Prenatal Patient Advocate

The member will serve with the Family Practice & Counseling Network (FPCN) prenatal program. Our team, comprising providers from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a prenatal nurse, and a medical assistant, aims to provide comprehensive trauma-informed care to FPCN’s OB patients based on current clinical data.

Pregnancy requires substantially greater engagement in care than in most other periods of life. Thus, existing barriers to accessing care are compounded, putting patients at greater risk for complications that affect both themselves and their babies. Because we serve a population greatly affected by race, poverty, and other social determinants of health, we engage in extensive efforts to encourage and support compliance with care.

The NHC member will assist with providing individualized support to our patients in order to promote healthy pregnancies. Major duties will include enrolling patients in Medicaid or Pennie and providing related financial counseling; following up on missed appointments and identifying potential barriers to accessing care; coordinating testing and specialist visits with outside institutions; enrolling patients in community benefit programs (e.g., WIC, Nurse-Family Partnership, etc.); engaging in wellness education related to nutrition, exercise, and mental health; and monitoring patient panel to track progress and outcomes, including identifying patients at risk of being lost to care.

- Member will provide enrollment assistance for uninsured/underinsured patients and their families to access subsidized, low-cost, and free health insurance programs. This will be done through Pennie (PA Marketplace, also known as “Obamacare”), Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Duties will include completing applications, gathering required documents, and troubleshooting the enrollment process. Member will be trained on how to use COMPASS, Pennie, and other insurance-related platforms.
- For ineligible or uninsurable patients, member will assist with applying for other health benefit programs, such as charity care at partner hospitals.
- Member will outreach to prenatal patients to ensure that missed appointments are promptly rescheduled and follow-up appointments are scheduled at appropriate times. For patients who demonstrate a pattern of missing appointments, member will identify existing and potential barriers and create a plan to address them.
- Member will conduct outreach calls as necessary to patients after delivery to assist in the scheduling of postpartum and newborn appointments.
- Member will assist patients with scheduling testing, imaging, and other related appointments at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), or other locations when recommended. Member will identify potential barriers to attending recommended appointments and create a plan to address them.
- Member will provide referrals to the following as appropriate: Healthy Start, Nurse Family Partnership, Mabel Morris, Philly Families Can, Cribs for Kids, SafeSleepPhilly, CHOP Car Seat Program, and WIC
- Member will follow up with both patient and referral organization/program to ensure services are rendered in a timely manner
- Member will research, outreach, and form partnerships with other organizations/programs as needed based on patient need
- Members will assess current practices and materials to identify barriers most regularly faced by patient panel
- Member will develop suggestions and revisions to address barriers (ex: revise current outreach material to include a variety of languages; identify alternative methods of disseminating educational information; ensure accessibility of existing resources, etc.)
- Member will create a comprehensive, multilingual digital and paper resource for patients 'Intro to Care' and 'Ready for Baby' visits.
- Member will implement their doula and lactation training by facilitating basic childbirth education to prepare patients for their labor.
- Member will compile zipcode specific, multi-lingual resource lists to support patients with access to food, diapers, and formula to meet their SDOH needs.
- Member will create easy to read guides in various languages that outline what to expect at the hospital, pack in hospital bag, and prepare for labor and more.
- Member will facilitate education related to the importance of exercise and nutrition during pregnancy
- Member will facilitate education on the risk of toxic substances during pregnancy
- In addition to patient contact during prenatal sessions, the member will work to promote the activities offered through FPCN wellness educators and nutritionists.
- In conjunction with prenatal team, member will track and monitor prenatal population quality measures and outcomes
- Member will run reports through the EMR to identify patients due for interventions or at risk of being lost to care

Personal vehicle is recommended, but not required