What are the responsibilities and job description for the Community Health Worker - Downtown Public Health Center position at King County?
Summary
Public Health Seattle & King County’s Pathways Program at Downtown Public Health Center is looking for two (2) individuals who bring experience working with adults with opioid use disorder (OUD), complex social, medical, and mental health conditions and experiencing homelessness, providing care using a harm reduction approach to the position of Education Specialist (Community Health Worker). The community health workers will greet patients entering our building and coordinate with multiple programs at the Downtown Public Health Center and community partners and will be instrumental in individuals’ linkage to services and assisting with ongoing MOUD service and behavioral health care. They will perform outreach and engagement activities, and provide support to patients, as well as supporting other team members as needed. They will be responsible for providing program information and details to clients and community partners, as well as gathering and reporting data. The Education Specialist will provide health education related to OUD, injection drug use, homelessness, and other disease risk factors.
Background
Downtown Seattle Public Health Center Pathways Program is an innovative unit that uses a harm reduction approach to help address the opioid epidemic and provides low barrier access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), primarily buprenorphine. Pathways Program is co-located at Downtown Public Health with the Robert Clewis Center (RCC) - Needle Exchange Program, Downtown Family Medicine primary care clinic, and other Downtown Public Health Center programs.
Note: This posting will create a list of qualified candidates that may be considered for selection of additional vacancies of the same position type over the next 6 months.
Commitment To Equity and Social Justice
Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.
The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.
We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.
To learn more, please visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx
Work Schedule
The typical work schedule for these positions will be Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. This position is subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is overtime eligible.
Work Location
The primary base location will be at the Downtown Public Health Center located at 2124 4th Ave Seattle, WA 98121.
Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.
Job Duties
- Greets individuals searching for services at Downtown Public Health Center and connects them to appropriate program and community resources.
- Conducts outreach and connects with patients in clinic to provide linkage to community resources.
- Conducts community outreach to connect with outside organizations for referrals and patient resources.
- Acts as a patient liaison between Pathways clinic and other programs within Seattle and King County Public Health.
- Provides individualized harm reduction counseling to help initiate and maintain behavior change to reduce risk of opioid overdose, death, and other drug use related harms.
- Creates and maintains education and resources handouts for patients and for interdisciplinary team.
- Facilitates referral and enrollment of Pathways patients to other Public Health programs and outside organizations.
- Coordinate and follow up on referrals to housing and other services that affect overall health and risk of overdose.
- Develops and maintains expert knowledge of Medicaid, other health insurance coverage and public funding options for MOUD, other substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and health care services.
- Lift and moves boxes of supplies and equipment weighing up to 25 pounds in the workplace areas on occasion.
- Other duties as assigned.
Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills
Our ideal candidate will demonstrate the following (Minimum):
- Demonstrated knowledge of theories and practices related to health promotion.
- Prior experience, which can be from work or personal lived experience with substance use, substance use disorder, people experiencing homelessness and/or other vulnerable populations.
- Demonstrated excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate complex information in a culturally appropriate, consistently respectful, and non-judgmental manner to people.
- Skill and comfort making cold contacts to engage potential new patients in outreach settings.
- Demonstrated skill to set and maintain clear, professional, respectful boundaries and interactions with clients and fellow staff members.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently following established protocols and policies, and ability to take initiative and be motivated to engage with patients and community.
- Ability to lift and move boxes of supplies and equipment weighing up to 25 pounds occasionally.
The most competitive applicants will have the following experiences and qualifications (Desired):
- Demonstrated skill in using the electronic health record, EPIC.
- Demonstrated skill in delivering harm reduction interventions to people who use drugs.
- Demonstrated current knowledge of: MOUD, harm reduction concepts and principles; and local SUD treatment, health care and criminal justice systems and resources.
- Valid Washington state driver’s license.
- Ability to use de-escalation skills.
- Lived experience with drug use, substance use disorder, and or homelessness.
Supplemental Information
Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ , people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
Who May Apply
These two (2) career service positions are open to all qualified candidates.
Application Process
The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:
- NeoGov Job Application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
- Supplemental Questions (The responses to the supplemental questions should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in the application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application. Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.
Necessary Special Requirements
- The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
- The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment.
- For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring. For tips on interviewing, please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/audience/employees/learning-and-development/Interview_Tips.ashx?la=en.
- Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
- Public Health relies on office automation (Microsoft Office) and web-based enabled tools, therefore candidates must be proficient and comfortable with computer use to perform functions associated with on-going work.
- Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing their mandatory trainings on time and obtaining required immunizations.
- Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
- When Public Health responds to an emergency, and in accordance with relevant CBA language and/or KC policy and procedures, we may assign duties outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time, including nights and weekends, with possible deployment to locations other than the department.
- If you need a disability accommodation in the application or testing process, please call the contact number listed on the job announcement.
Union Membership
This position is represented by the PROTEC17 labor union.
Contact
For questions about this recruitment, please contact Salyse Duckworth, HR Analyst at sduckworth@kingcounty.gov.
