Cross-cultural Health Brokers

Umbrella Multicultural Health Cooperative is a member-driven, not-for-profit, community health Centre (CHC). Our members are people who face language and cultural barriers accessing health care. Our mission is to provide practical access to affordable and holistic health care services that are appropriate in culture and language for those without access to health security.

We work with a Cross Cultural Health Broker (CCHB) Model. CCHBs are multicultural, multilingual health care workers who facilitate communication between patients, service providers and health and social service systems.

**Summary of the Position**

The Cross Cultural Health Broker (CCHB) is a unique role that serves the specialized population of racialized immigrants and refugees and is the basis of how Umbrella Co-op fulfills its mission to provide accessible health services to those who experience language and cultural barriers. This is a part-time permanent position, 15 hrs/week.

CCHBs work to meet the health and wellness needs of the ethno-cultural communities Umbrella Co-op serves along the continuum of settlement, integration, and social inclusion. CCHBs are bilingual and bicultural individuals, who identify with the community they serve, who act as a bridge between members of the community and the institutional Canadian health and social systems to ensure full access to quality health care that is culturally and linguistically appropriate.

The role works in all programs and services offered at Umbrella Co-op. They are trusted members of their communities and support the long-term relationship between patients, physicians, and other service providers while providing a cultural lens to ensure services are relevant and appropriate.

**Duties and responsibilities**

1. Using a cross-cultural communication framework, facilitate appointments between patient and health care provider in the clinical setting
- Support patient’s access to health services by providing language and cultural interpretation and translation between clinicians and patients
- Ensure patient’s informed decision making by conveying the information effectively between patient and clinician

2. Manage patient care
- Support continuity of care and fill health care gaps according to patients’ preferences, needs and values
- Support health system navigation by providing information about the Canadian health care system
- Support patients’ mental health needs through peer support or referrals
- Support patient follow-up, i.e., call patients to inform about specialist or hospital appointment details, support with lab requisitions or pharmacy needs, etc.
- Identify and address problems affecting patients and their family members’ health
- Document all aspects of patient care, such as follow-up, recommendations and communication in patient electronic medical chart and other database management systems

3. Address social determinants of health (sdh) in a primary health care context:

- Help identify patients’ social determinants of health needs
- Determine if sdh need is best met by CCHB or can be referred to an external service
- Refer and liaise patients to appropriate health and social services in a timely manner, and follow-up to bridge gaps
- Identify programs in other service provider agencies (government/ngo/settlement organization etc.) that support sdh client referral, ongoing
- Network and maintain positive relationships with health and social service agencies

4. Support Health Promotion
- Discuss opportunities for health screening, promotion, and disease prevention with patients, such as healthy behaviors, mental health awareness, etc.
- Co-develop and facilitate curriculum and workshop materials for community health workshops and peer-led groups
- Create a welcoming, confidential, and safe environment for program participants
- Enable clients to take leadership in their own communities

5. Support patients accessing health care services through virtual technologies
- Identify patients’ most suitable technological method to access services
- Support patients troubleshoot technological issues

6. Patient Advocacy
- In all interactions between patient and service providers (medical, health, sdh, etc.) create space for patient needs to be heard and met
- Acknowledge and address power imbalance in advocacy

7. Strictly adhere to privacy and confidentiality guidelines and use OSCAR-EMR and clinic-provided cell phone to communicate confidential patient information

8. Develop trusting relationship with community members, agencies, and support workers within the community

9. Share vision and mission of Umbrella Co-op to patients and community members, orienting on membership and programming available to them

10. Attend internal and external stakeholder meetings as necessary

**Qualifications**

Required Skills and Education:

- Bachelor’s in Health Sciences or related field, 2 years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education, tr