Health Advocate DC-9

Summary:

Under the guidance of the Family Leadership Coordinator, the Health Advocate will ensure that all health, safety, medical, and nutritional needs of all children serviced by Children & Family Stability Services are met, as set forth by licensing and program standards. The health advocate will also ensure that all health and safety regulations and standards are met for all children at the center.

Essential Functions:

Reasonable Accommodations Statement 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Reports to Family Leadership Coordinator.
• Establishes and maintains good working relationships with agency staff, staff from partnering agencies, parents, and children.
• Responsible for the input of all data entry and ensuring it is current at all times.
• Coordinate all initial vision, hearing, and nutrition screenings in the program.
• Refers to all failed screenings for recommendations or referrals for appropriate medical follow-up.
• Complete Health Intake with all families applying for services.
• Ensure all Physical and Dental examinations are current.
• Assist teaching teams in contacting families of ill children.
• Provides basic first aid to children in need.
• Assist in responding to requests (phone, email and written) from staff related to child health needs/concerns.
• Assist in the development and distribution of written and web-based materials for children, adults, and employees within the areas of health and nutrition.
• Evaluate the immunization status for each enrolled and applying child and ensure proper data entry.
• Monitor the completion of required immunizations for each enrolled child.
• Centralized the record-keeping system of required health-related forms such as Physical exams, Dental exams, etc.
• Assist Office Manager in implementing and maintaining Staff CPR/ First Aid/ MAT Training.
• Assist the Director with developing and maintaining written Health policies and procedures as required.
• Ensure that health services’ equipment and materials are tracked and accounted.
• Orders, monitors, and replenishes all first aid kits every month.
• Supports families in using community resources by referring families in need to medical and dental insurance providers and service providers, and follows up on the effectiveness of those referrals. 
• Notify kitchen staff of food allergies and special nutritional needs of children and develop and maintain a current allergy list for the center.
• Assists nutritionists in meeting the nutritional needs of children.
• Train teaching staff in any medical, nutritional, and special health needs of children.
• Gives and records medication to children.
• Assist parents with making medical appointments for their children and provide transportation as needed.
• Following sick children by giving medication, taking temperature, administering first aid, calling parents, making medical appointments, and calling home to check how the child is doing.
• Follows all agencies, childcare, and program policies, procedures, and standards.
• Communicate to the program director suspicion of child abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment.
• Prepare reports as requested.
• Attends scheduled meetings, parent meetings, training, and center events as assigned.
• Provide and support on-site telemedicine services.
• Complete all the work promptly.
• Continue to develop professionally.
• Keeps knowledge of children and families confidential.
• Assist in coordinating special projects.
• All other duties as assigned by the unit coordinator.

Authority:

The employee exercises initiative and independence in establishing his/her schedule for meetings with staff, participants, and community agencies. Follows established procedures for conducting the tasks required of the position. The individuals must be creative and resourceful to be able to assess situations to determine if a crisis is involved and how to best proceed within the framework of the agencies and program’s policies and procedures. Consult with the supervisor if in doubt before proceeding.

Position Qualifications:

Competency Statement(s) 

• Analytical Skills - Ability to use thinking and reasoning to solve a problem.
• Accuracy - Ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
• Customer Oriented - Ability to take care of the customers’ needs while following company procedures.
• Detail Oriented - Ability to pay attention to the minute details of a project or task. 
• Developing Others-Ability to teach or foster the development of others, giving constructive feedback and reassurance after problems.
• Diversity Oriented - Ability to collaborate effectively with people regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or job type.
• Ethical - Ability to demonstrate professionalism conforming to a set of values and accepted standards. 
• Interpersonal-Ability/desire to understand others’ attitudes/interests/needs/nonverbal behavior, listening skills, and understanding strengths/limitations of others.
• Leadership- Ability to motivate, influence, and support others to accomplish team and organizational goals.
• Training & Presentation Skills.
• Relationship Building-Ability to build/maintain friendly relationships/networks with people who might be useful in achieving work-related goals.
• Reliability - The trait of being dependable and trustworthy.
• Communication, Oral - Ability to communicate effectively with others.
• Communication, Written - Ability to communicate in writing clearly and concisely.

Skills and Abilities:

• Associate Degree in Human Services or related field, CDA, FDC, or a minimum of a High School Diploma with at least 2 years of experience working with children and families.
• Valid First Aid and CPR Training MAT. 
• Ability to receive positive clearance for NYS State Central Registry.
• Valid NYS driver’s license and access to own transportation.
• Experience working in a childcare or educational setting.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish is required.
• Demonstrates the ability to work cooperatively.
• Demonstrates the ability to work with families.
• Good organizational and computer skills.
• A combination of education and experience other than specified may be accepted by the President and CEO.

Physical Demands:

The position does require occasional standing, squatting, and lifting of up to approximately 40 lbs. And frequent sitting.