PCC Community Wellness is starting recruitment for our 2022–23 Gap Year program. PCC is a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers on the West Side of Chicago, serving medically underserved patients in low-resourced communities. PCC Community Wellness’ Gap Year program is a cohort of individuals who are interested in pursuing medical school, PA school, nursing, etc. but would like to work within the healthcare field for a year (or two) to expand their horizons and gain experience serving underserved populations. Our goal is to provide an enriching program with physician mentors, RN managers, intra-cohort support, and applied professional experience while bringing eager minds into our organization to learn from our staff and help push to create change. Gap Years at PCC serve as Care Coordinators and Referrals Coordinators, directly facilitating access to important primary care and substance use treatment with our team of physicians, advanced practice nurses, registered nurses, social workers, and care coordinators.
Two positions are available as a Perinatal Child Health Care Coordinator, one to two positions are available as a Chemical Dependency/Emergency Department Care Coordinator, and two positions are available as Referral Authorization Coordinator. Specific information about these teams can be found below. The preferred start date for this position is Spring 2022; exceptions will be made for academic calendar reasons. Pay for these positions starts at $16.25 per hour, 40 hours a week, and is a mix of virtual and in-person work.
Interested applicants should please email a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references (the name, relation, and contact information of references only, letters of recommendation not needed) to gapyear@pccwellness.org by February 1st.
It is strongly preferred that applicants plan for a 13-month commitment, so they may train their replacement at the end of the academic year.
Experience/Abilities:
- Ability to display excellent customer service during in-person and telephone contact
- Ability to support a diverse patient population with unique needs
- Ability to effectively communicate with a team
- Ability to speak Spanish preferred but not required
- Personal transportation is helpful but not required
- Experience with MS Office applications Excel and Word
Perinatal Child Health Care Coordinator
As a Perinatal Child Health Care Coordinator, gap year students will work to support PCC’s pregnant, postpartum, and newborn patients. As PCC primarily serves uninsured and Medicaid patients, the Perinatal Child Health Care Coordinators will focus on making health care more accessible for these communities.
The responsibilities include:
- Rounding post-delivery patients at the hospital to assist in the discharge of postpartum patients and their newborns
- Coordinating care and scheduling appointments for pregnant patients
- Creating a list of pregnant patients each month for case management, where providers develop specialized care plans for high and moderate risk pregnancies
- Counseling patients on contraceptive options and reproductive life planning with an emphasis on supporting patients’ reproductive autonomy
- Managing the application process of and distribution of the specialty medication Synagis, a lifesaving injection that protects newborns with cardiovascular and respiratory problems from Respiratory Syncytial Virus
- Working with the referrals department to seek authorization for ultrasound orders and understanding insurance policies for maternal and fetal medicine referrals
- Updating patient records with information pertaining to maternal and pediatric patients’ health
Chemical Dependency/Emergency Department Care Coordinator
As the Chemical Dependency/Emergency Department Care Coordinator, the gap year student will work on the hospital floors and in the Emergency Department of West Suburban Medical Center (WSMC) to connect patients struggling with substance use disorder and lack of primary care to PCC services.
The responsibilities include:
- Daily rounding of PCC patients and substance use patients admitted under the Family Medicine Services, the Addiction Medicine Consult Service, and the Emergency Department of WSMC to ensure that patients have follow-up post-discharge
- Educating patients in the Emergency Department about access to healthcare options including establishing primary care and PCC’s Walk-in Clinic
- Outreaching patients who were unable to attend their follow up appointments and assisting them in rescheduling
- Updating patient records with information pertaining to recent hospitalizations and Emergency Department visits
- Using Motivational Interviewing to encourage patients as they engage with substance use treatment
- Investigating new resources and connecting patients to these resources to alleviate their barriers to care
- Coordinating care, reviewing insurance redetermination dates, and scheduling appointments for Chemical Dependency Clinic patients
- Participation as an active member of the Chemical Dependency Clinic team, contributing insight on how to better serve our patients and building collaborative relationships with the medical providers and patients
Referral Authorization Care Coordinator
As a Referrals Coordinator, gap year students will work to support PCC’s patients through the task of processing patients’ referrals ordered by their PCC providers. Referral Coordinators will focus on obtaining insurance authorization for particular referral orders as well as finding in-network providers to send patients to for necessary specialized care
The responsibilities include:
- Overseeing and managing referrals for PCC clinic sites to ensure referrals are routed to designated referral coordinator for further processing.
- Communicating with insurance companies to obtain authorization necessary for patients to receive the healthcare they need at minimal/no cost.
- Communicating with doctors, nurses, and midwives to understand each referral and what authorization is needed
- Compiling necessary medical records to send to insurance companies for prior authorization
- Navigating insurance portals to submit referral orders for prior authorizations as well as checking for updates on the status of pending submitted authorization requests
- Outreaching patients to provide them with the referring location information needed for patients to call to schedule their appointment.
- Updating patient records with information pertaining to insurance authorization to insure no cost/minimal cost to our patients