Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Associate

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS: The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Associate is part of the FOCUS Breast Cancer Screening and Linkage to Care Program, a pilot program aimed at advancing timely diagnosis of breast cancer in vulnerable populations. This role ensures that patients are assessed for their risk of developing breast cancer and receive follow up genetic counseling and testing in a timely fashion so that patients receive appropriate screening. Incumbent will assist with developing preliminary risk screening tool, conducting screening outreach to patients, contacting patients to perform full breast cancer risk assessments, assisting patients with follow-up testing and appointments for counseling, and ensuring that patient data is accurately collected, tracked, and analyzed.

Incumbent must have a deep interest in women’s health and/or cancer screening, be bilingual in Spanish and English, and have a strong commitment to Neighborhood Health’s mission to improve health and advance health equity by providing high-quality primary care regardless of ability to pay.

DUTIES/ RESPONSIBILITIES: (Essential Functions: Duties and responsibilities noted with bullets are considered to be the essential functions of the job)

• Work with Neighborhood Health’s multi-disciplinary cancer screening team (medical providers, nurses, medical assistants, patient navigators, Cancer Screening Program Manager, and Quality Team) to evaluate patients’ risk for developing breast cancer

• Use a HIPAA-compliant texting platform to screen patients for family history of breast cancer and identify those at increased risk-compliant texting platform to screen patients for family history of breast cancer and identify those at increased risk

• Administer full breast cancer risk assessment for patients with initial positive screen

• For patients at elevated risk, ensure patients are connected to genetic counseling and testing

• Assist patients with financial aid applications as needed

• Educate patients about the importance of assessing risk and genetic counseling and testing through phone calls and texting

• Educate patients on risk assessment results and what it means for breast cancer screening

• Refer patients needing special breast imaging cadence to their medical provider and breast cancer screening navigators

• Manage the database tracking risk assessment outreach, results, and connection to genetic testing, counseling, and specialty care if necessary

• Assist navigation team with making appointments at radiology providers by calling the patient, scheduling their mammogram, asking required patient assessment questions, sending appointment reminders, and arranging for transportation if needed

• Follow up with unable-to-reach clients and assess reasons for declining risk assessments and/or genetic testing and counseling, and identify patterns and barriers and rescheduling no-shows

• Document all patient interactions and ensure risk assessment results and outside testing are in electronic medical record

• Participate in regular meetings with team members and leadership to assess project performance

QUALIFICATION/EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, nursing, social work, healthcare administration, or a related field (preferred)

Experience:

• Experience in patient navigation, case management, public health, or a healthcare-related field, particularly with a focus on cancer screening, prevention, or oncology

• Experience working with diverse, underserved populations preferred

• Experience working in public health or healthcare highly preferred

• Experience with data management: in creating detailed Excel spreadsheets, and maintaining and tracking data

• Experience working in an EMR or database preferred (training provided)

Skills and Competencies

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is required

• Understanding of cancer screening guidelines and procedures (training provided)

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to explain complex information in a clear and compassionate manner

• Ability to build trust and rapport with patients, families, and healthcare providers

• Organizational skills with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple cases simultaneously

• Proficient in using electronic health records (EHR) systems and other patient tracking tools (training is provided)

• Knowledge of HIPAA medical privacy requirements (training provided)

• Familiarity with medical terms and technology (not required, but desired)

Personal Attributes

• Compassionate, empathetic, and nonjudgmental, with a strong commitment to improving patient outcomes

• Proactive, self-motivated, and able to work independently as well as part of a team

• Culturally sensitive and aware of the challenges faced by different patient populations in accessing care