Care Navigator, Care Navigation Program (Contract)

About The Role

Headway is building a new Care Navigation & Triage program to help patients leaving emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric units and partial hospitalization programs get connected to the right mental health care, quickly and safely. The weeks after discharge are among the highest-risk periods in a patient's care, and connecting patients to follow-up care during that window can make a real difference. As a Care Navigator, you'll coordinate each patient's path from hospital referral to a confirmed first appointment. You'll be the main point of contact for hospital partners and patients, working with a licensed Clinical Assessor, and you'll help shape a program that's still being built.

This is a part-time, remote contract role.

You will be great for this role if:

• You have at least 2 years of experience in behavioral health care coordination, case management, patient navigation or hospital discharge planning.

• You are comfortable working with patients who have recently been discharged and may be in distress, and you know when to bring in clinical support.

• You are highly organized and can manage a high volume of referrals and follow-ups with tight turnaround, without dropping details.

• You are a clear, warm communicator with patients, hospital staff and providers.

• You are persistent and resourceful at solving practical barriers to care, such as insurance, transportation and access to community resources.

• You are energized by building something new, and comfortable with workflows that will change as the program grows.

• Familiarity with insurance and community resources in Missouri or Virginia is a plus.

Role responsibilities

• Receive referrals from partner hospitals and act as the main contact for their discharge planners and care teams.

• Route each referral using set guidelines and a triage protocol, either straight to a Headway provider or to a Clinical Assessor for evaluation.

• Schedule patients with the Clinical Assessor, then book them into the level of care the assessor recommends: a Headway provider, a specialty program or a community resource.

• Follow up to confirm patients attended care, and step in quickly if an appointment falls through.

• Connect patients to practical support (transportation, food, insurance and benefits questions) and coordinate between their providers.

• Build and maintain a list of local referral resources in each market.

• Follow escalation protocols and bring in clinical staff right away when a patient may be in crisis. Level-of-care decisions are made only by licensed clinicians.

• Document interactions with patients and complete all work within Headway's designated systems, following HIPAA and Headway's privacy and confidentiality requirements. Patient information is never stored or kept outside those systems.

Compensation

We have 1-2 openings for a Care Navigator. The role requires a minimum commitment of 20 hours per week. The Care Navigator will be paid an hourly rate of $43.50 and must set up or have an existing LLC or S-Corp.