Perinatal Navigator

Are you excited about a new opportunity? Do you have a passion for providing high quality medical assistance and patient support? Are you mission-driven to help towards improving health and eliminating inequities in health outcomes in under-resourced communities in DC? Well, look no further! At Community of Hope, we have worked diligently to improve health and end family homelessness to make Washington, DC, more equitable. We believe everyone in DC should have access to good healthcare, a stable income, and home, and hope! If you are ready to make a positive difference in the community, this position is for you!

At COH, we strive for: Caring for Families. Improving Lives. Leading Change

Our Approach and Values:

We care for families by providing direct services with a focus on prevention, healing, and wellness.

We improve lives by building on families’ strengths, honoring their choices, and taking a whole-family, multi-generational approach.

We lead and advocate for system change to address the effects of historical and current racial inequities on health outcomes and housing opportunities.

We embrace the diversity of our community, welcome all voices and perspectives, and treat everyone with respect, compassion, and integrity.

We strive for excellence in all that we do, implement evidence-based practices, measure our outcomes, and use this knowledge to continuously strengthen our work.

Position Summary: The Perinatal Navigator will improve patient engagement in care by providing orientation and support for all perinatal patients to accomplish adherence to standard visit schedule and closed loop connection to medical and social resources needed. The Perinatal Navigator will support care navigation for perinatal patients who are clinically complex and/or at risk for preterm delivery to improve birth outcomes. The Perinatal Navigator reports to the Perinatal Support Services Manager. This is a full-time position.

The pay rate for this position ranges between $25.96 - $26.92 per hour and the offer amount is determined by the candidate's education, qualifications, and experience. really provides their own estimated salary calculator and is not affiliated with COH's range.

Highlighted Duties and Responsibilities:

• Orients all perinatal patients of COH to model of care—individualizing standard visit schedule based on gestational age including Centering, transition to primary and pediatric care. Assesses barriers to adherence to recommended prenatal appointment schedule.
• Orients all perinatal patients to COH and external support programs and services that can increase adherence to needed care (e.g., transportation, First Shift Justice Project, perinatal care coordination, language access, Nurse Advice or Midwife on Call Lines). Collaborates with patient to identify most beneficial programs to make referral.
• Orients all perinatal patients to COH and external support programs and services that can improve maternal and child health outcomes (e.g., doulas, Home Visiting, dental care, Emotional Wellness, WIC, lactation education and consultations, car seats, cribettes, parenting groups, Family Success Center, sexual health care coordinators, etc). Collaborates with patient to identify most beneficial programs to make referral.
• Completes OB Authorizations for all perinatal patients of COH. Utilizes responses to tier patients on MCH tri-level risk stratification system and coordinates connection to Perinatal Care Coordinators for Tier 2 and 3 patients.
• Provides ongoing general resource and programming connection for Tier 1 patients as needed.
Orients all perinatal patients of COH intrapartum support
• -provides education on birthing options and locations, doula supports, warning signs, and Midwife on Call line.
• Assists in scheduling external appointments for perinatal patients with language, cognitive, or other significant barriers to scheduling if attempts by Referral Specialists have been unsuccessful.
• Assists in scheduling external appointments for prenatal patients who are overdue for ultrasounds and have not scheduled by the next care appointment.
• Provides individualized assistance for clinically complex patients to schedule cesarean procedures, inductions, external cephalic versions, non-stress tests, Maternal Fetal Medicine consults, or any other specialty care needed.
• Provides individualized assistance to clinically complex patients who risk out of COH perinatal care to transfer and establish care at high-risk care center when needed.
• Completes prior authorization process and supports timely initiation of pharmaceutical intervention to prevent pre-term births (17P, Zofran).
• Ensures adequate access to perinatal and pediatric appointments by scheduling transportation for patients eligible for and utilizing COH internal transportation programming.
• Provides all perinatal patients of COH with access to equipment to support comfort and newborn safety, care, and feeding (e.g., belly bands, birthing balls, cribettes, breast pumps) by providing timely education, completing and submitting needed documentation and/or applications, and distributing.
• Utilizes CRISP to monitor ER and hospital admissions for all perinatal patients. Provides telephonic outreach to patients to support appropriate utilization of emergency care, timely initiation of OB care, and completion of follow-up care.
• Utilizes CRISP alerts to provide telephonic outreach to collect birth information and schedule postpartum and/or pediatric care for perinatal patients of COH who deliver outside of our care.
• Utilizes quality management reports to schedule appointments for all prenatal patients, postpartum patients through 12 weeks, and pediatric patients up to 12 months old who are overdue for care.
• Assists in rescheduling patients who no-show for perinatal appointments when Medical Receptionists attempts have been unsuccessful—Perinatal Navigator to make first outreach attempt within 3 business days of receiving patient information.
• Provides COH OB education packets to all perinatal patients at first prenatal appointment.
• Ensures OB Authorizations are thoroughly completed and routed appropriately for all perinatal patients at first prenatal appointment.
• Participates and conducts quality management and evaluation activities as requested.
• Completes and locks all progress notes within 3 business days after patient visit.
• Documents all patient encounters, including face to face, telephone, and electronic communications, in the medical record within 2-3 business days.
• Uses all mandatory, structured fields as required in eCW.
• Documents all materials given to the patient in the electronic record.
• Responds to all telephone encounters within 2 – 3 business days of receipt.
• Completes other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalency required.
• BLS Certification required.
• Experience providing social services, care coordination or health care education required.
• Ability to prioritize and problem solve independently.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated comfort with navigating and entering data into electronic information management systems (databases, spreadsheets, electronic medical records).
• Experience in community health center setting preferred.
• Ability to travel between other COH locations and travel between COH sites required.
• Proof of required vaccinations is required. This includes, but may not be limited to, Flu and Covid. COH will consider requests for reasonable accommodations for anyone who cannot be vaccinated for a religious or medical reason, subject to applicable law.
• In relation to remote vs. on-site work, please designate the approximate amount of time that the position will be allowed to work remotely utilizing the following language: “In relation to remote work versus on-site expectations, this position is classified as the following: On-site: A majority or all of the position is required to work on-site.
• Please note that remote work designations are subject to change or fluctuate at any point in time and the supervisor may require in person learning for a specific amount of time after hire.

