Regional Clinical Community Health Worker

Statement of Duties

The Regional Clinical Community Health Worker (CHW) plays a key role by providing social, behavioral and resource support to community members to connect them to the services they need to improve health outcomes and addresses social determinants of health (SDoH). The employee will apply their unique understanding of the experience, language and/or culture of the populations they serve. The Clinical CHW serves as a member of the Health and Human Services team and reports directly to the Director of Public Health Nursing with operational and professional growth support from the CHW Manager. This position is funded through the Public Health Excellence grant and will also serve community members in the City of Cambridge. It is a full-time, 40 hours a week, position guided by the terms outlined in the IMA between Somerville and Cambridge. The IMA agreement shall be for three (3) years, commencing on the date of execution and ending on June 30, 2027. Continuation of funding for the position past June 30, 2027 is projected but not guaranteed.

The Clinical CHW will perform the following foundational activities:

• Providing culturally appropriate health education, information, and outreach in community-based settings, such as homes, schools, clinics, shelters, local businesses, and community centers
• Bridging and/or culturally mediating between individuals, communities and health and human services, including actively building individual and community capacity
• Assisting people to access the services they need
• Providing direct services, such as informal counseling, social support, care coordination, and health screenings
• Advocating for individual and community needs
  
  

Essential Functions:

Infectious Disease Case Investigation:

• Perform active surveillance and case investigation in a timely manner, accurately and completely record case reporting forms based on investigative practices while maintaining HIPAA and confidentiality using the MAVEN electronic surveillance database
• Coordinate case follow up with PHN teams, inspectional services, other City departments, and Epidemiologists internally and externally at DPH to control the spread of disease
• Educate cases or contacts of cases on up-to-date isolation requirements, including prevention strategies to mitigate disease spread and offer guidance for further testing or treatment modalities
• At the direction of the Director of Public Health Nursing, perform home visits to vulnerable community members, including, but not limited to, tuberculosis Direct-Observation-Therapy and other evidence-based programs for identified at-risk populations
• Maintains detailed, accurate and confidential records regarding CHW activities and related case records, public health screening, and common health data in accordance with Local and State Law
  
  

Community Advocacy and Outreach

• Gather data regarding gaps in social and health support services in the Cities of Somerville and Cambridge. Educate internal and external stakeholders about community characteristics, resources and needs
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with peer CHWs, regional City staff, community members, and community-based organizations that provide needed support for the population served
• Perform continuous research of trends and best practices in public health data to guide current and future CHW activities
• Utilize motivational interviewing skills to identify the community members’ individualized goals and priorities for their health while providing the tools to improve perceived self-efficacy and self-care
• Engage with at-risk or vulnerable populations by performing social determinants of health (SDoH) and other culturally and linguistically appropriate health and wellness prevention screenings, offer brief intervention and referral to care with follow up activities
  
  

Systems Navigation and Health Education

• Assist community members in identifying and enrolling in medical, social and behavioral health services, including scheduling and coordinating appointments as well as, assist in completion of applications for applicable health insurance or other government benefit assistance programs
• Precisely document activities, workflows and outcomes in an effective manner consistent with organization’s policies and procedures
• Assist new arrivals (Immigration Class B) with navigating required medical assessments and community-based resources
• Other duties as assigned
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience:Bachelor’s Degree and 3-5 years of experience in community health, outreach, human services, public health, or psychology; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Applications demonstrating lived experience with proper knowledge of public health in lieu of education is encouraged.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingual in Portuguese, Spanish and/or Haitian Creole preferred but not required
• Experience working with diverse communities, people with mental illness and/or substance use disorder as well as immigrants and families, LGBTQ persons, people with limited financial resources, formerly incarcerated persons, and those without health insurance
• Relevant administrative and/or office experience in a Behavioral Health/Public Health and/or a medical setting is helpful
• Strong preference for a connection to the Somerville/Cambridge area
• Community Health Worker Certification preferred but not required. Training will be provided to staff and there is an expectation to enroll in the training within 6 months of hire
• Local Public Health Institute Training within 6 months of hire
• MAVEN trained within 2 months of hire
• Familiarity with ICS principles; Completion of ICS-100 and NIMS 500 within 2 months of hire
  
  

Special Requirements:

• Some evening and weekend hours are required
• Access to reliable transportation and ability to travel to various sites throughout the community and region
  
  

Knowledge, Abilities And Skill

Knowledge: Familiarity with Somerville and Cambridge geography, services, and community-based organizations and resources. Experience in community outreach and program support. Public health proven expertise; knowledge of infectious and communicable diseases, current control guidelines and best practices; experience with public health data systems, particularly MAVEN. Knowledge of MDPH 10 Core Competencies for Community Health Workers. Knowledge of Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) services and able to navigate applicable state and federal basic needs benefits applications in paper or electronic form.

Abilities: Creativity, flexibility, sound judgment, and ability to take initiative. Ability to prioritize tasks and manage large amounts of information at one time. Positive attitude and open to changing environment. Ability to interact effectively and appropriately with the public in a culturally competent manner; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers.

Skill: Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally and educationally diverse staff and community. Demonstrated technical experience with Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, Word, Excel (or similar databases), and Internet Explorer.

Work Environment

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills

Few physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. May also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.)

Motor Skills

Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.

Visual Skills

Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Hours: Full-Time

Salary: $66,244.85 annualized, plus benefits

Union: Non-Union

FLSA:Non-Exempt

Safety Sensitive: Non-Safety Sensitive Role

Date Posted: January 31st, 2025

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees:

• MA Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) clearance
• Completion of Conflict-of-Interest Law Education training for municipal employees
  
  

Overview of Total Rewards:

• 4 weeks annual vacation (for non-union positions) union positions vary by contract
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City
• Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
• Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Long term disability through Sun Life
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
• Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies
• Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors
• Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
• Annual cancer screening & wellness release
• Somerville Retirement Pension System
• Tuition reimbursement
• MBTA pass program
• FREE Blue Bikes membership
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
  
  

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville and not a binding contract.

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