Position Overview
Gateway to Hope (GTH) is a growing 501c3 nonprofit organization serving women across Missouri and in Southern Illinois. Our mission focuses on supporting women in accessing timely, quality, affordable breast healthcare – with an emphasis on making sure women have access to life-saving mammograms and other critical treatments and care. Gateway to Hope seeks a seasoned health advocate to support GTH’s Screening Navigation Program. This program is designed to increase access to affordable, quality, timely breast healthcare screening – ensuring more women in our state can survive and thrive beyond breast cancer. The program provides women in our state with the partner and advocate they deserve – along with resources, education and financial assistance to afford and access life-saving healthcare. In some parts of Missouri, 75% of breast cancers are diagnosed as late-stage. This is preventable, and this position at Gateway to Hope will help lead the charge to change this unacceptable statistic.
This role will require an individual who is both skilled and passionate about grassroots community organizing, public health, and patient-centered care. The person in this role needs to have a deep understanding of the healthcare and community resource landscape in Missouri, including but not limited to the insurance environment, safety net programs like Medicaid and Show Me Healthy Women, healthcare providers who provide breast healthcare, and community organizations providing basic needs support. This person will generate community-led interest in access to care (like mammograms), creating networks of individuals who advocate for one another and themselves to access breast healthcare services. They will also work directly with patients to navigate them to essential care. This person aims to build trust with patients, communities, and the organizations/providers who serve them. They are also willing to travel regularly to reach all of the communities in the region for which they are responsible. Candidates residing in Southwest Missouri are preferred.
Importantly, GTH is committed to the growth and development of diverse talent in the nonprofit sector. We seek a teammate who brings a growth mindset to their work and will strive for continuous learning in mammography, oncology, community mobilization and organizing, and patient navigation. And, GTH is committed to the development of this individual, providing supportive leadership, mentorship, and formal professional development. GTH seeks someone who will demonstrate compassion, a deep knowledge of community health, and dedication to the quality work that our mission and community deserve. Our commitment to this individual is a workplace committed to inclusion and equity, where your ideas and expertise can thrive and grow. The Screening Navigator is a valued member of the Program Team, reporting to the Senior Manager of Clinical Programs. The person in this role can expect to earn a salary between $49,000 and $55,000 and have access to Gateway to Hope’s generous benefits package. All expenses incurred for travel related to work objectives will be reimbursed/paid for by Gateway to Hope.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to ccruise@gthmo.org. Only candidates with a complete cover letter and resume will be considered for this position. To learn more about Gateway to Hope, visit www.gthmo.org.
Primary duties and essential functions
Rapid Case Management: Navigate women to and through mammography and diagnostics.
- Intake new patients: Obtain necessary demographic, medical, and financial information to determine program eligibility; evaluate patient barriers to care through internal tools, clinical judgment, and patient interactions; and develop a short-term action plan to connect patients to care.
- Educate & connect patients to care: Educate patients on breast health and breast cancer basics that are rooted in research and data; assist patients with completion of Show Me Healthy Women Paperwork, Medicaid enrollment, insurance optimization as appropriate; connect patients to screening and other community referrals as needed; and ensure patients with abnormal results are navigated to appropriate diagnostics.
- Maintain exceptional data quality: Track and enter accurate patient data promptly through an online database, Salesforce; engage in ongoing database training and support; and collaborate with the Program Leadership to better utilize instructive data to serve patients. Provide data as requested for grant proposals and other key stakeholder groups.
Community Engagement: Engage in community outreach by identifying key partnership opportunities, providing culturally sensitive breast health education, and building a pipeline of people to be navigated to screening.
- Patient recruitment: Through engagement efforts, identify and cultivate referral pipelines for individuals rarely or never screened for breast cancer.
- Identify and engage key stakeholders: with the team’s support, identify and build trusting relationships with community screening providers, community-based organizations (like schools, churches, and other social service providers), and patients themselves to determine both barriers to care seeking and opportunities for collaboration. This work will occur during program design and continuously – as we are committed to centering community and patient voice.
- Be a resource: Provide information to multiple stakeholder groups, including providers/payers/community-based organizations and community members regarding GTH services and resources available to individuals seeking care; and in coordination with the Program team, respond to all inquiries, either by referring out to other resources or starting the application process for GTH screening services.
- Cultivate public interest in breast health: With the Program Leadership, identify and participate in outreach opportunities to expand the reach of the GTH program and services to preventative breast healthcare; and participate, as needed, in health fairs, activities, and events to promote GTH awareness in the community.
- Be a regional leader: With Screening Program Team, participate in professional groups and coalitions to further the mission of GTH and screening programming; maintain and develop relationships with referral sources (e.g., social workers, nurses, navigators, community organizations, etc.); and collaborate with providers to ensure patients have access to additional resources.
Learning & Growth: Professional Development
- Know the Landscape: Maintain knowledge of Show Me Healthy Women program, BCCT Medicaid, and health insurance policies and procedures; stay up to date on screening guidelines and recommendations, including navigating patients to understand their risk factors; and develop thorough knowledge of available screening resources at the local, state, and national level.
- Stretch into mastery: Participate in internally assigned trainings to advance clinical intervention skills; attend webinars and workshops to sharpen skills related to working in the community and with individuals.
Characteristics and Qualifications
- This person must be self-motivated, highly organized, and able to work with a remote supervisor and team
- Degree in social work or related field preferred; knowledge of oncology screening practices a plus
- Individuals located in Central or Southwest Missouri are strongly encouraged to apply
- Minimum of 2 years case management experience required
- Minimum of 2 years in community engagement work preferred
- Bilingual skills a plus
- Proficiency in Outlook 365 required
- Understanding of computer systems and databases; experience with Salesforce a plus
- Minimum of 2 years experience completing documentation that meets audit standards
- Excellent written, oral, and communication skills
- Detail-oriented and strong organizational skills
- Exhibiting strong interpersonal skills
- Demonstrated cultural humility is a requirement of this role, which includes a strong awareness of varying dimensions of diversity, including gender, race, and ethnicity
Plus More: Perform other duties as expected of all GTH staff
Work Environment
This position operates in a 100% virtual professional work environment. Gateway to Hope will provide resources for adequate home/virtual office setup. Some travel is required as this position regularly interacts with community members and patients in community settings. The Gateway to Hope team relies heavily on technology to achieve goals while interacting regularly with the entire staff.
Physical Demand
Some light lifting is required. This role routinely uses standard office equipment and technology.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work
This is a nonexempt position averaging 40 hours per week. Hours of work primarily between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend and evening commitments. Gateway to Hope offers a generous PTO policy and flexible working hours, pays 100% of employee healthcare premiums, and encourages well-balanced, healthy lifestyles.
About Gateway to Hope
Our mission is to remove barriers to affordable, timely, quality healthcare, empowering people with breast cancer to face the disease and focus on healing. We believe that no one should have to choose between life-saving medical care and basic necessities. We know that these barriers to healthcare impact survival. That is why we provide financial and navigation support during treatment, so our recipients can access the care they need. We also lead community efforts to build greater access to affordable screenings and early detection options – another significant barrier to care and breast cancer survivability. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, we serve communities across Missouri, Eastern Kansas, and Southern Illinois. We believe in advancing health equity and are committed to building more significant health equity in our communities. We are an equal-opportunity employer and value the lived and learned experiences of all individuals. We emphasize creating a diverse environment – all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
