Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.
As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.
Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:
1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change
Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.
PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:
It is necessary to implement critical clinical and community initiatives and is directly related to maintaining and improving health and safety of birthing persons in NYC. Citywide Birth Equity Taskforce Coordinator position will sit within the Maternity Hospital Quality Improvement Network (MHQIN) . The MHQIN is a clinical-community initiative seeking to address the persistent racial and ethnic inequities in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Mortality in NYC. MHQIN has three strategic areas that are focused on promoting and sustaining hospital culture change and include: 1) Enhancing clinical awareness and practice change through Severe Maternal Mortality (SMM) case review, 2) Promoting patient-advocacy and empowerment and 3) Supporting anti-racism and culture change within hospital systems. NYC Health Department will plan and facilitate the following activities as a part of MHQIN: Provide support to the case abstractors for SMM case review. Use quality improvement models to measure and address inequities in care and outcomes. Assist with building institutional accountability and transparency around anti-racism priorities by engaging hospitals in the Health Department's Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) Provide learning sessions/trainings focused on respectful maternity care including implicit bias, trauma and resilience informed care and reproductive justice. Provide technical support to become doula friendly and accredited. Support access to doulas via the Citywide Doula initiative.
DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
Identify and foster relationships with public and private agencies that provide services to families; and identify resources, establish relationships with providers, maintain an updated list of resources.
Identify gaps in needed community resources and implement an outreach strategy to increase program visibility and improve relationships between maternity, hospitals, community members and DOHMH.
Engage with existing community and hospital leaders and convene meetings in each of the five boroughs to address maternal health issues and build relationships.
Work closely with team members, birth justice defender hubs in the five boroughs to identify other community partners including community-based organizations and agencies.
Prepare reports, PowerPoint presentations, and present to internal and external audiences as needed.
Coordinate and collaborate with team members in the central office and in the community.
Participate in weekly MHQIN meetings, Team meetings/Strategic planning meetings and follow-up work.
Travel throughout five boroughs is required.
Minimum Qualifications
1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
2. High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in "1" above.
Preferred Skills
Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access and any project management tools -Ability to handle multiple and diverse assignments effectively and efficiently -Experience working with confidential information -ability to work with team and independently
Residency Requirement
New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.
Additional Information
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.
Proficiency using Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access and any project management tools -Ability to handle multiple and diverse assignments effectively and efficiently -Experience working with confidential information -ability to work with team and independently
New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.