At COH, we understand the toll that the Covid-19 pandemic has taken on the workforce, which is why we prioritize the following well-being and work-life balance-centered benefits:

• Remote work opportunities are available for many of our roles, promoting a culture of work-life balance.
• 8-hour workdays, which include a paid lunch
• 11.5 paid company holidays, 1 personal floating holiday, 15 days of paid vacation (increases to 20 after 3 years of service), and 12 days of paid sick leave on an annual basis
• Annual performance-based raises, up to 5% of your annual pay
• National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and DC Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (DCHPLRP) participants
• Tuition reimbursement, loan repayment for clinicians, licensing reimbursement, and continuing education unit funds for licensed staff
• Many opportunities for internal promotions and transfers across the agency as we continue to grow; we average 30 promotions each year
• Ongoing internal leadership training for supervisors
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion training and initiatives for all staff
• Ongoing well-being activities, culture compact activities, and trauma-informed care initiatives
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plans through CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield
• Life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care reimbursable expenses
• And much more!

About Us:

Community of Hope is a mission-driven, innovative, and rapidly growing nonprofit. For over 40 years, we have provided healthcare, housing, and supportive services for under-resourced, underserved and people experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, we provide medical, dental, emotional wellness, and care coordination services for the whole family at three locations in DC. Community of Hope also strongly emphasizes maternal and child health, with midwifery practice and the only free-standing birth center in DC. In 2020, Community of Hope provided about 28,400 medical visits, 7,000 dental visits, and 10,000 behavioral health visits for about 11,000 patients. Community of Hope provides community walk-in COVID testing and COVID vaccines. Community of Hope is also one of the largest providers in DC of housing and support services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. Through providing these programs, we live out our mission to improve health and end family and individual homelessness to make Washington, DC, more equitable.

We were selected as one of The Washington Post 150 Top Workplaces in 2024 and 6 other times since 2014 based on feedback from our staff.

To request a reasonable accommodation to complete an employment application or for general questions about employment with Community of Hope, contact a Recruiting Coordinator. Email: hr@cohdc.org Phone: 202-407-7747. Community of Hope is an equal opportunity employer.