Call Center Associate

JOB POSTING TITLE: CLINIC CALL CENTER ASSOCIATE REPORTS TO: CALL CENTER LEAD STATUS: NON-EXEMPT OUR MISSION & VISION The Brighter Beginnings mission is to “support healthy births and successful development of children by partnering with parents and helping to build strong communities”. The Brighter Beginnings community gains its strength and aspiration from our core belief and vision that “every family matters, and every child deserves a happy, healthy future.”

OUR HISTORY Brighter Beginnings is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and has been responding to the needs of families in resource-poor neighborhoods since 1984, when our work began in response to the alarming differences in mortality and illness rates among African American babies compared to other children. Brighter Beginnings has grown into a respected and well-connected organization with locations in Oakland, Richmond, Bay Point, and Antioch. We have a multicultural, bilingual staff of passionate and committed family service professionals; in fact, many of our staff came to this work because of challenges they faced in their own families. POSITION SUMMARY The Call Center Associate is responsible for ensuring a positive and effective experience for every patient who has telephone contact with Brighter Beginnings. They answer calls in a timely manner and identify and address patients’ needs. This requires exceptional critical thinking, customer service, organizational, and time management skills. Duties include, but are not limited to, receiving incoming calls, answering patients’ questions, sending patients’ messages to their medical providers, and all aspects of appointment scheduling. The Call Center Associate is expected to meet specific performance targets related to caller wait times, call handling time, high-quality customer service, and quality of telephone encounters created. QUALIFICATIONS: JOB QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Required Qualifications: • High School Diploma or GED • Experience and/or interest in health care • Bilingual in Spanish/English • Excellent patient/customer service, verbal and written communication, and follow-through skills • Ability to work independently and to use good judgment. • Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with co-workers. • Strong computer skills. Preferred Qualifications: • Certificate or AA college coursework related to health care. • 1 year of related work experience in a health care or customer service field. • Multi-line phone experience • Experience scheduling appointments and checking insurances. • Previous experience in a primary care healthcare setting, with knowledge of healthcare terminology, procedures, and practices. • Experience working on computers and knowledge of Google software products. RESPONSIBILITIES: • Schedules patient appointments appropriately according to scheduling and payor protocols • Gathers information and relates that information efficiently and effectively to appropriate departments • Monitors provider schedules to identify errors or opportunities for improved schedule efficiencies • Acts as a patient liaison with other departments • Attends to requests and actions from other departments in a timely and professional way • Monitors and responds to department voicemail, patient portal messages, and after-hours messages • Get patient records from hospitals or other referral sources when scheduling appointments. •Refer patients to Octavia triage nurses as indicated by patient need. •When taking referrals for appointments from outside sources, to have referral sources, ensure that records for appointments are available. • Stays up to date on organizational changes as it relates to core responsibilities • Seeks and supports changes in department workflow processes, suggests improvements, and participates in organized efforts to improve service levels • Uses EHR system efficiently and effectively • Maintains patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA in all daily work • Call patients when due for a visit. and schedule appointments • Other tasks as assigned. Customer Service • Provides patient-centered customer service at all times • Demonstrates the ability to anticipate patients' needs and deliver services and respond to patients in a timely, accurate, courteous, respectful and friendly manner • Demonstrates ownership, initiative, attention to detail, and follow-through • Approaches problem-solving by focusing on patients first • Advocates for care that best serves the patient • Addresses customer complaints/problems in a timely manner Communication Skills • Oral and written communication is clear, concise, accurate, positive, and respectful • Demonstrates comprehension of oral and written questions, instructions, and information rapidly, thoroughly, and accurately • Response to oral and written questions, instructions, and information is timely and appropriate • Written communication is well-organized, legible, concise, neat, and in proper grammatical form • Checks work-related email and mailbox on a daily basis Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills • Dealings with others are characterized by fairness, courtesy, diplomacy, honesty, firmness, empathy and confidence • Effective in offering support and assistance to others, in obtaining information from others, and in supplying information to others • Demonstrates a positive attitude, flexibility, and ability to develop effective relationships by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills Judgment and Problem Solving • Uses critical thinking and common sense to analyze situations, make timely and valid decisions, and take appropriate actions • Demonstrates good judgment in making decisions • Resolves issues independently and only seeks assistance as needed Reliability • Completes assigned duties & responsibilities in an accurate, timely and efficient manner • Arrives to work on time and maintains consistent attendance • Follows instructions and appropriate procedures • Maintains patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA Behavioral Health Responsibilities The Call Center Associate will be trained to be backup personnel for the Behavioral Health tasks below: • Review ACCESS LINE referrals on ccLink. Create patient charts as needed, run insurance enrollment, and schedule intakes with BH providers. • Support 4 BH provider schedules; Fill BH appointment slots on a daily basis • Daily confirmation of patient appointments. • Keep track of patients willing to have last-minute sessions (telehealth) and fill any last-minute cancellation slots. • Review BH caseload for all 4 providers to ensure patients are staying on the calendar or closed out. • Send close-out letters to patients as needed. • Follow up on ROI requests for BH patients. • Review PHQ-9 and GAD7 referrals to ensure BH intake and follow-up. • Ensure measurements (GAD7, PHQ9, PRAPARE, CAGE-AID, Columbia) are documented in patient charts (using SMART FORM). • Ensure consents and custody for minors are documented in the patient chart. • Review BH referrals for a higher level of care and/or psychiatry. Work with the referrals team to ensure the patient is being connected with services. • Review BH referrals for insurance support with the insurance team to ensure issues are resolved, and the patient is scheduled for BH sessions as needed. • CARES 2.0 patients: ensure patients are informed their insurance only covers twice per month, and otherwise schedule with the insurance team to establish self-pay. • Review BH referrals for case management and provide light case management, as well as refer any patients who qualify for the BB ECM program. • Create/Send Google invites for BH Sessions (for all BH providers except Lila) • Support in collateral contacts to outside providers • Support with updating Excel and eCW tracking of BH services • Other tasks as assigned. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES No supervisory responsibilities. SPECIAL ADA REQUIREMENTS Brighter Beginnings is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and does not discriminate with regard to applicants or employees with disabilities, and will make reasonable accommodations when necessary. For the purposes of ADA, the “Responsibilities” and “Qualifications” are essential job functions. Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment, with typical office noise and other disruptions. Limited physical effort is required. Both standing and sitting are required, with most of the job time spent sitting. Approximately three-quarters of the time is spent using a computer keyboard. Various types of equipment/supplies are used to accomplish the job requirements and include, but are not limited to, pens, pencils, calculators, computer keyboards, telephones, printers, etc. Required to drive to other work sites for meetings, conferences, etc. To apply or request accommodations, please email your resume to View email address on click.appcast.io. Brighter Beginnings is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. At Brighter Beginnings, employment decisions are made regardless of sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, genetic information or ancestry, protected Veteran or military status, or other characteristics protected by law. If you require alternative methods of application or screening, you must approach the employer directly. All applicants that are offered a conditional offer of employment will need to complete a background check. For positions with client/patient contact, you must have a TB clearance and a physical assessment by a physician of your ability to complete job duties. Additional requirements are an immunization records (including MMR, Hep B, Varicella, TDAP, Covid-19). All positions require applicants to have a valid California driver’s license, be listed under car insurance as a driver, and a clean driving record (as defined by our insurance carrier).