Community Health and Prevention Coordinator

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh's Division of Community Health envisions all children growing into healthy and thriving adults. With this in mind, our mission is to improve health outcomes, reduce health disparities, and elevate quality of life for children and families in the communities where they live, learn, work, and play. In order to best serve children, families, and communities, we affirm our stance on advancing equitable, and culturally and socially relevant care to all. Our work is focused in communities that have been historically marginalized and under resourced, and we work with community members and organizations to learn from them and work together to address barriers to care, education, and other resources. The HealthCorps member will be an integral part of the Community Health team serving to address barriers and will be provided the opportunity to participate in community discussions and professional development opportunities to further their understanding of systemic oppression. CHP’s Community Health HealthCorps member will primarily serve within the Health and Prevention and Clinical-Community Connections areas of work. 

The Health and Prevention programs that the HealthCorps member will be instrumental in supporting are the Healthy Schools Program (HSP), Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST), and Healthy Early Childhood (HEC) programs. The member will work with schools, out-of-school time, and early childcare settings in priority communities that have been identified based on community demographics. All three programs follow national frameworks developed by organizations who are experts in their respective field. The focus of these initiatives is to improve healthy eating and active living behaviors in the community programs we serve to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity. CHP is the local manager of these programs and works with community partners to implement the frameworks in the appropriate setting. Sites implement a process in which they, 1) establish a wellness team; 2) assess their environment for best practices, 3) identify opportunities for improvement,4) establish goals for positive change, 5) develop an action plan for environmental, policy and practice modifications that support youth health and wellbeing, and 6) take action. An on-line platform, tools and resources support each program.  The member will be trained on all programs by the onsite supervisor and offered support when needed.  

The HealthCorps member will also be supporting our Clinical-Community Connections program area, which strives to improve access to care and resources through the development of community partnerships with organizations that can support our families’ health-related social needs. The Clinical-Community Connections team works to ensure clinical partners are aware of resources available to their patient families and provides training and resource so that clinical teams can conduct screenings and referrals to the appropriate supports in areas such as food insecurity and transportation.

• Developing and providing health education for the community
• Gathering data on critical issues impacting the community
• Utilizing partnerships and data to coordinate referrals
• Providing education to clients and referring them to providers
• Providing health education to at-risk populations

• Self-starter
• Multi-tasker; able to balance
• Able to build strong relationships
• Community engagement/outreach skills
• Compassionate

• Knowledge of AmeriCorps/Health Corps member requirements
• Skill with Microsoft Office or other software for a variety of data processing operations involving a range of problem solving, record keeping, correspondence, and service tracking options.

• The supervisor assigns service activities, advises on changes in procedures, and is available for assistance when required
• The member will have constant communication and access to the Health and Prevention Manager as well as the Clinical-Community Connections lead to assist with completing assignments and troubleshooting next steps. Our members typically are given lots of independence once they are comfortable with the expectations of the role.

• The service activities are reviewed for accuracy through spot checks, through complaints from customers, and through observation of the member at service.

• Written and oral guides provide specific instructions for doing service
• Detailed guidelines exist, including regulations and directives, handbooks, precedents, industry standards, and files of previous projects
• Guidelines are generally applicable, but the member independently makes adaptations in dealing with problems and unusual situations

• Member has to develop, analyze, or evaluate information before the service position can progress
• The facts or conditions of the service position are clear cut, predictable, and apply directly to the assignment
• In the beginning of the service year we provide lots of support to help get the member started so they feel comfortable troubleshooting anything that may come up. 

• Unusual service hours, involving evenings, weekends, or long shifts
• Health screening or service required

• Many of our community programs supported by the HealthCorps member are out-of-school time providers that might only be available in the evening. The member will have the ability to flex their hours (starting later in the day if serving in the evening) if they would like to. There are some weekend hours depending on time of year and what programs are going on. If members are asked to serve on a weekend, they can flex their hours during the week to accommodate weekend events.

• UPMC requires COVID-19 vaccine for all employees and contractors which is extended to HealthCorps members.

In addition to NHC Standard Checks, all NHC Pittsburgh members are required to complete and pass criminal history checks for Great Lakes Behavioral Research Institute/Diversified Care Management (DCM). Great Lakes/DCM is a third party vendor contracted with the Allegheny County Health Department (operating site for NHC Pittsburgh) to distribute NHC Pittsburgh member stipends. NHC Pittsburgh members are onboarded to Great Lakes/DCM system only when the checks have been completed and the member has passed those checks.  Along with these checks, ALL NHC Pittsburgh Members Are Required to be Vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The checks that all NHC Pittsburgh members would be required to complete and pass for Great Lakes/DCM are the following: 1) Act 33 (Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance), 2) National Sex Offender Registry Clearance,  3) Act 34 (Pennsylvania Criminal History Clearance, and 4) Act 73 (FBI Criminal History Clearance - ONLY completed via Identogo PA).

NHC members do not have to pay for the completion of these checks. Great Lakes/DCM will distribute payment codes for the Act 33 (Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance) and Act 73 (FBI Criminal History Clearance which is conducted through Identogo PA ( PA FBI fingerprinting agency). The National Sex Offender Registry Clearance and Act 34 (Pennsylvania Criminal History Clearance) will be completed by Great Lakes/DCM upon receiving requested information that members will be asked to submit.