Patient Navigator (Oncology)

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center's Office of Community Outreach and Engagement is seeking a dedicated and compassionate Patient Navigator to work within diverse community and hospital settings. This work includes providing individualized assistance to community members, cancer patients, caregivers, and families to facilitate bridging the gaps within the healthcare system, decrease barriers to care, and facilitate timely access to quality medical and psychosocial care by utilizing community and organizational resources.

This position will report to our Shadyside campus and may require some travel on evenings/weekends for community outreach events.
Responsibilities:

• Assesses the social, emotional, and environmental needs of individuals and connects them with available resources/services through the provision of a full spectrum of community and organizational resources/services.
• Serves as an essential link between community members, cancer patients, patient caregivers, families and other healthcare providers from multidisciplinary teams and community organizations, to assist individuals in bridging the gaps within the healthcare system decreasing barriers to care, and facilitating a safe handoff for care coordination needs.
• Provides education and resources to facilitate informed decision-making and timely access to quality health and psychosocial care starting from cancer prevention and screening activities, through care transitions, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life.
• Provide oncology navigation services through individualized assistance to community members, patients, families, and caregivers to facilitate access to medical care and navigate the health system by assessing barriers to care and engaging clients in creating potential solutions to financial and social challenges.
• Works with hospital departments and community organizations to coordinate a plan and provide individuals with financial, health insurance, social, transportation, and other needed services. Evaluates which service(s) best meet the needs of the individual.
• Assists individuals with information, directions, and securing interpretation services as needed. Assures proper translation of communication between the patient, family, any provider, or staff during their office visit or by phone.
• Coordinates obtaining language translational services to send correspondence between providers, staff, and clients/patients, and assists staff with scheduling appointments, client/patient registration, completing forms, and other concierge services as needed.
• Ensures that educational materials, practice forms, and pertinent literature for the client/patient is translated into their preferred language when such language translations are available.
• Serves as a liaison/coordinator for various cancer early detection programs including breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, and coordinates securing physician orders/prescriptions for screening tests when applicable.
• Assists the leadership team with the data collection and cancer control program reporting requirements for the program funders, state, and other organizations as needed.
• Develops and facilitates culturally appropriate patient education on cancer screenings and risk, coordinates enrollment and scheduling patients for various cancer early detection screening programs including breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers.
• Communicate with individuals to follow up with results and/or if the client does not attend an appointment.
• Participates in health and wellness educational group sessions for cancer survivors.
• Documents all data collection and encounters with individuals within the REDCap database system and other database systems as required by the various cancer early detection programs.
• Develops and establishes culturally appropriate health education interventions, including but not limited to, brief, in-person education sessions, group sessions, and one-on-one wellness coaching/education sessions.
• Review patient's health information, service availability, barriers, and readiness; triage patients to the appropriate health intervention based on those variables. Identifies, synthesizes, and uses information to help understand the strengths, challenges, and resources.
• Identifies the level of literacy to provide navigation services, emphasizing strengths to discover an individual's autonomous motivation, and encourage behavior change and self-care.
• Accesses understands, and shares reliable information about specific health topics most relevant to the individual and communities being served.
• Participates in community outreach and cancer prevention and early detection efforts at both the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Office of Community Outreach & Engagement and at community organizations with a particular emphasis on serving underprivileged and minority populations.
• Responsible for completing all required continuing education, and training programs within areas of patient navigation and oncology.
• Responsible for knowing and following all organizational/departmental policies/procedures.

• Bachelor's degree in a health services related field required.
• Community patient navigation experience with bilingual interpretation services experience preferred.
• Oncology experience highly preferred.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:

• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Act 34

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran