Description

Are you excited about a new opportunity? Do you have a passion for providing high quality medical assistance and patient support? Are you mission-driven to help improve health and eliminate inequities in health outcomes in under-resourced communities in DC? Well, look no further! At Community of Hope, we have worked diligently to improve health and end family homelessness to make Washington, DC, more equitable. We believe everyone in DC should have access to good healthcare, a stable income, and home, and hope! If you are ready to make a positive difference in the community, this position is for you!

At COH, we strive for: Caring for Families. Improving Lives. Leading Change

Our Approach and Values:

We care for families by providing direct services with a focus on prevention, healing, and wellness.

We improve lives by building on families’ strengths, honoring their choices, and taking a whole-family, multi-generational approach.

We lead and advocate for system change to address the effects of historical and current racial inequities on health outcomes and housing opportunities.

We embrace the diversity of our community, welcome all voices and perspectives, and treat everyone with respect, compassion, and integrity.

We strive for excellence in all that we do, implement evidence-based practices, measure our outcomes, and use this knowledge to continuously strengthen our work.

Position Summary: The WIC Nutritionist is accountable directly to the WIC Program Director. This position provides important nutrition education, breastfeeding support, to families to support prenatal, postpartum, infant and childhood health. The role will be responsible for the certification, nutrition education and health components of the WIC Program, working as needed at multiple permanent sites depending on scheduling needs. This is a full-time position that may work one day a week remotely.

Salary- This position starts at $65k and up based on experience. Indeed provides their own estimated salary calculator and is not affiliated with COH's range.

Highlighted Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assess nutritional and/or health risks, including an assessment of eating patterns, breastfeeding goals, economic and cultural background, food preferences, medical history, laboratory values, and other pertinent data. Determines and prioritizes the nutritional risks of clients based on established priority factors
• Delivers one-on-one nutrition counseling and support to a minimum of 10 patients per day, either in person or via telehealth.
• At least 80% of time allocated to the provision of direct nutrition and breastfeeding promotion and support services and no more than 20% dedicated to administrative duties.
• Implements the nutrition and breastfeeding promotion and support services component of the local agency plan.
• Prescribes a food package to address the individual client's medical and nutritional needs, taking into consideration food preferences and cultural background, as well as the availability of refrigeration and cooking facilities
• Develops high-risk nutritional care plans for designated individuals and provides individual follow-up counseling as required to assure that the health and nutritional needs of the clients are adequately addressed
• Provides education and counseling in individual and group settings to women or caretakers concerning breastfeeding goals, nutritional needs of women and children, and preventive health, including substance abuse education and referrals
• Coordinates nutritional care with other members of the health care team to assure comprehensive medical and social services for clients, including referrals for related services, such as substance abuse intervention, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid/DC Healthy Families benefits and child protection as required
• Assists in the implementation, and evaluation of nutrition education programs to meet the needs of the WIC community, taking into consideration cultural and ethnic needs, including selection of appropriate materials, formats, and scheduling of sessions
• Keeps abreast of current research findings in maternal and child health and nutrition in order to assure that appropriate intervention strategies are provided to participants
• Assures that nutrition education and counseling services are documented as appropriate and that anthropometrical and hematological data are appropriately recorded.
• Identifies gaps in services to address social determinants of health based on outcomes and patient feedback. Assists in developing plans, community resources, and other partnerships to meet identified needs, particularly around food insecurity.
• Assures proper certification of eligible applicants.
• Maintains target productivity standards.
• Serves as a liaison to external partners in the food and nutrition space and works to promote partnerships that enhance access to healthy, affordable foods and culturally competent education, including cooking courses and grocery store tours.
• Uses population health data to target outreach to specific patients/sub-populations that could benefit from nutrition-based interventions.
• Contributes accurate and timely data to support program reporting and quality improvement.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. in clinical nutrition, nutrition science, dietetics or nutrition-related field required. Masters degree preferred
• Registered Dietitian (RD)– eligible with the Commission on Dietetic Registration Licensure in the District of Columbia (LD, LN) or licensed in another state with proof of application for licensure in the District of Columbia preferred. Candidate must achieve an active license in the District of Columbia before start date
• This position may also be filled by a Licensed Physician (MD, DO) or Registered Nurse (RN).
• Experience providing culturally competent, patient-centered education in a low-income setting highly required.
• Ability to multi-task and problem solve required.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-based setting required.
• Ability to work flexible hours (i.e. evenings, weekends) to provide increased access to patients required.
• Ability to travel to other sites for the purposes of training, meetings, and providing cross-coverage required.
• Experience in community health center setting preferred.
• All Health Staff must receive the required vaccinations. This includes annual flu and covid vaccines. Medical or religious exemptions may be requested.

At COH, we understand the toll that the Covid-19 pandemic has taken on the workforce, which is why we prioritize the following well-being and work-life balance-centered benefits:

• 8-hour workdays, which include a paid lunch
• 11.5 paid company holidays, 1 personal floating holiday, 15 days of paid vacation (increases to 20 after 3 years of service), and 12 days of paid sick leave on an annual basis
• Annual performance-based raises, up to 5% of your annual pay
• National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and DC Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (DCHPLRP) participants
• Tuition reimbursement, loan repayment for clinicians, licensing reimbursement, and continuing education unit funds for licensed staff
• Many opportunities for internal promotions and transfers across the agency as we continue to grow; we average 30 promotions each year
• Ongoing internal leadership training for supervisors
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion training and initiatives for all staff
• Ongoing well-being activities, culture compact activities, and trauma-informed care initiatives
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plans through CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield
• Life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care reimbursable expenses
• And much more!

About Us:

Community of Hope is a mission-driven, innovative, and rapidly growing nonprofit. For over 40 years, we have provided healthcare, housing, and supportive services for under-resourced, underserved and people experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, we provide medical, dental, emotional wellness, and care coordination services for the whole family at three locations in DC. Community of Hope also strongly emphasizes maternal and child health, with midwifery practice and the only free-standing birth center in DC. In 2020, Community of Hope provided about 28,400 medical visits, 7,000 dental visits, and 10,000 behavioral health visits for about 11,000 patients. Community of Hope provides community walk-in COVID testing and COVID vaccines. Community of Hope is also one of the largest providers in DC of housing and support services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. Through providing these programs, we live out our mission to improve health and end family and individual homelessness to make Washington, DC, more equitable.

Community of Hope cares for families and individuals by providing direct services focusing on prevention, healing, and wellness. We improve lives by building on families' and individuals' strengths, honoring their choices, and taking a whole-family, multi-generational approach. We lead and advocate for system change to address the effects of historical and current racial inequities on health outcomes and housing opportunities. We embrace the diversity of our community, welcome all voices and perspectives, and treat everyone with respect, compassion, and integrity. We strive for excellence in everything we do, implement evidence-based practices, measure our outcomes, and use this knowledge to strengthen our work continuously. We were selected as one of The Washington Post 150 Top Workplaces in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 based on feedback from our staff.

To request a reasonable accommodation to complete an employment application or for general questions about employment with Community of Hope, contact a Recruiting Coordinator. Email: hr@cohdc.org Phone: 202-407-7747. Community of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.