or advocate and implement programs that promote, maintain, and improve individual and overall community health. May deliver health-related preventive services such as blood pressure, glaucoma, and hearing screenings. May collect data to help identify community health needs.

Staff identified to be a part of this operation will be a part of an important and sustainable street medicine program aimed at serving the unhoused populations in the South Los Angeles area. The most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness have likely been failed by institutions many times in their lives, and their mistrust of authorities, institutions, and individual care providers may represent an attempt at self- protection that, over time, becomes a barrier to accessing care and resources that could improve their lives.

The street medicine team will work to build trusting relationships with people who are in need of medical services, work to decrease the logistical barriers that block access to health care and provide care directly to the places where unhoused individuals live.

Minimum Qualifications One of the Following

• CHW Certificate
• Violence Prevention Professional Certificate
• Work Experience Pathway

Education Experience

• High School diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) Associates degree in a healthcare, social work, or related field (Preferred)
• Must possess a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience - either lived or professional
• Ability to work both independently and to collaborate with teams of individuals in diverse settings, using a solution-oriented approach.
• Preference given to candidates with Community Support Worker (CSW) and/or Certified Peer Support Worker (CPSW) credentials/certifications.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license

Preferred Skills

• Demonstrated history of strong interpersonal skills and ability to understand and follow written/verbal instructions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of local and regional community resources.
• Demonstrated knowledge of public health programs.
• Skilled in utilizing appropriate industry standard assessment techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to provide appropriate guidance and positive customer service with utilizing a patient centered approach.
• Must possess a comprehensive knowledge of the local community based on personal lived experience and the ability to articulate the lived experience and perspective
• Preference to bilingual Spanish speakers.
  • Preference to cultural competence with LatinX communities