Community Health Worker

Who We Are:

Established in 1975, Non-Profit Yakima Neighborhood Health Services serves patients in the areas of Behavioral Health, Family Dentistry, Internal Medicine, Women’s Health, Primary Care, Pediatrics, Vision Care and Pharmacy. Our mission is to improve the quality of life and equity in our communities by providing accessible and integrated health and social services, ending homelessness and offering unique learning opportunities for students of health professions.

Why Work at Yakima Neighborhood Health Services?

YNHS offers great compensation for this position, with a starting wage of $20-23 an hour, along with high value benefits of employer provided medical, dental, vision, life, disability and retirement insurances. To support our team, we also provide ten paid holidays, flexible amounts of paid leave and/or cash-out options, and retention bonuses to reward commitment to our mission.

Our Ideal Candidate: We are looking for a team member that is passionate about serving our community of patients and enjoys working in a team! Some technical requirements for this position are:

• Knowledge of community services, social services, and community resources required.
• Ability to speak clearly and concisely.
• Bilingual in English/Spanish preferred; convenient if ability to sign.
• Candidate must not have been sanctioned or excluded from participation in federal or state health care programs by a federal or state law enforcement, regulatory, or licensing agency.
• Ability to successfully pass a background check in relation to the position applied for.
• Must have valid driver's license and car insurance.

Day to Day:

• Assist clients in obtaining health services, addressing barriers that may prevent access to care. This includes coaching in the use of technology to access patient portals and telehealth for medical, behavioral health, and social service care.
• Assist clients in obtaining Smart Phones or other devices available through state/federal programs, including Managed Care Organizations, so they can utilize telehealth for health and social services.
• Assist clients in scheduling virtual visits for medical or behavioral health, setting up their smart device for virtual visits, and coaching them to confidently be able to conduct virtual visits independently. This may involve the CHW accompanying the patient/client at the beginning of several visits to successfully start each visit in a confidential area and then leave the patient in a confidential space for the visit, still being available for technical help if needed.
• Assist clients in accessing health care information via patient portals to obtain their own health information, request medication refills, and communicate with their health care team using technology from their home or dwelling unit.
• Provide assessments and screening for Social Determinants using approved tools.
• Assist clients address other barriers to care i.e. Language, transportation, insurance needs, etc.
• Assist clients address emergent needs i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc.
• Provide health education, as directed, using appropriate health aids.
• Attend case conferences or morning huddles as needed to address the comprehensive needs of the client.
• Client contacts may be conducted in the clinic, client dwellings, streets, or other outdoor settings
• Document contacts and interactions in Electronic Health Records.
• Participate in quality assurance activities and peer review as requested.
• Maintain organized, clean, efficient and confidential work area.
• Represent YNHS in local meetings as requested.
• Perform related work and other tasks as requested.