Gender Affirming Care Patient Navigator

Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York (PPCWNY) protects and provides health care and education that empowers individuals and families. With respect. Without judgment. No matter what. 

In support of PPCWNY’s mission, the Gender Affirming Care (GAC) Patient Navigator is a community health professional who supports transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse patients in accessing affirming, patient-centered healthcare. This role provides individualized assistance to patients while identifying and addressing systemic barriers at call center, health center, and broader patient care levels. The GAC Patient Navigator ensures that each patient experiences a clear, equitable, and compassionate pathway through PPCWNY’s gender-affirming services.

Essential Functions

• Prepares, submits, and tracks prior authorization requests for gender-affirming services and procedures.
• Contributes to program planning and execution that enhances access to safe, affirming, and patient-centered clinical services for gender-diverse populations.
• Communicates with insurance companies to resolve issues causing delays or denials.
• Works closely with clinical and administrative staff to ensure timely completion of required documentation.
• Serves as a primary point of contact for patients seeking gender-affirming care.
• Guides patients through scheduling, required documentation, insurance navigation, and follow-up steps.
• Identifies patient needs, barriers, or concerns, and works collaboratively with internal teams to address them.
• Serves as primary point of contact for GAC patients regarding barriers to care and social determinants of health
• Provides warm handoffs and referrals to internal PPCWNY services and external community resources
• Develops, updates, and organizes educational materials, referral guides, and workflow documents
• Identifies structural, procedural, or cultural barriers that impact gender-diverse patients at PPCWNY.
• Assists patients with linking to a primary care provider and to health insurance when needed
• Provides immediate intervention for crisis situations, referrals and linking patients to community resources
• Documents, tracks and follows-up on patient encounters, referral appointments and outcomes
• Works collaboratively with Rochester-based Outreach and Education staff and Manager of Care Coordination to update and maintain referral lists/databases of community resources including service providers, community programs, and community organizations
• Researches and identifies resources as patient needs arise if not currently known
• Maintains strict confidentiality in accordance with agency policies and HIPAA
• Helps promote a climate of positive sexual health
• Shows respect to all internal and external customers for differences in backgrounds, lifestyles, viewpoints and needs.  A commitment to Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York’s mission, vision and values along with a commitment to providing services to a wide range of clients and to the goals of PPCWNY is essential

Other Accountability Activities

• Attends appropriate community meetings and events to network with community agencies, organizations, and professionals to establish mutual referral relationships to improve health and well-being of community members
• Attends bi-weekly supervision meetings with supervisors
• Participates on committees and coalitions as assigned
• Participates in agency meetings and initiatives as assigned
• Other duties/tasks as assigned by supervisor

Qualifications

Applicants must possess the following qualifications (or equivalent combination of education and experience):

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., social work, psychology, nursing, public health, gender studies) preferred

Experience

• Experience providing patient care, education, or navigation in gender-affirming care, family planning, and/or sexual health settings required
• Experience in care coordination, case management, or patient navigation required
• Experience with transgender and gender-diverse communities preferred
• Familiarity with prior authorization processes or medical insurance systems
• Experience working with EPIC or comparable electronic health record (EHR) systems preferred

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Strong understanding of systems, services, and community-based resources available and affirming to transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary individuals in the Rochester and Finger Lakes Region
• Knowledge of legal, administrative, and clinical processes related to gender affirmation, including name and gender marker changes and pathways to gender-affirming surgery
• Awareness of Social Determinants of Health such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, mental illness, childcare needs, transportation barriers, interpersonal violence and their impact on health outcomes
• Competency in navigating and advocating for patient access 
• Knowledge of or willingness to be trained in Trauma Informed Care tenets/practices and ability to use these practices with patients
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and internet-based tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational, documentation, and problem-solving skills
• Commitment to delivering exceptional, patient-centered customer service, including accurate documentation and timely, thorough follow-up
• Ability to work independently, manage time effectively, set priorities, manage multiple tasks with accuracy, attention to detail, and flexibility 
• Ability to work as part of multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and needs of patients and promote patient autonomy
• Strong interpersonal and cooperative skills with both internal and external customers
• Must show a commitment to respecting and learning about the differences and  backgrounds, of all colleagues, patients, clients, customers, and vendors

Working Conditions

• Standard health center and office environment
• May experience visual fatigue working at computer with potential extended periods of sitting
• Well-lit/ventilated

Physical Requirements

• Possess sufficient mobility to perform the Essential Functions listed in this Job Description with or without accommodation
• Ability to travel to all agency locations as assigned
• Dealing with emotionally charged patient care issues possibly including grief & loss, interpersonal violence, and sexual, drug, & alcohol issues.

Work Schedule

This position is for regular part-time, 20 hours per week. Schedule will be Monday – Friday with evenings and Saturdays.

Benefits & Compensation

At PPCWNY, we are committed to equitable compensation practices and transparency. In alignment with these efforts, the pay for this position ranges from $21.89 to $25.36/hour. Actual compensation will be determined by experience and other factors permitted by law.

In addition to competitive compensation, PPCWNY offers an extensive benefits package with generous Paid Time Off, 10 paid holidays, affordable medical, dental, and vision options, Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account, 401(k) with match, and much more!