BHCHP AmeriCorps Care Coordinator will host 13 corps member each program year. It is anticipated that the 2019-2020 year of service will begin September 2019 and run through July 2020.
The time requirement for this position is a minimum 40 hours/week; 1,700 hours required by the end of the term of service. The taxable living allowance for this position is up to $14,500.
Service Activities
This will include making referrals, finding resources, assisting patients with applications or enrollment steps, accompanying patients to external appointments, and more. Additional duties include entering necessary information into the electronic medical record and maintaining close communication with clinic staff. In addition to these core responsibilities, the Member will fulfill marginal functions around patient education, managing volunteers, training, service projects, and data reporting.
Community Need Addressed
Over the course of a year, an estimated 20,000 people experience homelessness in Boston for some
period of time, and BHCHP has grown to care for more than 11,000 of these individuals each year.
For men, women, and children living without stable housing, poor health and premature death from
preventable causes are all too common. Despite suffering from treatable diseases, people
experiencing homelessness struggle to access resources to address them due to numerous factors,
including mental illness, substance use disorder, and competing priorities for survival. As individuals
strive to meet their daily needs of food, shelter, clothing and safety, health care can easily be neglected,
causing minor symptoms to rapidly escalate into health crises.
Position Outcomes
This service will increase patients connect to Care Coordination services, increase the number of health education sessions that patients attend, increase volunteer capacity.
Benefits
Childcare assistance if eligible, Education award upon successful completion of service, Health coverage, Living allowance, Student loan forbearance, Training
Education Benefits
GED/High School Diploma
Skills you will gain
Throughout the service year, members will gain a wide variety of skills and experiences that are
valuable for future employment opportunities, including teamwork, self-reliance, project ownership,
supervision, networking, and professional decorum. The skills gained by AmeriCorps members serving
at BHCHP will provide them with solid workforce potential in the future, and will afford them the
opportunity to participate in care for an extremely vulnerable and complex patient population as part
of a diverse, multidisciplinary team. Members will witness firsthand how experiences of homelessness
influence health, the systemic barriers that patients face, and the impact of social determinants of
health.
Competencies You Will Develop
Communication
Listen to and consider others' viewpoints, Maintain open lines of communication with others, Speak clearly, in precise language and in a logical, organized and coherent manner, Write cleary and effectively
Creativity & Problem Solving
Able to identify and define the problem, Capable of generating possible solutions, Improvise, Provide relevant expertise
Teamwork
Derive consensus, Stay positive and outcome oriented, Use appropriate strategies and solutions for dealing with conflicts and differences to maintain a smooth workflow
Decisions
Accepts responsibility, Anticipate the consequences of decisions, Identify and prioritize the key issues involved to facilitate the decision making process, Involve people appropriately in decisions that may impact them, Quickly respond with a back-up plan if a decision goes amiss
Tools
Carefully consider which tools or technological solutions are appropriate for a given job
Planning
Able to prioritize various competing tasks, Create plan of action, schedule tasks so that work is completed on time, Demonstrate the effective allocation of time and resources efficiently, Effectively delegate tasks, Facilitate group planning, Set goals
Service
Be pleasant, courteous, professional and respectful when dealing with internal and external customers or clients, Evaluate customer or client satisfaction, Honor the privilege of being able to work with and for those being served, Provide personalized, prompt, and efficient service to meet the requirements, requests and needs of customers, Recognize the importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of those being served, Understand and anticipate the needs of others, Understand the importance of one's role in the functioning of the organization, Understand the significance of maintaining a healthful and safe environment