Community Health Worker - Harlem Health Advoc

Company Overview:

Health disparities among New Yorkers are large, persistent and increasing. Public Health Solutions (PHS) exists to change that trajectory, and support vulnerable New York City families in achieving optimal health and building pathways to reach their potential. As the largest public health nonprofit serving New York City, we improve health outcomes and help communities thrive by providing services directly to vulnerable low-income families, supporting community-based organizations through our long-standing public-private partnerships, and bridging the gap between healthcare and community services. We focus on a wide range of public health issues including food and nutrition, health insurance, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS. To learn more about our work, please visit healthsolutions.org.

Program Description and Summary of the Position:

PHS is hiring 10 full-time Community Health Workers – Harlem Health Advocates (CHW-HHA) to conduct health coaching, wellness activities, outreach, engagement, and advocacy in East and Central Harlem for the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners (HHAP) program.

Funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), the Harlem Health Advocacy Partners (HHAP) program aims to improve the health of NYC residents by supporting access to health and social services to which they are entitled, providing health coaching to individuals to increase self-efficacy for healthy behavioral changes and disease management, building community capacity to seek and/or create healthy conditions and acceptable services through advocacy to government and other service providers, and providing Group Wellness Activities and high-quality educational workshops.

The CHW-HHA works independently with clients to do outreach, engagement, case management, and follow up, as well as closely with the HHAP team and supervisor to share experiences, identify unresolved issues, share best practices, and participate in problem-solving. They will work under the supervision of a CHW-HHA Supervisor, and work closely with other members of the HHAP team, with interaction with other teams within PHS’ Neighborhood Health Division as needed.

Specifically, the Community Health Worker – Harlem Health Advocate will:

Health coaching activities:

• Provide in-person or remote health coaching services, maintaining an annual caseload as determined by supervisor (maximum 30 health coaching enrollees at one time).
• Conduct established educational curriculum for Health Coaching, including:
  • Delivery of peer health/education coaching support to chronically ill participants and residents in need of assistance with social determinants of health, following the Health Coaching protocol developed and provided by DOHMH. The protocol includes, but is not limited to, completion of baseline and follow-up assessments, disease specific learning modules, setting and working on health goals.
  • Aiming to conduct a minimum of one (1) coaching session per enrollee per month over the course of the six (6) month coaching enrollment period, with more frequent coaching sessions depending on enrollee need.
  • Performing initial and exit assessments of all health coaching enrollees.
  • Creating an action plan and reinforcement sessions to help participants achieve their health goals.
  • Helping connect residents to social services and supports (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, legal aide, employment resources, etc.).
  • Occasionally accompanying participants to medical and social services visits as needed.
• Attend disease and wellness specific trainings, including on asthma, diabetes, hypertension, tobacco, mental health, and other trainings as identified by PHS or DOHMH.

Outreach and engagement activities:

• Promote HHAP to community residents, local health systems, managed care organizations and others and increase participation in HHAP through activities including:
  • Utilizing community engagement and recruitment strategies including, but not limited to, door knocking, lobbying meetings, social media, telephonic outreach, email, posting program information in buildings, and tabling inside and outside community and senior centers and other key locations in service locations set forth above.
  • Distributing marketing materials, such as fact sheets, outreach flyers, incentives, and other materials to promote the program and incentivize target residents to take advantage of HHAP services and take part in workshop activities.
  • Attending health fairs and other events in the community.
  • Fostering partnerships with community-based organizations, health systems, and community stakeholders to establish and support referral pipelines of residents into HHAP health coaching and wellness services.
  • Coordinating farmers’ market tours and distributing DOHMH’s health bucks to incentivize purchasing and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Build residents’ capacity to seek and demand healthy conditions and acceptable services through advocacy and work with existing Resident Associations and grass roots organizing groups, by:
  • Supporting development of an annual Community Organizing Plan.
  • Educating residents on community organizing and mobilization basics.
  • Supporting development of advocacy campaigns with local leaders and residents in order to address issues in public housing.
  • Helping residents to identify tools they can use to ensure their voices are heard, including linking them to local legislators and advocacy groups to address issues and concerns.
  • Attending community meetings and events to increase knowledge of community issues and concerns.
  • Helping residents to strengthen and build community groups through base building and grass roots organizing, including promoting leadership opportunities for residents to guide and spearhead advocacy activities.

General CHW-HHA Activities:

• Each CHW-HHA will be assigned to a minimum of two NYCHA developments, where they will be responsible for facilitating and conducting regular wellness, outreach, and community engagement activities and engaging with Resident Association (RA) leaders and resident participants on an on-going basis.
• Facilitate and/or support educational workshops and group wellness activities, including:
  • Peer support groups comprised of NYCHA residents and other community members.
  • Walking groups
  • Blood pressure monitoring
  • Workshops/classes covering food and nutrition access, chronic disease management and control, mental health and stress management, and more.
• Facilitate engagement for participants across multiple program activities (e.g. health coaching, workshops, and advocacy activities).
• Implement strategies (e.g. surveys, community conversations, listening groups) for gathering feedback from participants to inform program activities, including advocacy focus areas and workshop offerings.
• Consistently track all required outcomes, using Salesforce, Excel, Unite Us, and other software as required.
• Maintain updated records of contacts, partners, and events, and facilitate information-sharing and community awareness of all HHAP services and activities.
• Active participation in all HHAP meetings.
• Attend all required trainings and maintain current knowledge of information relevant to the project.
• Conduct outreach and follow-up to participants and partners.
• Provide bilingual assistance and remote assistance to clients as needed.
• Assist with other tasks and activities as needed.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree, Community Health Worker certificate, or equivalent combination of education and practical experience in Community Health work, case management, health coaching/ health education, or care coordination.
• Experience in public health, community development and health issues in urban, underserved neighborhoods preferred but not required.
• Bilingual Spanish or Chinese Mandarin preferred.
• Experience working and/or living in East or Central Harlem or within NYCHA preferred.
• Experience supporting individuals and families to meet their goals.
• Knowledge of social services navigation and community-based organization landscape in NYC preferred.
• Possess strong communication skills (listening, written, oral, and public speaking).
• Must be reliable and very organized with strong time management.
• Must be detail-oriented and able to work independently.
• Fluent in standard computer operation with good data entry skills.
• Ability to travel around New York City’s five boroughs.
• Ability to lift and carry personal equipment (e.g. laptop) and outreach materials as needed. [MH4]
• A positive, helpful, service orientation.
• Dedicated to helping improve the lives of disenfranchised and marginalized communities.
• Excellent team player with the ability to be flexible and work collaboratively and respectfully.
• Ability to embrace diversity; possess good people and cultural competency skills.
• Salary: $27.1979

Benefits:

• Hybrid Work Schedule.
• Generous Paid Time Off and Holidays.
• An attractive and comprehensive benefits package including Medical, Dental and Vision.
• Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter Benefits.
• Company Paid Life Insurance and Disability Coverage.
• 403 (b) + employer matching and discretionary company contributions.
• College Savings Plan.
• Ongoing trainings and continuous opportunities for professional growth and development.

At PHS, we place immense value on diversity within our teams, understanding that varied backgrounds and experiences significantly enhance our community and propel us toward our goals. If you find you don’t have experience in all the areas listed above, we still encourage you to apply and share your background and experiences in your application. We are eager to discover how your unique perspective can bring positive transformations to our team and help advance our mission of creating healthier, more equitable communities. We look forward to learning more about you!

PHS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and veterans.