PEOPLE FIRST OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY Healthcare Navigator Santa Cruz, CA · Watsonville, CA · Full time Company website

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Here at People First, our core belief is simple: everyone deserves a place to call home. It's not just a goal; it's our unwavering commitment. We stand for the dignity of every person facing homelessness, seeing their inherent worth beyond labels. Our doors and hearts are wide open, welcoming collaboration and transparency. We're breaking boundaries, and nurturing a community where flexibility and creativity drive progress. Our aspirations are grand, but we're rooted in the real world, acknowledging its imperfections. Setbacks? They're stepping stones. Challenges? Opportunities to fine-tune our strategies. We're relentless, resilient, and dedicated to ensuring housing for all.

Job Duties

• Conduct regular street and community collaborative outreach to develop relationships / build rapport that will assist clients with addressing barriers to obtaining services / appropriate healthcare needs.
• Conduct non-clinical assessments to understand potential barriers and their impacts to navigating healthcare systems.
• Connect a caseload of program participants receiving housing services to healthcare.
• Collaborate and communicate between program participants and their healthcare teams.
• Develop rapport and communication with healthcare systems, community resources and program clients.
• Act as client advocate in securing appropriate healthcare.
• Provide specialized case management, care coordination and health coaching.
• Maintain updated knowledge of community resources and connect clients to appropriate services and programs.
• Provide health education including information distribution.
• Coordinate regularly with Case Managers, including attending collaborative working group meetings.
• Accurately maintain extensive records, data and documentation of services.
• Participate in Outreach-Based Case Management staff meetings, case reviews and related functions.
• Maintain effective relationships with community partners and represent People First professionally in the community.
• Attend trainings, workshops and conferences related to position.
• Maintain confidential, professional boundaries with all program clients.
• Communicate clearly and effectively with the Program Manager, fellow team members, and People First staff overall. 
• Transport clients to and from appointments and support them during appointments as seen fit.
• Maintain sustainable, reasonable boundaries with fellow team members, supervisors, and clients. Communicate requests based on those boundaries clearly and display compassionate, professional interactions in order to model healthy interpersonal relationships to clients. 
• Maintain HIPAA compliance at all times.  
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Documentation

• Maintain documentation standards as set forth by the program contract and CCAH policies.
• Complete paperwork on every face-to-face / telephone contact with client or collateral contact by the next business day at 5pm.
• Ensure all program data is accurate and entered into the required program documentation system as contractually required (HMIS, Activate Care,internal spreadsheet, etc.).
• Prepare case-related reports including but not limited to: demographics, outcomes, successes and challenges.
• Generate client data for reporting.
• Complete follow-up and retention services, as necessary, and provide back-up documentation in the appropriate client file.
• Maintain complete and accurate documentation of service objectives and outcomes as well as other services in accordance with Federal, State, County, People First and CCAH guidelines.

Preference:

• Bilingual (Spanish + English)
• 2+ years experience with Case Management
• ECM experience
• Able to work both in tandem with teammates and independently with high needs clients
• Experience with chronically unhoused complex cases

This position is a full time, non-exempt, benefited position. Full time expectations are 35-40 hours of work per week. 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 with or without reasonable accommodation. 

Accommodations can meet the needs of people with all types of neurodivergences and disabilities as long as they do not pose an unreasonable burden on the employer. To make a reasonable accommodation request, please speak with your direct supervisor about filling out our 'ADA Reasonable Accommodation Request Form,' which you can write yourself, or contact your supervisor and the two of you can write it together. If there are any concerns or questions, the administrative team will make an assessment as to whether or not the request poses an unreasonable burden on the employer and respond to your request promptly. People First also reserves the right to request additional documentation with regards to the nexus of the disability and reasonable accommodation.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to type, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to walk and stand for extended periods of time. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

People First of Santa Cruz County is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on any protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall leave of absence, compensation, benefits and training. People First makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit and business needs at the time. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills for the personnel classified.