Location : Hybrid. Most of the positions at YCCO are hybrid, meaning they have the flexibility to work both remotely and/or in-person at YCCO's office in McMinnville, OR.

COVID-19 Update for Prospective Employees: YCCO is no longer requiring COVID-19 vaccination for employees.

Department: Heath Plan Operations FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Network Benefits Manager Physical Strength: Light (L)

Learn more about Yamhill Community Care:click here

Summary

The Health Equity Specialist is responsible for development, implementation, and management of Yamhill Community Care’s (YCCO) Health Equity program and initiatives. This position is instrumental in ensuring the performance of YCCO Health Equity Plan under its Oregon Health Plan managed care contract. This position works closely with the Health Equity administrator and Leadership, in collaboration with community and delivery system partners, the Community Advisory Council and governance committees to support development, spread and sustainability of Health Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity programs to reduce health disparities and increase equitable health care access for the YCCO members and community.

Essential Duties

1. Aligns with the YCCO Health Equity Plan, leads coordinated efforts to promote diversity and integrated health equity systems within all CCO departments, operations, and strategies.
2. Ensures YCCO meets are Health Equity Plan deliverables and reporting, including the creation of system policy and procedures, and other necessary documentation.
3. Designs and develops engagement and learning systems that promote health equity and reduces the impacts of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and health disparities.
4. Provides leadership and Health Equity subject matter expertise and experience to strengthen YCCO health care systems and service delivery.

Job Duties

Health Equity Plan

• Develops, implements, and maintains YCCO’s Health Equity Plan in consultation with CCO leadership and governance committees, staff and content experts, state agency staff and community leaders.
• Leads the development and coordination of health equity promotion programs including place-based and health system level initiatives.
• Works across departments to assure appropriate focus on and achievement of CCO-specific Health Equity Plan goals and deliverables.
• Implements, monitors, and provides reporting updates on the Health Equity Plan, Quality and Transformation Plan, Quality Performance Metrics, and other equity-based plans.
• Works collaboratively with member-facing staff and providers to include appropriate systems for tracking interpretation services to achieve meaningful and equitable access to health services for YCCO members.
• Assures OHA contract requirements are included in the Health Equity Plan and deliverables, including assuring inclusion of REALD/SOGI data in the development.
• Works with key stakeholders, community partners, and the Office of Equity Inclusion to identify and implement best practices in health equity, inclusion and diversity models.
• Develops health disparity education materials, outreach, and engagement strategies, with a focus on high-risk and underserved populations.

Reporting & Evaluation

• Supports the evaluation and expansion of health equity principles, with a focus on understanding and addressing local health disparities among populations at high-risk and underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations and marginalized communities.
• Supports the collection and utilization of Race, Ethnicity, Language, Disability data and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (REALD/SOGI) data to identify gaps and track disparities reduction in identified high-priority CCO populations.
• Liaises with data analytics in the design of analysis, data visualization, dashboard monitoring tools, and presentation of findings to key groups and stakeholders.
• Partners in developing tracking tools, dashboards and mechanisms to report achievement of annual health equity goals and targets included in the YCCO Community Health Improvement Plan.

Engagement, Process Improvement, & Training

• Implements communication and community engagement plans for health equity, inclusion and diversity activities across YCCO service area and stakeholder groups.
• Works collaboratively with community-represented stakeholders and organizations who engage regularly with trusted community voices, to provide equitable and accessible information on YCCO services and programs.
• Leads outreach activities to high-risk and marginalized communities to better understand needs, facilitate information sharing, and improve health outcomes.
• Coordinates and supports the offering of education and technical assistance to staff, providers, and community on cultural competency and ensure cultural inclusion for all stakeholders regardless of race, ethnicity, language, or other identities.
• Promotes knowledge sharing on diversity, equity, and inclusion and facilitates opportunities for knowledge sharing, community engagement and dialogue.
• Provides programmatic and technical assistance to community and clinical partners engaged in building culturally responsiveness practices in support of the CCO health equity plan.
• Acts as liaison with key stakeholders across a broad spectrum of services and social service domains, including communities of color, social safety net and/or state agencies, schools, and public health.

Essential Department & Organizational Functions

• Works to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable services, and working relationships with diverse groups of employees, community partners, and community members.
• Participates in the preparation and submission of regulatory and contract required deliverables.
• Works closely with other YCCO departments, including Health Plan Operations and Compliance to assist with audits; including the External Quality Review (EQR), as needed.
• Proposes and implements process improvements.
• Meets deadlines for completion of assigned responsibilities and projects.
• Maintains agreed upon work schedule with punctual, regular, and predictable attendance.
• Demonstrates cooperation and teamwork using a professional and respectful demeanor.
• Provides cross-training on specific job responsibilities.
• Meets identified goals that contribute to departmental goals.
• Works collaboratively in a team and matrixed (cross-department) environment with a spirit of cooperation.
• Respectfully takes direction from Supervisor.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Working knowledge of cultural responsiveness norms and practices, health equity, inclusion, and diversity protocols and frameworks.
• Knowledge of processes to assess community needs and develop improvement plan processes.
• Knowledge of Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity concepts and application in a community setting.
• Demonstrated skills in community convening and facilitation.
• Basic knowledge of quality improvement, research, and program evaluation principles and practices.
• Excellent listening, verbal communication, and presentation skills, including ability to articulate concepts to staff, partners, and stakeholders.
• Excellent written composition/expression skills.
• Refined interpersonal maturity/skills and a high level of emotional/social intelligence.
• Ability to develop project plans, prioritize tasks and meet objectives and use of software or other tools to track milestones and outcomes.
• Ability to research best practices to meet deliverables and to stay abreast of emerging opportunities that support innovative ways of addressing identified goals.
• Excellent organizational skills including ability to handle multiple priorities and demands simultaneously in a dynamic work environment while maintaining high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to work independently, use sound judgment, anticipate next steps and be proactive as part of a diverse team within a Matrix or shared resources across departments work model.
• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Ability to communicate both professionally and effectively in all forms of communication.
• Ability to work with diverse communities, marginalized populations and other communities and populations experiencing health disparities.
• Ability to work in an environment with diverse individuals and groups.
• Ability to remain flexible, positive, and adaptable.
• Ability to work across the YCCO region and to work remotely, as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position has no supervisory responsibility.

Qualifications

Ability to perform essential job duties with or without reasonable accommodation and without posing a direct threat to safety or health of employee or others. 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/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

Education & Experience

Required:

• Two (2) years’ progressively responsive experience in healthcare, education, and/or nonprofit including direct experience working with marginalized populations, disparities reduction, social justice program and/or health equity issues.
• Experience developing and administering program plans, timelines, and deliverables, including data and dashboards for evaluation and tracking.

OR:

• Any combination of education and experience that would qualify candidate for the position.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, social work, community health, or related field.
• Experience working with diverse multidisciplinary teams and community partners.

Certificates, Licenses, and/or Registrations

This position does not require any certificates, licenses, or registrations.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this position. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential duties of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, use hands and fingers, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee may occasionally need to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

This position operates in a professional office environment and requires frequent use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, distance vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

This position may include occasional required or optional travel outside of the workplace, in which the employee’s personal vehicle, local transit, or other means of transportation may be used.