Patient Navigator

PRIMARY PURPOSE:

To guide women’s health patients through the health care system to help reduce late-stage breast and cervical cancer diagnoses. This role supports access to care, builds relationships with service providers, and tracks interventions and outcomes.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: 

• Promote the mission, vision, and values of FoundCare.
• Guide patients through the health care system; assist with appointment confirmation to ensure compliance and appointment readiness.
• Utilize interventions and strategies that are appropriate to the population, based on culture, language, age, gender, and background.
• Facilitate internal and outgoing referrals for mammogram screenings to the Promise Fund Mammography Screening Center at FoundCare and outside outpatient diagnostic sites.
• Work with the Care Team to communicate with patients upon learning they have an abnormal mammogram, biopsy, pap smear, or a positive finding.
• Connect patients to community and social support services.
• Facilitate interaction and communication with health care staff and providers, including physicians, nurses, radiology staff, social services staff, radiation oncology staff, and hematology/oncology clinic staff, and offer information to Community Health Center practitioners about the navigator role and services provided, and encourage referrals.
• Provide women’s health education to individuals and groups.
• Build relationships with other patient navigators in the Promise Fund Patient Navigator Network.
• Assist women’s health patients in finding ways to pay for their breast and cervical health care.
• Assist with arranging for patient transportation where needed.
• Track interventions and outcomes.
• Identify the underinsured and uninsured target population by utilizing community service data, for women at high risk for underutilization of breast and cervical health services.
• Establish community relationships by visiting churches, synagogues, schools, libraries, and other local organizations.
• Use culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies based on each patient’s age, language, gender, and background.
• Work flexible evening and weekend hours as needed and contribute to achieving monthly and annual program goals.
• Maintain a log of outgoing referrals and ensure appropriate authorizations are acquired prior to patient visit.
• Update Promise Fund Record daily to facilitate reporting requirements and grant deliverables.
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to communicate effectively verbally, with or without an interpreter.
• Ability to communicate clearly in writing in English, with or without auxiliary aids or services.
• Ability to navigate electronic health record systems.
• Ability to review, understand, and apply information from training programs, conferences, and professional literature.
• Ability to educate individuals on safe sex practices, including topics that may involve explicit language, printed materials, and descriptions of sexual activity, as part of the agency’s HIV prevention mission.
• Ability to interact and work with diverse populations.
• Ability to handle difficult situations involving patients, providers, or others, professionally. 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to endure short, intermittent, and/or long periods of sitting and/or standing in performance of job duties.
• Full range of body motion required. Position requires reaching, bending, and handling objects with hands and/or fingers, talking and/or hearing, and sight.
• Ability to lift and carry objects weighing 25 pounds or less.
• Use standard office equipment and technology, including computers, telephones, and clinical equipment and systems, in the course of daily duties.
• Ability to travel to other FoundCare locations and perform job duties.
• Ability to travel to other locations to attend meetings, workshops, and seminars, plus travel to other FoundCare departments and FoundCare conference rooms.

PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Maintain a professional appearance consistent with FoundCare’s dress code standards.
• Demonstrate reliability and punctuality in all scheduled duties and commitments. 
• Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
• Represent FoundCare in a positive and professional manner at all times.
• Comply with all organizational policies and standards of care.
• Participate in performance improvement and continuous quality improvement activities.
• Mandatory attendance at all staff training and in-services.
• Complete all required competencies and maintain skill level.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School diploma or GED.
• Related on-the-job experience.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office software, Excel, and Word with proficiency.
• This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.