Title:  Community Health Worker

Summary

The Diabetes and Endocrinology division is seeking a Community Health Worker (CHW) position as part of a quality improvement grant received from the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The CHW will work in close coordination with the BCM/TCH Diabetes social workers and medical team to provide support for medically complex, high-risk youth with diabetes and their families. The CHW will act as a community liaison to support patients and their families in better managing their medical and social needs until goals are reached as defined by the health care team. Patient care activities may take place at TCH/BCM locations in the Houston metro area: Texas Medical Center, West Campus (Katy), Woodland Campus, Cy-Fair Health Center (Cypress), Clear Lake Health Center (Webster) and Sugar Land Health Center. The candidate must be willing to travel to those locations. Mileage for travel and parking expenses may be reimbursed. 

Job Duties

• Assists patients and families in identifying education, information, referral, and advocacy related to the management of their medical and social needs.
• Refers families to community resources in their area, social services, insurance providers, and other relevant providers for the medically complex patients and families identified by the care team. Assist with applications for eligible programs.
• Serves as a liaison between families, medical staff, and appropriate community agencies.
• Accompanies families to meetings in the community, including school meetings.
• Develops relationships and collaborations with community organizations to facilitate a warm hand off to families and to promote health for youth with diabetes.
• Develops and maintains a resource list for services needed in the service areas.
• Works to reduce cultural and socioeconomic barriers between patients and institutions.
•  Motivates  patients to be active and engaged participants in their health and overall wellbeing.
• Maintains confidentiality per HIPAA guidelines in regard to patient information.
• Attends and participates actively in team meetings approximately one day/week with virtual options available.
• Utilizes quality improvement processes to identify improvement opportunities and evaluate programs and services and their outcomes.
• Collects, records, and maintains program data in a secure format on division shared drive.
• Provides concise documentation in the medical record of all activities, service plans, and results.
• Coordinates with the project staff to schedule visits, arrange transportation, send reminders, and contact participants for follow-ups.

Minimum Qualifications

•  High School diploma or GED.
• Two years of relevant experience in health/social services.

Preferred Qualifications

• Community Health Worker Certification.
•  Bilingual (Spanish/English).
• Previous experience working with culturally diverse children and families in health/social services.
• Familiarity with pediatric diabetes.
• Knowledge of community agencies and organizations
• Strong interpersonal skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, teaching and coaching skills, and community networking skills