Medical Assistant - Street Medicine

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT US:

Community health is about more than just vaccines and checkups. It’s about giving people the resources they need to live their best lives. At Neighborhood, this is our vision:  a community where everyone is healthy and happy. We’re with you every step of the way, with the care you need for each of life’s chapters. At Neighborhood, we are Better Together.

As a private, non-profit 501(C) (3) community health organization, we serve over 414,000 medical, dental, and behavioral health visits from more than 95,000 people annually. We do this in pursuit of our mission to improve the health and happiness of the communities we serve by providing quality care to all, regardless of situation or circumstance.

Since 1969,  our employees have been making this mission a reality.  Regardless of the role, our team focuses on being compassionate, having integrity, being professional, always collaborating, and consistently going above and beyond.  If this sounds like an organization you would like to be a part of, we would love to meet you.  

ROLE OVERVIEW and PURPOSE

This is a combined role that directly supports the Street Medicine team. It is a combination of Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Community Health Worker (CHW) and Medical Assistant. ECM CHW will work to improve patients’ whole health through outreach and engagement activities by helping patients navigate/access community services/resources and adopt healthy behaviors. When acting as a Medical Assistant (MA), this position will support the street medicine physician assistant to provide excellent patient-centered care and services within a dynamic field team environment. This position will serve as an integral component of the Street Medicine program, engaging and enrolling individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness into ECM. Additionally, this role will encounter and manage a shifting landscape to meet the ECM needs of the homeless and underserved populations. This position is integrated within the Street Medicine team, comprised of multi-department staff. Driving a Neighborhood branded vehicle for the Street Medicine program is a shared responsibility for all non-clinical support staff on the team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Community Health Responsibilities

• Maintains situational awareness and ensures scene safety when providing services in the community
• Conducts community outreach and establishes trusting relationships with patients while providing general support and encouragement
• Manages and provides ongoing follow-ups to an assigned caseload of patients including:
  • Schedule patient appointments and encounter patients using EMR Registration program
  • Uses basic motivational interviewing and goal setting
  • Conduct phone calls, home or living environment visits, and visits to other settings where patients are located
  • Assist patients attend appointments through assessing and addressing access barriers
  • Provide referrals for services to community agencies as appropriate
  • Assist patients connect with transportation resources and provide appointment reminders, as needed
• Liaise between patients and community service agencies to ensure patient needs and rights are met, including collaboration with community providers to ensure continuity of care
• Assist patients in navigating the healthcare system by finding and following up by phone and in-person with eligible ECM patients
• Document and share patient barriers with ECM team and PCP to improve care and outcomes
• Utilize evidence-based approaches when engaging with patients to increase their sense of control over their health, such as motivational interviewing to promote collaboration between patients and their medical/behavioral care team
• Communicate and deliver easy-to-read information about health and wellness to the community and provide information on ECM patient benefits and services
• Advocate on behalf of ECM patients in the home or their living environment to community and provider organizations
• Build and maintain a positive working relationship with providers, including interactions within provider offices, phone, email, fax, and other approved communication methods
• Assist the ECM team and providers to understand the culture, norms, beliefs, and preferences about patients and their communities by representing the community's voice
• Help create messages and materials that fit community culture and deliver messages to fit the culture of patients
• Work collaboratively within the ECM team to discuss responsibilities, task sharing, conflict resolution, and patient case reviews
• Collaborate on patient care issues with other ECM team patients
• Participate in weekly case reviews and consults with the patient's PCP after taking any clinical action
• Ensure documentation is accurate, helpful, and compliant with regulatory requirements and accreditation standards, including recording required documentation in eCW and managed care plans ECM portal within one day
• Participate in required staff meetings or other activities, as assigned
• Assume shared responsibility for driving the Neighborhood vehicle with non-clinical support staff team
• Other duties as assigned

Medical Assistant Responsibilities

Direct Patient Care:

• Communicates and performs clinical care services with patients
• Takes patient vital signs, medical history, and obtains patient intake information
• Performs clinical procedures such as blood draws, vaccines, nebulizer treatments, ear lavages, and EKGs
• Assists in medical services, office procedures, and a variety of hands-on patient care tasks and relays all appropriate health information to necessary personnel
• Discusses patient needs and provides education and resources to patients directly
• Ensure mobile medicine vehicle is stocked and cleaned
• Conducts follow-ups with patients via phone calls, encampment visits, and visits to other settings patients are located
• Provides patient care in a manner that is trauma-informed, non-discriminatory, non-judgmental, and compliant with policies and procedures

