Home Visit Nurse; RN), Family Connects

Job Description

Join a world‑class academic healthcare system, UChicago Medicine, as a Home Visit Nurse with Family Connect. The Family Connects model is an evidence‑based program that connects parents of newborns to the community resources they need through postpartum nurse home visits. This program supports new parents in caring for their newborns, offers physical assessments of the mother and baby, addresses questions about newborn care, identifies parents’ needs, and facilitates connections to community services.

The goal is to increase needed services locally by identifying gaps in critical community‑wide resources.

The Home Visiting Nurse provides home visits to all families with newborns in Chicago, assessing family needs in 12 domains of physical and psychosocial well‑being, and facilitates referrals and connections to community agencies. In addition, the nurse supports the Prenatal Education Department by teaching a minimum of one in‑person prenatal education class per week, including approximately two hours of classroom instruction and one hour of preparation time per class.

The nurse delivers evidence‑based education on pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum recovery, newborn care, breastfeeding, and other maternal‑child health topics, and serves as a clinical resource for expectant and new families.

• Follow the Family Connects home‑visiting protocol. Keep records of client observations and activities as required. Document information for family assessments and program evaluation. Record information in real time via in‑home use of a computerized record system.
• Follow the Family Connects scheduling protocol. Visit target area hospitals as needed to schedule home visits for new mothers.
• Provide a health and physical assessment of mother and baby in the home to determine well‑being.
• Assess family needs in 12 domains of physical and psychosocial well‑being, including depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Exercise clinical skills in appraising situations and making decisions.
• Establish a trusting relationship with families during in‑home visits and engage the family to establish a family support plan with goals, objectives, and activities that address family strengths and needs.
• Work with the team to ensure appropriate referrals and connections to community resources as needed. Assist parents in making and attending appointments for doctors, social service agencies, etc. Act as a liaison between families and other community agencies, serving as a family advocate as required.
• Apply working knowledge of parent‑child interaction, child‑maternal health, child development, and child abuse/neglect to help families improve parenting skills, increase parenting supports, reduce stress, and address needs of parents; assist in creating a health plan for the entire family.
• Maintain eight open visit slots and conduct and document at least six home visits per week. Respond to client needs through flexible scheduling of home visits, including occasional home visits during evening or weekend hours.
• Apply effective time‑management skills, organization, and multitasking skills. Documentation is expected to be done and letters sent out within 48 working hours of the visit.
• Teach a minimum of one in‑person prenatal education class per week, as assigned.
• Provide approximately 2 hours of direct classroom instruction per class.
• Allocate approximately 1 hour of preparation time for each class to review content, update materials, and prepare for participant engagement.
• Collaborate with the Prenatal Education Supervisor and Program Support Specialist regarding class scheduling, classroom assignments, and curriculum updates.
• Maintain knowledge of current maternal‑child health best practices and incorporate updates into educational content as appropriate.
• Serve as a clinical resource for participants by answering questions and providing education consistent with UChicago Medicine standards.
• Work cooperatively as an active member of the Family Connects team by attending weekly team meetings, clinical supervision, staff meetings, and other meetings as required. Support and encourage development…