Community Health Worker

The Community Health Worker (CHW) will have both community engagement and program implementation roles.

Their community engagement tasks will include: 

• Identify resident leaders at three housing developments and adjacent neighborhood of the Connell Park area.
• Collect and share residents' stories about their values, and challenges to those values that require action especially values and challenges impacted by COVID-19.
• Support resident leaders through training, surveys, meeting support, volunteer opportunities, and hosting small events. 
• Lead meetings to address top community well-being issues identified by residents including COVID-19.
• Create inventory of community skills, assets, relationships, and resources that can be marshalled to affect change. 
• With residents, create specific community well-being goals, ways to evaluate progress and ways to decrease the health disparities caused by the pandemic.

Their program implementation tasks will include: 

• Coordinate Diabetes Prevention, Freedom from Smoking, and other classes from the Northeast PA Area Health Education Center
• Help expand fresh food access through improved food bank operations, infrastructure, and partnerships
• Schedule and oversee classes delivered by partners, including for youth health and wellness, exercise programs, lifestyle medicine, mental health support groups, nutrition, occupational therapy, purpose workshops, trail and infrastructure improvements, vaccination clinics, pandemic educational outreach and volunteering opportunities.
• Engage with government and housing administration leaders to prioritize trail, sidewalk, and road crossing improvements based on resident feedback on how to increase access to nearby park and recreation areas.

• actively participating in heath campaigns by monitoring health issue trends
• creating and developing communications related to outreach campaigns
• obtaining feedback to improve on communication materials
• developing and providing health education for the community
• planning, scheduling, and convening workgroups between organizations
• generating and disseminating findings/implementation reports
• planning, scheduling, and coordinating listening sessions
• reaching out to community serving organizations to create education groups
• collecting, recording, and evaluating data to inform education on health issue
• utilizing partnerships and data to coordinate referrals, providing education to clients and refer them to providers
• providing health education to at-risk populations
• attending trainings and/or community events
• maintaining educational materials in waiting/examination rooms
• maintaining an inventory of supply materials for patients, clients, and/or organizations
• developing and distributing new materials geared towards patients, clients, and/or organizations
• creating and/or revising basic curriculum
• recruiting students for classes on health
• teaching classes/workshops in-person and remotely on healthy living
• providing outreach in the community to promote services
• meeting with referral staff to ensure that clients receive services
• developing and conducting needs assessment through focus groups
• assessing and reporting on existing services in the target area
• creating and implementing surveys to assess program effectiveness
• developing new program materials to aid reach, scope, and effectiveness
• identifying funding to support the member's service project networking with the community
• coordinating with outside facilities, faith-based organizations, social services agencies, private  medical practices, etc.
• linking individuals and treatment services via education and by serving as a point of contact for community based agencies 
• collecting and tracking of data

• Good with patient populations
• Open-minded
• Non-judgmental
• Compassionate
• Approachable
• Experience with developing programs/curriculums
• Experience with project implementation
• Good with diverse personalities
• Multi-tasker; ability to balance
• Interest in health, social justice, and policy issues
• Detail-oriented, team player
• Community-organizing experience
• Works well with others
• Good listener
• Thinks creatively
• Desires to empower community
• Speaks language(s) spoken by patient populations
• Organized; sound organizational skills
• Good customer service skills
• Proficient computer and data entry skills (e.g., Microsoft suite)
• Medical or clinical experience, a plus

Knowledge of AmeriCorps/Health Corps member requirements

Member uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments following set procedures, independently. The supervisor assigns service activities in terms of project objectives and basic priorities and is available for consultation in resolving controversial issues.

The service activities are reviewed for accuracy through spot checks, through complaints from customers, and
through observation of the Member at service. Completed projects are reviewed very generally to determine that objectives have been met and are in compliance with policies and regulations.
 

Written and oral guides provide specific instructions for doing service. Guidelines are generally applicable, but the Member independently makes adaptations in dealing with problems and unusual situations. Member must use considerable judgment in adapting current or developing new guidance.

The service position assignments vary significantly or often involve unusual circumstances and incomplete or
conflicting data. In making decisions, the Member is often required to depart from past approaches and to extend traditional techniques.

bilingual Spanish/English, a plus