Community Health Coach

Position Description:
Welcome to Cooper Green Mercy!

Located in the vibrant and historic city of Birmingham, Cooper Green is an ambulatory care facility dedicated to serving the residents of Jefferson County. By visiting this website, you’ve taken the first step toward a fulfilling future.

Our vision: Be the choice for care in our community.

Our mission: Serving all residents of Jefferson County, Alabama, through respectful, comprehensive, patient-centered care to achieve optimal health and a higher quality of life, regardless of ability to pay.

Commitment to Diversity: Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority, an affiliate of UAB Health System is an ambulatory care clinic that strives to provide an environment where our patients, employees and providers have a sense of belonging, dignity, and respect. We are committed to improving the health and lives of those we serve. We will act with intentionality to innovate, attract a workforce that represents the community we serve, invest in our community, and educate our workforce to be culturally competent and socially responsible.

We’re looking for like-minded individuals driven to make a difference. We invite you to explore careers at Cooper Green.

GENERAL SUMMARY

Work involves providing lay coaching to Jefferson County residents 18 years of age or older related to health care and chronic disease management. Specifically the Community Coach works as part of the Cooper Green Diabetic Clinic, serving onsite at Cooper Green every Tuesday, during the am session clinic hours. The coach will also spend an additional 12 hours per week, outside of clinic hours, serving enrolled Cooper Green diabetic patients. Working with Cooper Green patients will entail facilitating external referrals, explaining medication regimens, encouraging medication compliance, facilitating enrollment into DEP, DPP and or DSME classes, facilitating appointments with the diabetic educator, the dietician, social work, clinical pharmacy, primary care or other needed service and screenings. The Community Coach will coordinate with the Diabetic Team clinical staff and take their instruction as to primary patient needs; he or she will also use data provided to them in order to contact patients who need preventative screenings, immunizations, and other routine needs that help prevent complications for those with chronic disease. He or she will be on-boarded as a Cooper Green employee and trained per standard employee onboarding most like that of an incoming clinic-based PCT.  

Work also involves 16-24 hours of community canvasing and outreach. Specifically the Community Coach will work within 7 defined Jefferson County zip codes (Norwood/Fountain Heights/Evergreen/Druid Hills, N. Titusville, Bush Hills, East Lake, Kingston, Central City, and Norwood) to connect the residents in those areas to a primary source of care. The Community Coach will receive training via a partnership with Live HealthSmart Alabama on community health worker competencies to include how to facilitate enrollment at Cooper Green, how to interact with and the importance of having a primary care provider, how to convey the value of preventative screening, and how to incentivize recommended immunizations per the defined schedule. He or she will be trained in safety, motivational interviewing, policy and procedure for operating as a community coach, expectations for the hours spent in the community, and required reporting.

This position must be filled by an outgoing, personable, and internally motivated individual. He or she must have an obvious passion for the Jefferson County community and must see the value in linking all our residents to a source of care. He or she must be patient and able to relate to all types, cultures, and abilities of people. Success in this role will be highly reliant on his or her ability to develop strong relationships with many different people.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Displays effective communication skills; accurately instructs person and family per protocol or as instructed; adheres to proper channels of communication in a courteous and cooperative manner; protects patients’ rights and confidentiality; handles telephone calls appropriately.
2. Maintains accountability for a safe environment for patients and others. Adheres to safety regulations. Ensures environment is organized and problems are addressed promptly.
3. Assists with quality improvement and research projects as needed; identifies obstacles to improvement. Identifies and communicates opportunities for process improvement.
4. Completes and submits reports, based on work being done in the community, as requested by either entity.

Community Coach (LHSA) Key Responsibilities:

5. Coaches community members on various health behaviors and practices that are known to prevent complications for those with chronic disease.
6. Encourages and facilitates enrollment to Cooper Green.
7. Stays abreast of local Diabetes Education Program and Diabetic Self-Management Education and Support classes offered in the community to include those at Cooper Green; maintains contacts for the coordinators at each program site and shares information with those in the community as needed.
8. Uses motivational interviewing skill set to solicit health and determinants of need of those coach is in contact with.
9. Grows relationships and partnerships with key organizations and people in the targeted communities in order to leverage opportunities to connect with residents.
10. Performs other duties as assigned.
Cooper Green Clinic Support Key Responsibilities:
11. Provides instructions to the patient and/or family accurately and thoroughly per protocol or as directed by the Diabetic Care Team.
12. Provides names and contact information of community members who would benefit from Cooper Green enrollment; reaches out to assist with enrollment proactively or when needed (e.g. when literacy is identified as a barrier, when assistance is needed at the person’s home in collecting documents, etc.).
13. Performs other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements:
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Position requires high school diploma or GED
• Has an unrestricted driver’s license (please note that a Motor Vehicle Records History will be part of the background check requirement).
• Must have adequate transportation that is covered by auto insurance
• Must possess basic knowledge of computers, PC applications, and software

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Experience in a medical setting or in a care-giver role

WORK ENVIRONMENT
This role may require lifting up to 50 lbs.
The work location for this role is a hybrid of onsite work and travelling within Jefferson County.