Patient Navigator

About the Job

The Patient Navigator (PN) will provide care coordination, resources, and advocacy for patients needing support as they transition care from emergency room visits or hospitalizations to outpatient treatment services for substance use disorder. This role will function within our integrated care team of medical professionals. The PN will help patients navigate the health care system, reduce access barriers, and help patients achieve improved health outcomes and quality of life.

Highly skilled interpersonal communication, compassionate medical care, and strong work initiative are essential to the success of the PN. An ideal candidate will adhere to the highest standards to provide comprehensive, inclusive, patient-centered care to support vulnerable persons with SUD during treatment transitions and engagement. This is a temporary position, with the possibility of extension based on satisfactory performance, availability of work, and departmental/ grant funding.

This position is supported by the MDH-TOWN grant program, currently funded through May 31, 2028. Renewal of this position is dependent on job performance, availability of work, and future funding.

• Connect patients with medical care, health insurance, and pharmacy benefits.
• Coordinate resources for food, housing, transportation, education and employment.
• Facilitate access to services for physical, mental, and spiritual health.
• Conduct a high volume of outbound calls to patients to assist during transitions of care, remind of upcoming appointments, reschedule missed office visits, and check-in about medication needs and resources.
• Contact healthcare providers, pharmacies, and recovery community organizations (RCOs) about follow-up information to support patients.
• Answer questions from inbound callers and provide support or resources, as requested.
• Assist in the maintaining harm reduction supplies at North Memorial Hospital (NMH; emergency department, labor/delivery, inpatient care) and distributing kits to patients at time of contact.
• Partner with other care coordinators and support staff at NMH, Broadway Family Medicine, and other local clinics to meet the needs of patients and share resources.
• Conduct survey follow-ups with patients to determine outcomes of patient navigation services.
• Clinical documentation in electronic health record.
• Maintain HIPAA-compliant database for patient navigation services for tracking patient services and reporting purposes to funding agency.
• Promote health equity in interactions with patients and medical professionals.
• Maintain relationships with RCOs, neighborhood coalitions/councils, and advocacy groups that support patients.
• Participate in outreach efforts, including community health fairs and events, MN State Fair experience, and neighborhood huddles meetings to share information, promote service, and improve community health.
• Maintain an organized, up-to-date repository of community resources for food, housing, education, employment, medical/dental, SUD treatment, mental health, and legal concerns.
• Stay current on education and knowledge base associated with professional degree.
• Conduct patient navigation services that are contemporary with ASAM principles (American Society of Addiction Medicine).
• Uphold the missions and values of the University of Minnesota and affiliated clinical sites we serve.

All required qualifications must be documented on application materials.

• Education: BA/BS degree in Social Work, Human Services, Addiction Studies, Minnesota Community Health Worker (CHW) Certificate or a closely related health field or training, such Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor (LADC) or Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS).
• Experience: 2 years of experience in health care navigation, community health, social services, or peer support, specifically working with individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) or mental health concerns.; OR a combination of related education and work experience to equal to at least six years.
• Systems & Data Knowledge: Proven experience documenting in Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems (e.g., Epic) and maintaining HIPAA-compliant databases for tracking and reporting.
• Communication
  
  Skills:
  
  Demonstrated capability to handle a high volume of telephonic outreach (inbound/outbound calls), manage care transitions, and conduct follow-up surveys.
• SUD Knowledge Base: Foundational understanding of harm reduction principles, naloxone distribution,…