SUMMARY:

Patient Navigators (PN) are non-clinical team members skilled at engaging with patients over the phone and in-person and working with clinic care teams to enhance patient centered care. Patient Navigators work to close gaps in care through outreach to patients; scheduling patient appointments; enhancing patient connection to the Patient Centered Medical Home; and assisting with referrals to additional resources, including transportation and interpretation services. Demonstrate Christ-like behavior and attitude in all job duties and responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include:

• Patient engagement and outreach– practicing active listening, empathy and cultural humility with patients to schedule appointments. Addressing challenges with patients at-risk of missing appointments.
• Connecting patients to PCMH– coordinating appointments with health care providers to ensure timely delivery of diagnostic, treatment and wellness exams. Assist patients with accessing additional resources and/or clinic services. Updating care team on patient progress. Effectively communicating with patients and clinic care teams. Ability to balance priorities and manage patient caseloads. This may include but not be limited to: conducting post- hospital outreach to encourage patient to attend hospital follow up visits in clinic, scheduling Medicare Annual Wellness Exams and new patient or annual Health Assessment visits
• Improve clinic quality measures– demonstrate an understanding of culturally specific challenges and disparities facing patients. Knowledge of basic public health principles, managed care, health care delivery system and community served. Basic understanding of health risk factors, prevention techniques and healthy lifestyles.
• Health plan quality measures – review quality measure reports from health plans and independent physician associations. Outreach and notify patients due for health maintenance screenings based on age, sex, and current medical diagnoses. Schedule appointments with the patient’s primary care provider, specialist, and diagnostic centers. Submit patient vitals, medication list, and diagnostic test results to the health plan portals.
• Work with the Care Message Health Information Exchange Platform to initiate and respond to communication with patients in need of closing gaps in care.
• Learn and work with other Health Information Exchange systems, including but not limited to: LANES, Provider to Provider platforms in eClinical Works, and the Medpoint portal.
• Learn and work with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Teams, and other programs to track data related to quality measures and gaps in care.
• Professionalism– efficient in demonstrating essential job-related functions and workplace etiquette, including computer use; navigation of electronic health records system; maintaing patient confidentiality; identification of mandatory reporting situations; goal setting and work plan development; timeliness of arrival and tidiness of workspace. Ability to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Ability to work effectively within a team, demonstrating initiative, follow-through, and accountability.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to accomplish each essential duty satisfactorily. The following requirements are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Valid driver’s license required.
• Current personal vehicle insurance that complies with California minimum requirement.
• Acceptable driving record.
• Must be fluent in English and Spanish.
• Detail-oriented.
• Communication Skills (written, verbal, presentation and patient engagement).
• Interpersonal and Relationship Building Skills (with patients and clinic staff).
• Service Coordination and Navigation Skills (patient appointments and referalls).
• Profession Skills and Conduct (including IT skills)
• Ability to use word-processing and spreadsheet software to complete assigned tasks.  Skilled in using office machines.
• Health Care Knowledge Base (health care system, measures, and health disparities).
• Demonstrated organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and complete multiple tasks simultaneously; demonstrated skills in working independently or in a team setting; using independent judgment; and problem solving and troubleshooting.

• Demonstrated ability to work with clients of various socioeconomic backgrounds, disabilities, and cultures and with interpreters and clients for whom English is a second language.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate in a pleasant, non-judgmental, respectful, culturally sensitive manner under varying levels of stress (this may include high levels of noise, limited resources, etc.); demonstrated skills in handling difficult interpersonal interactions with discretion and diplomacy.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

High school diploma or GED.  Minimum three years working in the areas of health promotion or community work required.

COMPUTER SKILLS:  Computer proficiency required, including the ability to enter data with speed and accuracy

LANGUAGE SKILLS:  Bilingual and bilateral in English and Spanish is required.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS & WORK HOURS:  Limited to contractual/collaborative duties and professional education opportunities.  Standard 40-hour week (4, 10-hr days or 5, 8-hr days) with occasional Saturdays or Sundays.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.  Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems.  Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, scientific equations, graphs, musical notes, etc…) in its most difficult phases.  Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

California Driver License; valid insurance.  CPR Certification required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

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. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to walk. The employee is occasionally required to stand, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include distance vision, color vision and peripheral vision. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but may occasionally be high at times.  Working conditions are normal for an office environment.  Work requires extensive work using a computer. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be exposed to carriers of contagious diseases. The employee may have to deal with irate and irrational clients who may or may not be under the influence of mind-altering substances such as cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, etc.

WORK STATUS:  Full-time, Regular, non-exempt position Medical, Dental, Vision with 403B Retirement Plan with employer match.  Salary range:  $43,680 – $48,164.  Please submit resume to cbarnes@lachc.com