Community Health Worker

Overview

The Community Health Worker supports Central Jersey Medical Center's women's health, maternal health, and perinatal care services by helping patients access care, navigate services, and connect with needed community and social supports. The Community Health Worker serves as a trusted liaison between patients, families, clinical teams, and community resources, with a focus on reducing barriers to care and improving continuity for pregnant and postpartum patients.

This position works closely with OB/GYN providers, nurses, medical assistants, care coordinators, registration staff, behavioral health referral resources, and community partners. The role requires strong communication skills, cultural responsiveness, attention to detail, and the ability to support patients who may face challenges related to transportation, insurance, language access, cost, food insecurity, behavioral health needs, or difficulty navigating the healthcare system.

Responsibilities

• Provide patient navigation and support for pregnant and postpartum patients receiving care through CJMC's women's health and OB/GYN services.
• Assist patients with scheduling, rescheduling, appointment reminders, and follow-up related to prenatal, postpartum, reproductive health, behavioral health, newborn care, and specialty care appointments.
• Conduct outreach to patients by phone, text, portal message, mail, or in person, consistent with CJMC policies and patient communication preferences.
• Help patients identify and address barriers to care, including transportation, insurance, pharmacy access, language access, childcare, food insecurity, housing instability, and difficulty understanding referral or follow-up steps.
• Provide community-based support to patients when needed, including helping patients prepare for appointments, navigate referral steps, access community resources, and attend appointments or service visits when appropriate and approved by CJMC.
• Connect patients to appropriate internal and external resources, including WIC, transportation assistance, insurance enrollment support, behavioral health services, lactation support, newborn care resources, social services, and community-based organizations.
• Provide culturally appropriate education and information to help patients understand available services, care instructions, referral processes, and how to access support.
• Document patient contacts, referrals, barriers, follow-up attempts, and outcomes in CJMC's designated tracking system or electronic health record, as required.
• Coordinate with clinical staff when patients present urgent medical, behavioral health, safety, or social needs.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with HIPAA, CJMC policies, and all applicable privacy and documentation standards.
• Participate in team huddles, case discussions, trainings, supervision, and quality improvement activities as requested.
• Support a patient-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care environment.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Experience working with patients, families, or community members in a healthcare, public health, social service, community outreach, care coordination, or patient navigation setting.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability and willingness to conduct community-based outreach and accompany patients to appointments or community resource locations when appropriate.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse patients, including low-income, uninsured, underinsured, immigrant, limited-English-proficient, pregnant, and postpartum patients.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise good judgment when handling sensitive patient information.
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation, or ability to travel locally within the service area.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple follow-up tasks.
• Basic computer skills, including the ability to document activities in electronic systems, spreadsheets, databases, or electronic health record platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Community Health Worker certification preferred, or willingness to complete CHW training after hire if required.
• Experience in women's health, maternal health, prenatal care, postpartum care, behavioral health navigation, insurance assistance, WIC linkage, transportation coordination, or social needs screening.
• Knowledge of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, and local community resources preferred.
• Experience working in a Federally Qualified Health Center, community clinic, hospital outpatient department, or safety-net healthcare setting preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to build trust with patients and families.
• Ability to communicate clearly, respectfully, and compassionately.
• Ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary care team.
• Ability to recognize when a patient need should be escalated to licensed clinical staff or a supervisor.
• Knowledge of social determinants of health and common barriers affecting access to care.
• Commitment to health equity and improving access to care for underserved communities.
• Strong follow-through, reliability, and attention to detail.
• Professionalism, discretion, and respect for patient privacy.

Work Environment

This position is based at CJMC's Perth Amboy location and includes both clinic-based and community-based work. The Community Health Worker will meet with patients in the health center, conduct outreach by phone or other approved communication methods, and provide hands-on support in community settings when needed.

The Community Health Worker may go into the community to help patients overcome barriers to care, including assisting patients with appointment preparation, helping them understand where and when to go for services, supporting completion of referral steps, and accompanying patients to appointments or community resource locations when appropriate and approved by CJMC. This may include support related to prenatal care, postpartum care, newborn care, behavioral health referrals, WIC, insurance assistance, transportation resources, specialty care, and other social service needs.