Provider And Team Support:

• Coordinates provider workflows to ensure efficient patient care
• Ensures provider has all pertinent information required for each patient visit including diagnostic images, labs, medication reconciliation, and required screenings
• Assists other providers and care teams in women’s health, pediatrics and general medicine departments as needed

Clinical Administration:

• Utilizes electronic health records to order, process and document clinical treatment plans for patients as directed by the provider
• Conveys information to patients via telephone or email under the direction of a provider or Registered Nurse
• Act as patient advocate and liaison between the patient and community-based organizations to ensure that patient needs are met with rights maintained
• Consults and collaborates with community providers to ensure continuity of care
• Schedules patient appointments and encounter patients using EMR Registration programs
• Provides patient with requested documents after review to ensure forms are complete, accurate and executed by the provider
• Completes ongoing/annual training for position compliance

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• High school diploma or GED required
• Valid medical assistant certificate from an accredited program required
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required upon hire and must be maintained as a condition of employment. These courses must follow AHA guidelines but may be completed through approved online providers such as ProMed or other equivalent programs that meet recognized BLS standards.  
• Two years’ medical assistant experience required
• Two years’ healthcare, behavioral health, street medicine, or social services industry experience required
• Experience with venipuncture/specimen collection and immunization administration based on provider orders required
• Valid CA Driver’s License and proof of auto insurance required
• Experience working with unsheltered homeless and/or personal lived homelessness experience preferred
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred
• Experience working in outreach and customer service within the medical office and behavioral health environments with individuals who struggle with substance use disorder and mental health issues preferred

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)

• Must meet Neighborhood vehicle driver eligibility requirements to support shared responsibility to drive Neighborhood vehicle to support field services
• Knowledgeable about and experience with numerous cultural issues, such as immigration, socioeconomic, LGBTQIA+, seniors, etc.
• Knowledgeable about and experience with trauma-informed practices, mental health conditions and addictive disorders
• Ability to perform intermediate computer and data entry skills
• Ability to apply emotional and cultural intelligence to provide appropriate communication and patient care
• Ability to sufficiently engage patients in a variety of settings including phone, in person/homes, community streets/shelters, and/or healthcare settings
• Knowledgeable about community-based resources, especially non-professional resources and their reputation in the community
• Ability to develop relationships with community patients and leaders, including faith-based community
• Ability to make decisions and sound judgements to anticipate the needs of patents and knowing when to consult with the team, supervisors, and experts
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including superior composition, typing and proofreading skills
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
• Ability to successfully manage multiple tasks simultaneously, including changing priorities and time sensitive deadlines
• Excellent planning and organizational ability
• Excellent teamwork and relationship building skills
• Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
• Ability to work with highly confidential information in a professional and ethical manner
• Positive, professional, and collaborative attitude and communication

Physical Requirements

• Lifting/carrying: Frequently lift/carry up to 15lbs.; ability to occasionally lift/carry up to 25–30lbs
• Standing/walking: Frequent standing and walking throughout the clinic during the workday
• Positioning: Frequent bending, reaching, stooping, and occasional kneeling/squatting
• Fine motor skills: Frequent use of hands/fingers for injections, specimen collection, equipment use, computer work, and other clinical tasks
• Patient assistance: Ability to assist with positioning or mobility of patients, with appropriate assistance or equipment when required
• Pushing/pulling: Ability to push/pull equipment such as wheelchairs, carts, exam equipment, or supplies

Neighborhood Healthcare offers a generous benefit plan that includes:  Partially company paid Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans. Two plus weeks of vacation, Nine Holidays including two Floating Holidays of your choosing, Sick/Personal time, Volunteer Time Off (VTO), 403b Retirement plan (similar to a 401k), optional Health and Wellness events, and much more!

Pay Range :  $24.95 to $34.93per hour, depending on experience.

Compensation Disclosure: The posted salary range reflects the designated pay grade for this position. While this range represents the broader classification of the role, actual compensation will be based on several factors, including but not limited to: the candidate’s overall knowledge, skills, and experience, market data and industry benchmarks, internal equity within the organization, Budgetary considerations and organizational needs. As a result, placement within the range is not guaranteed, and the full pay grade range may not be utilized.