West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation
1+ years Community Building/Engagement experience Required
Certification not required but must complete paid training
Full-time, $25/hour
Bilingual Spanish Required
$1500 Sign on Bonus!
Apprenticeship Eligible
ABOUT US:
West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation (WEHDC) serves as the backbone agency of the 02907 Health Equity Zone (HEZ). The 02907 HEZ is an innovative, place-based approach that brings people and organizations together to build healthier, resilient communities. The 02907 HEZ initiative is grounded in research that shows that up to 80% of health outcomes are determined by factors outside clinical settings, such as access to affordable, healthy foods, high-quality education, employment opportunities, and safe neighborhoods.
POSITION SUMMARY:
WEHDC is seeking to a CHW who will actively participate in implementing the 02907 HEZ Rhode to Equity (R2E) Initiative to significantly reduce the number of asthma related pediatric and adult emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations attributable to community and environmental based triggers. The CHW will work with the 02907 HEZ staff and partner organizations to actively engage people experiencing asthma in the initiative to ensure their voices and perspectives are incorporated during planning and implementation. The CHW will work on a range of issues to improve clinical outcomes, to address issues in the community that can cause asthma attacks, and to advocate for more effective systems and improved community conditions.
The CHW’s will also support COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, vaccination and supportive service delivery. The CHW’s will help assess community needs and assist with distributing goods and services for COVID-19 mitigation, resilience and recovery; compliance with prevention guidelines for community members and businesses, and distribution of PPE.
This is a full-time (35 hours per week) position. Work will take place during normal business hours from Monday through Friday 9:00am-4:30pm with occasional evenings and/or weekend required during special projects or events. Sign on Bonus of $1,500. WEHDC and its partners will work with the CHW’s during the first year of employment to help them become Certified Asthma Educators.
REPORTING STRUCTURE: The CHW will report directly to the 02907 HEZ Program Manager.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
- Work with R2E Lead CHW to report client updates, outcomes and program overview needs
- Willing to be cross trained to function in all aspects of the CHW role with a focus on:
- Environmental health in clients’ homes and healthy housing
- Supporting medication access, proper medication management as directed by the clinical team, and helping clients to adhere to their asthma action/treatment plan
- Behavior change
- Clinical and community-based resource availability
- Health literacy both at the individual and institutional levels
- Knowledge of asthma & other respiratory conditions
- Patient and systems level advocacy
- Participate in collaborative case conference team meetings with R2E partner entities and work with clinical teams to help develop and deliver individualized plans to meet the essential needs of adults and children with asthma.
- Determine assets and needs of highest and medium/rising risk groups impacted by asthma and collect baseline data to inform responses to improve asthma treatment and prevention.
● Work as part of a team to conduct comprehensive healthy housing assessments and support families to address and manage asthma triggers in their homes.
● Collaborate with and connect clients to a wide variety of community service providers and resources, including transportation, legal services, code enforcement, smoking cessation, home repair, etc.
● Assist with COVID-19 response as necessary during the pandemic to manage outbreaks and spread of COVID-19, including:
- Becoming trained to understand, disseminate and reinforce relevant COVID-19 facts and information.
- Conducting outreach and engaging clients to understand and address their needs and to support resilience, recovery and health.
- Supporting vaccination uptake and testing initiatives.
- Providing quarantine and isolation supports to individuals and families.
- Providing COVID-19 related education in the community.
- Working with WEHDC and Department of Health Staff to develop effective messaging and outreach strategies.
- Conduct health assessments and screenings for Asthma participants in the program
- Provide education and support to individuals regarding healthy lifestyle choices and Asthma prevention
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to develop care plans for individuals with chronic conditions
- Actively participate on the 02907 HEZ Community Action team (HEZCAT) and Rhode to Equity collaborative.
● Help conduct surveys, focus groups and one-to-one interviews with residents to learn from their experiences and to incorporate their perspectives to best respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support adults and children living with asthma.
● Establish relationships with trusted community leaders to identify and document cultural and structural barriers that interfere with effective treatment and case reduction.
● Document in partner organization Electronic Health Records and use the Unite Us electronic referral platform in to make and monitor the status of referrals to resources in the community.
● Maintain accurate and accessible records, files and statistics as required internally and externally
● Work with partner organization staff to advocate for systems and policy changes that will result in decreased asthma prevalence in the 02907 HEZ. (i.e., air pollution, land use and zoning, etc.)
● Perform additional responsibilities consistent with initiative needs and other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required to satisfactorily perform essential duties. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
● Must have active CHW certification, required.
● One or more years’ experience in community outreach and engagement.
● Excellent communication skills, including fluency (speaking, reading, and writing) in English and at least one other language commonly spoken among 02907 residents is required.
● Ability to build rapport and establish trust with individuals from diverse backgrounds
● Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple priorities and tasks.
● Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation are required.
● Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as an effective team member.
● Ability to build and sustain trust and rapport with community members based on listening and respect.
● Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office/computer skills to enter data, prepare reports and correspondence.
● Able to lift packages of up to 30 pounds.
● Must be flexible to work between a variety of in person and virtual meetings/work.
West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. WEHDC is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in Rhode Island.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $25.00 per hour
Expected hours: 35 per week