Community Health Advocate (28650)

Job Summary

HCAM offers diverse connection and coordination services for individuals and families across Maryland through various programs. HCAM’s Care Coordination Program (CCP) provides short-term care coordination services to Baltimore City residents who are eligible for Medicaid benefits and need help accessing services. The Care Coordination Program strives to improve birth outcomes and protect our city’s most vulnerable populations in Baltimore City though outreach strategies and providing access to health services and community resources by:

• Assisting Medicaid/HealthChoice eligible beneficiaries in accessing, and maximizing their Medicaid benefits
• Educating clients about health benefits
• Linking residents to primary care and specialty services
  
  

The Community Health Advocate (CHA) will serve as a part of CCP’s team by using trauma-informed strategies to outreach pregnant and postpartum women who are unable to be located through traditional outreach methods or who refuse to engage with care coordinators at time of first outreach attempt. The CHA will be embedded in Judy P. Hoyer Center Early Learning Hubs, known as “Judy Centers,” to locate pregnant women and reconnect them to HCAM’s Care Coordination Program and to connect them to the rich services for parents, children and families offered by the Judy Center. The CHA will have access to tools and strategies to build trust with the highest-risk, hard to reach pregnant women in the targeted region and to connect them to quality client services.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with Judy Center staff creating a referral system between the Judy Center and HCAM to ensure that pregnant women are re-connected and referred to HCAM for prenatal services.
• Partner with Judy Center staff and host/cohost community events to gain higher visibility and knowledge regarding the work of HCAM and the Judy Centers
• Complete face-to-face outreach with clients in the community or client homes as needed to locate pregnant and postpartum women and infants for connection to prenatal services.
• Provide linkage and coordination to OB, MCO, pediatric or primary care, postpartum care, dental care, specialty care, as well as linkage to the Maryland Medical Care Programs as needed.
• Assessment, triage and referral of pregnant and postpartum women and infants to Baltimore City Home Visiting Programs for long-term case management services.
• Aid with the removal of barriers to accessing healthcare including through referral to Medical Assistance Transportation and other support services.
• Documentation of all outreach activities according to standard operating procedures in the electronic medical record, eClinicalWorks database.
• Participation in local/state meetings, conferences, community meetings
• Participate in professional development opportunities that build effectiveness in areas of client engagement and intervention, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed outreach strategies.
• Participate in city-wide initiatives/groups/committees as applicable.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a health-related area preferred.
• Certification in Community Health Work is a preferred.
• Two years of experience providing home/community outreach to the maternal and child health population
• Demonstrated knowledge in the following areas: Community Outreach and Medicaid System Navigation, HealthChoice Medicaid recipients and Managed Care Organizations.
• Experience providing services to pregnant women and/or infants, adults with chronic health conditions in a public health/community setting- preferred
• Excellent planning, time management and decision-making skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite, Windows, and other basic computer functions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Bilingual in Spanish is a bonus
  
  

Compensation

In compliance with Maryland's wage transparency requirements, the compensation for this position includes a base salary range of $47,002 per year. Additionally, the benefits package includes vacation, sick, personal, and mental health leave, a 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, medical, dental, life, short-term and long-term disability insurance, company-paid life insurance, voluntary life insurance options, Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options, and a voluntary emergency savings fund with employer match.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The Ideal Candidate Must Be Able To

• Ambulate 3 blocks or more.
• Sit for extended periods.
• Lift at least 15 lbs.
  
  

Safety & Health Responsibilities

HCAM is committed to providing and maintaining a safe, secure, and healthy work environment for all employees, clients served, volunteers and visitors and has developed safety, security and occupational health policies, practices, and standards. As part of this commitment, all employees are required to:

• Adhere to all local, state, and federal safety and environmental codes, ordinances, standards, and laws.
• Adhere to all organizational safety plans, policies, practices, and standards.
• Be aware of and follow all safety rules of your work site.
• Report any unsafe conditions or accidents to your supervisor.
• Practice standard precautions.
• Participate in mandatory or available safety training.
  
  

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to both indoor and outdoor conditions. The employee will be subject to noise.

Hybrid work environment- a flexible work model allowing employees to work a blended schedule at remote and in-office locations.

Our Culture

The organization is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in its commitment to support employees and the community served.