MAT Legal Assistant

Position Status

Full

Site

Philadelphia

NHC Position Type

Care Coordinator

Position Summary

The overarching goal of the NHC member is to build the capacity of PLA’s Medical-Legal-Community Partnership (MLCP) to treat the health-harming legal needs of patients with substance use disorders. They will do so by offering direct, on-site legal aid for patients at Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs at two Federally-Qualified Health Centers, Health Center 6 and Delaware Valley Community Health (DVCH).

Major Duties and Responsibilities

  • practicing intake and referrals of patients in need
  • identifying patients who are at-risk to assess eligibility for various services
  • offering and reviewing screenings or self-referrals
  • referring patients to other programs and community services
  • tracking patients to confirm program enrollment and engagement
  • providing follow-up and case management to deliver assistance and information
  • maintaining professional boundaries and respecting patient confidentiality
  • educating patients on medical interventions and prevention
  • documenting interactions with patients in an electronic health record
  • attending and participating in community or host site events
  • creating social media content to promote the programs
  • collaborating with supervisors and other leadership
  • implement strategies to recruit clients to attend health and wellness classes
  • providing social service navigation
  • conducting social determinants of health screener
  • maintaining, assembling, and distributing materials and supplies
  • participating in meetings and conferences

Characteristics of an Ideal Candidate

  • Organized; sound organizational skills
  • Multi-tasker; ability to balance
  • Detail-oriented
  • Comfortable speaking with patient populations, individually or in groups
  • Interested in health and wellness promotion
  • Experience interacting with patient populations
  • Education in Social Work, Public health, and/or Psychology
  • Team-oriented
  • Customer-oriented
  • Positive attitude
  • Patient and calm
  • Good verbal and written communication skills
  • Proficient computer and data entry skills (e.g., Microsoft suite)
  • Experience working with patient populations
  • Speaks language(s) spoken by patient populations
  • Instills trust easily
  • Creative problem solving
  • Persistence
  • Resilience
  • Tenacity
  • Open-minded
  • Non-judgmental
  • Kind and friendly
  • Knowledge of legal services and federal/state assistance programs.

Knowledge Required for the Position

  • 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

Supervision

  • NHC member uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments following set procedures, independently.
  • The supervisor assigns service activities, advises on changes in procedures, and is available for assistance when required.

Review

  • The NHC member independently plans and carries out the projects and selects the approaches and methods to be used in solving problems.

Guidelines

  • Detailed guidelines exist, including regulations and directives, handbooks, precedents, industry standards and files of previous projects.
  • Guidelines are generally applicable, but the NHC member independently makes adaptations in dealing with problems and unusual situations.
  • NHC member must use considerable judgment in adapting current or developing new guidance.

Complexity

  • NHC member has to develop, analyze, or evaluate information before the service position can progress.
  • In making decisions, the NHC member is often required to depart from past approaches and to extend traditional techniques.
  • The NHC member must develop new techniques, methods, or approaches to complete service position assignments

Special Considerations

Member will travel between 2 health center locations throughout the week (schedule TBD):

  • Delaware Valley Community Health (DVCH)—1 site 

          Girard Medical Center  

          801 W Girard Ave 

          Philadelphia, PA 19122 

  • Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Health Center 6 – (1 site) 

          301 W Girard Ave,  

           Philadelphia, PA, 19123 

Language Proficiency Requirements

  • Second language proficiency in Spanish is required; fluency preferred

Criminal History Check Requirements Beyond NHC Standard Checks

  • Child abuse clearance