SUMMARY:

The purpose of the Outreach Specialist is to proactively engage Gracelight Community Health (Gracelight) patients to facilitate their access to care, improve health outcomes, and ensure continuity of insurance coverage. This role will be responsible for reaching out to new patients to schedule initial appointments, contacting existing patients who have missed appointments or are due for screenings, and specifically engaging with patients who have lost insurance coverage or are aging into Medicare to connect them with enrollment assistance. The primary goal of the Outreach Specialist is to improve patient access to comprehensive care and foster ongoing engagement across all Gracelight health centers while also supporting patients in maintaining continuous health insurance coverage. This individual will utilize various communication methods to connect with patients, address barriers to care and insurance enrollment, and schedule timely medical and enrollment-related appointments.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Support and implement the organization’s vision, mission, and values.
2. Determines priorities and methods of completing daily responsibilities in a timely manner, focusing on outreach targets, appointment scheduling goals, and insurance enrollment assistance.
3. Performs all job functions in a professional and courteous manner, including clear and effective communication with patients via phone, email, and other approved methods.
4. Develop and maintain a strong understanding of Gracelight’s various services, appointment types, scheduling protocols, as knowledge of insurance enrollment processes.
5. Provide accurate and comprehensive information to patients regarding appointments, available services, and resources for insurance enrollment.
6. Adhere to all organizational guidelines and patient privacy regulations (HIPAA) during all outreach activities and when discussing insurance-related matters.
7. Fosters and promotes a culture of service excellence and proactive patient engagement, including support for maintaining continuous insurance coverage.
8. Proactively contact newly assigned patients to welcome them to Gracelight and schedule their initial primary care appointment.
9. Conduct patient outreach via phone and other approved communication methods to understand barriers to care and insurance, and work collaboratively with patients to overcome them, including connecting them with enrollment resources.
10. Provide support and education to patients regarding the importance of preventative screenings, chronic disease management, adherence to their care plans, and the need to maintain continuous health insurance.
11. Provide clear and concise information to patients about appointment preparation, location, any necessary documentation, and what to expect during an enrollment assistance meeting.
12. Promote awareness and access to the full range of healthcare and enrollment services offered at Gracelight.
13. Accurately document all outreach attempts, patient interactions (including insurance-related discussions), and appointment/enrollment outcomes in the designated system.
14. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant health information, screening guidelines, appointment protocols, and basic information about insurance enrollment processes, including aging into Medicare and loss of coverage.
15. Collaborate with clinical staff, administrative staff, and enrollment specialists/brokers to ensure seamless coordination of patient appointments, follow-up care, and insurance enrollment assistance.
16. Demonstrate ability and flexibility to work in other areas and/or locations of the organization as needed to meet patient care needs and outreach/enrollment goals.
17. Track outreach efforts and appointment/enrollment outcomes to contribute to performance monitoring and quality improvement initiatives.
18. Follow up with patients as needed to confirm appointments, provide reminders, address any questions or concerns (including insurance-related inquiries), and ensure they connect with enrollment assistance if needed.
19. Identify and report any systemic barriers to patient access, engagement, or insurance enrollment to the appropriate supervisor.
20. Conduct in-reach by contacting existing Gracelight patients as needed to schedule appointments for various services, including connecting those losing coverage or aging into Medicare with enrollment support.
21. Refer patients to appropriate internal resources (e.g., health education, social services, enrollment specialists/brokers) as needed.
22. Attend relevant training meetings and updates to stay informed about organizational policies, procedures, outreach best practices, and basic insurance enrollment information.
23. Maintain current and up-to-date knowledge of Gracelight’s services, appointment types, scheduling procedures, and basic information regarding Medicare eligibility and loss of other coverage.
24. Complete data tracking and any required reports on outreach activities and appointment/enrollment outcomes.
25. Perform outbound calls to patients who may benefit from specific medical services or who are identified as needing enrollment assistance due to loss of coverage or aging into Medicare.
26. Perform outbound calls to patients to schedule necessary screenings, follow-up appointments, or meetings with enrollment specialists/brokers based on their care plans or insurance status changes.
27. Assist patients with navigating the appointment scheduling and insurance enrollment assistance processes and addressing any related inquiries.
28. Complies with organizational policies and procedures.
29. Perform all other duties as assigned.
30. Must be willing and able to work at all locations as needed to meet patient care needs.
31. Must be willing and able to work all business hours including evenings and weekends as needed to conduct patient outreach and support enrollment needs.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Strong verbal and written communication skills.
2. Bilingual English and Spanish required.
3. Ability to learn about and understand state and county programs such as Medi-Cal, Covered CA (Affordable Care act) and other health insurance programs required. 
4. A valid CEC certification, requiring annual renewal (GCH will sponsor upon hiring)
5. Valid California driver license, good driving record and proof of car insurance.
6. Available to work evenings and weekends.
7. Successfully pass the Live Scan background check for a CEC.
8. Sales/Marketing and public speaking and presentation experience preferred.
9. Ability to read and interpret documents, such as policies and procedures, benefits information, benefit surveys, board minutes, routine mail, simple contracts, and procedure manuals.
10. Ability to compose routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively with employees, visitors and management.
11. Ability to calculate figures and basic math.
12. Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
13. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
14. Ability to apply common sense to daily situations that arise.
15. Ability to make decisions and execute to produce a positive outcome.
16. Exercise good judgment.
17. Ability to identify and access appropriate community resources and work with of community leaders. 
18. Familiarity with multicultural settings and sensitivity to multicultural issues.
19. Self-starter, able to take initiative and provide input for decision-making.
20. Computer literate.

PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, and sit. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or sit. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally life and/or move up to 30 pounds. The employee is occasionally required to ascend and descend one flight of stairs. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• Sensory: The noise level in the work environment is often low. However, there are many times when there is a high ambient background noise of phones and multiple conversations. Must be able to distinguish normal sounds with some background noise, as in answering the phone, interacting with staff, etc. Must be able to speak clearly and understand/be understood using the English language.
• Cognitive:  The employee is frequently required to concentrate on moderate detail with constant interruption. Must be able to attend to a task/function for 20-45 minutes at a time. Frequently required to understand and relate to specific ideas, several at a time. Must be able to remember multiple tasks/assignments given to self and others over a period of several days. Must be able to analyze information, problems, situations, practices, or procedures. Must be able to carry out instructions delivered in written, oral or in other daily situations that arise and deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
• Environmental:  Frequent exposure to varied office and mixed (health center/office) environments. Occasional exposure to toxins and poisonous substances, dust, and loud noises.