EDSP Patient Navigator

Founded in 1923, Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center is a 389-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital located in Long Beach, California. Serving over 50,000 patients annually, the hospital offers a full complement of services including a Level II Trauma Center, Level III NICU, heart care, and orthopedics.

Additionally, St. Mary Medical Center has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. It is a Joint Commission-certified Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center and was named as a 2024-2025 High Performing Hospital for Heart Attacks by U.S. News & World Report.  The hospital shares a legacy of humankindness with Dignity Health, one of the nation’s five largest health care systems.  Visit https://www.dignityhealth.org/socal/locations/stmarymedical for more information.

The Emergency Department Syphilis/HIV/HCV Screening Program (EDSP) Navigator supports routine opt-out testing (and treatment as available) for sexually transmitted infections including syphilis, for HIV, and for hepatitis C virus in the emergency department (ED) setting. The Navigator provides outreach, patient education, coaching, linkage to care, documentation, data collection, and advocates for culture change in the hospital.

• Advocate for and normalize routine opt-out testing (and treatment as available) in the ED, including posting prominent signage and outreach materials inviting patients to opt in to services.
• Develop connections with a comprehensive array of community providers, including Ryan White clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and community-based programs to facilitate patient referrals.
• Make Navigator contact information widely available and respond directly to calls, emails, messages, and texts from ED and community providers, local health departments, and patients.
• Stay up to date about effects, treatment options, and chronic disease management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) to effectively educate patients.
• Coach patients in preventive practices, harm-reduction, transmission reduction, and medication adherence strategies that are rooted in their goals, preferences, and life circumstances.
• Use motivational interviewing techniques to coach patients in a respectful, culturally responsive, non-judgmental manner that fosters partnership in care.

• High School Graduate and two (2+) years of experience providing community health education services
• Bachelors degree in Public Health, Health Sciences or a closely related field may be substituted for experience on a year-for-year basis