Health Educator

Howard Brown Health

Howard Brown Health is a nationally recognized leader in LGBTQ+ health and wellness. Our commitment to inclusive and affirming care has made us a cornerstone of the Chicago community. At Howard Brown, we believe in providing holistic, patient-centered care that empowers individuals and enriches lives.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a mission-driven organization dedicated to health equity and social justice.
• Work in a supportive, inclusive, and culturally competent environment.
• Access to continuous learning opportunities and professional development.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Contribute to groundbreaking health initiatives and research.

Benefits

• Employer-sponsored health, dental, and vision insurance with two PPO plans and an HMO plan.
• BCBS HMO, PPO, and PPO Select Plans
• BCBS Dental
• BCBS Vision
• Paid Time Off: 3-weeks paid vacation and 1-week of personal time, 12 accrued sick days per year, 10 paid holidays, including Juneteenth, PTO Exchange allows employees to turn unused PTO into liquid assets
• 401k program with up to 5% employer match after 90 days
• Employer-paid basic life insurance valued at one times the annual salary
• Voluntary Life and AD&D, and Short-term and Long-term disability
• Pre-tax commuter and parking benefit account
• Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare and dependent care
• Tuition Reimbursement and Student Loan Forgiveness Programs; NHSC & PSLF
• Employee Assistance Program with 5 employer-paid counseling sessions
• 50% off at Brown Elephant Resale Shops and discounts at local businesses

Pay: $20.92/hour

Work Location:

This position is based at our Sheridan clinic (4025 N Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60613) and requires regular travel throughout the Chicagoland area to support community partners, programs, and events. This role also requires a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings, weekends, and other irregular hours.

What you can expect:

A Health Educator provides client-centered HIV and STI education, test counseling, and gender-affirming pregnancy screening and options counseling services to individuals and couples in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Walk-In clinics at Howard Brown Health.

POSITION SUMMARY: A Health Educator provides client-centered HIV, STI and identifies patient needs due to social determinants of health.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provides patient-centered HIV, STI and identifies patient needs due to social determinants of health.
• Provides direct health education with a focus in HIV and STI education and completes internal HIV and STI counseling training.
• Provides patients with appropriate requisition, information and instructions for ancillary tests and procedures ordered by physicians.
• Analyzes internal services including Primary Care, Social Services, Reproductive Care, and provides appropriate referral information.
• Identifies and assists patients who visit community testing site and outreach events clinics seeking PEP, PrEP services, and other effective biomedical HIV prevention interventions.
• Performs evidence-based HIV/STI prevention interventions, sexual health assessments and offers HIV/STI prevention and harm reduction counseling for patients in conjunction with the Medical Provider.
• Conducts phlebotomy via intravenous blood draw, or capillary finger stick for HIV/STI testing, collects specimens such as urine and extragenital swabs, coaches patients on self-swabbing as needed, and labels specimens with correct patient information. Performs routine clinical functions including urine dips and documents visits and interactions in the Electronic Health Records System (EHRS).
• Reviews, maintains, and ensures proper quality of lab results through EPIC (EMR) and ensures that patient visits are properly checked in and closed out at the end of the visit.
• Responds to patient questions and flags through EMR as needed.
• Maintains awareness of supplies for testing and/or alerts the lead or Manager if supplies are running low.
• Utilizes OSHA guidelines to properly dispose of biomedical waste and clean testing spaces to ensure proper cleanliness and standards.
• Supports all outreach patients and directs them to appropriate service lines.
• Provides proper trauma-informed support and connects patients to appropriate services when patient discloses sexual harm.
• Assists with the training of new Health Educators and other staff, including screening and counseling protocols, using data collection tools, counseling theory and approaches, and conducting effective referrals.
• Attends all required department and Howard Brown meetings and training sessions, including a biweekly meeting with supervisor; attend and successfully complete all required Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and/or Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) trainings.
• Provides patient-centered care to support clients and clinical teams in response to infectious diseases that are current and those that may arise.
• Assist with phlebotomy or health education coverage at other clinics as needed.
• Support administration for Community Relations outreach and projects
• May represent Howard Brown Health at local meetings that may help to address the prevention and/or sexual health needs of LGBTQI individuals.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in a public health, social services, or a related field is required OR high school diploma and 2 years of experience in a social service, community health, or public health field is required.
• Ability to maintain the highest level of client confidentiality and follow HIPAA regulations
• Ability to work independently with a minimal amount of supervision, but must be a strong team player as well
• Ability to multi-task, take initiative and apply knowledge to variety of circumstances
• Must possess strong communication and written skills
• Ability to work effectively with diverse staff and populations
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously, with consistent accuracy, follow through, and timely completion
• Must possess excellent internet and computer skills

Preferred:

• Certification in pre and post Counseling and Testing through Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) or Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is highly preferred
• Experience working with Electronic Health Records Systems highly preferred
• Experience working with LGBTQIA+ and other diverse communities highly preferred
• Knowledge of HIV/STI and/or sexual and reproductive healthcare in diverse communities is highly preferred
• Bilingual – Spanish/English highly preferred
• Phlebotomy experience is highly preferred

Core Competencies:

• Maintain current knowledge of HIV/STI transmission and prevention information.
• Maintain or gain knowledge on affirming transgender health related services and available resources within HBH healthcare system.
• Review and maintain up-to-date and accurate knowledge of emerging scientific research regarding biomedical HIV prevention strategies, including PrEP, PEP and related interventions; and PrEP utilization.
• Participate in the provision of culturally sensitive, LGBTQIA+-informed, age and gender appropriate sexual health testing, counseling and services.
• Provide HIV/STI screening results to clients in a sensitive, caring and confidential manner.
• Provide HIV reactive results to patients using a compassionate and trauma-informed lens.
• Become familiar with appropriate use of and correctly administer a variety of different rapid screening devices.
• Maintain knowledge of proper collection and laboratory processing of specimens, along with appropriate specimen handling, storage, transport and disposal.
• Maintain knowledge of agency's PEP and PrEP programs. Ensure patients get connected to appropriate medication access programs and communicate with pharmacy staff when needed.
• Knowledgeable in a variety of ways in which harm reduction can be applied based on each patient's unique circumstances.

WORKING CONDITIONS: Primary work setting is an indoor office/healthcare environment for administration days but requires staff to work at various sites across the city and suburbs. Full-time position, working a minimum of 40 hours per week. Must be able to work every Saturday/Sunday at