Open Access Scheduling and Patient Navigation Project Coordinator

Western Sierra Medical Clinic is an engaging, enthusiastic, mission driven organization dedicated to providing high-quality primary care to all members of our community. This includes the delivery of evidence-based preventative care, chronic disease management, and addressing urgent care needs as indicated for our pediatric and adult patient population.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES

The Open Access Scheduling and Patient Navigation Project Coordinator will lead the implementation, monitoring, and ongoing optimization of Western Sierra Medical Clinic's open access scheduling model, beginning with new patient appointments and expanding over time to additional visit types. This position will coordinate workflows that allow newly assigned or referred patients to complete intake electronically, activate the patient portal, receive a welcome call and email, schedule an initial appointment, and receive support from an assigned patient navigator to successfully establish care.

The role requires strong project management, health center operations, patient access, scheduling, patient engagement, and change management skills. The coordinator will work closely with operations, front office, clinical leadership, patient navigators, IT/EHR staff, quality improvement, compliance, and external partners such as Partnership HealthPlan of California to ensure the process improves timely access, reduces patient barriers, supports continuity of care, and strengthens the patient experience.

GENERAL DUTIES

(This list may not include all the duties assigned.)

• Serve as the primary project champion for implementation of open access scheduling across the organization.
• Develop, document, test, and refine workflows for new patient intake, portal enrollment, welcome calls, welcome emails, appointment self-scheduling, patient navigator assignment, and initial appointment completion.
• Coordinate with Partnership HealthPlan of California assignment reports, referral sources, internal intake teams, and scheduling staff to ensure newly assigned patients are contacted promptly and routed through the correct workflow.
• Partner with IT/EHR staff to configure scheduling templates, portal links, appointment types, visit reasons, patient forms, automated messages, and reporting tools.
• Work with patient navigators to ensure each new patient receives individualized support, including assistance with portal registration, completion of intake forms, insurance or demographic updates, transportation or language access needs, and preparation for the first visit.
• Create scripts, email templates, training materials, standard work, and quick-reference guides for staff involved in the workflow.
• Monitor key performance indicators, including time from assignment or packet receipt to first contact, portal activation rate, completion of intake forms, time to first appointment, no-show rate, appointment completion rate, and patient satisfaction.
• Identify bottlenecks, missed handoffs, scheduling barriers, EHR build issues, and patient access inequities; recommend and implement corrective actions.
• Facilitate weekly implementation huddles during launch and transition to monthly optimization meetings after stabilization.
• Support future implementation phases allowing established patients to manage additional visit types through the portal, including routine follow-up, preventive care, chronic care management, telehealth, and selected nurse or team-based visits.
• Ensure workflows comply with HIPAA, privacy, security, language access, health center policies, and applicable payer or regulatory requirements.
• Prepare implementation updates, dashboards, and progress reports for executive leadership, operations leadership, providers, and other stakeholders.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate degree in healthcare administration, public health, business administration, health information technology, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Minimum of three years of experience in healthcare operations, patient access, scheduling, referral coordination, patient navigation, care coordination, or clinic workflow improvement.
• Experience working in a Federally Qualified Health Center, rural health clinic, community health center, or safety-net healthcare environment strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects across multiple departments and move work from concept to implementation.
• Working knowledge of EHR systems, patient portals, scheduling templates, visit types, appointment workflows, and patient communication tools.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to train staff, engage patients, and work effectively with clinical and non-clinical teams.
• Ability to collect, review, and interpret operational data to guide process improvement.
• Commitment to health equity, trauma-informed service, patient-centered care, and reducing barriers for underserved populations.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, public health, business administration, nursing, social work, or a related field.
• Project management training or certification, such as Lean, Six Sigma, PMP, CAPM, or equivalent practical project leadership experience.
• Experience implementing online scheduling, patient portal adoption, call center workflows, centralized scheduling, open access scheduling, or patient navigation programs.
• Experience with quality improvement methods, including Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, workflow mapping, root cause analysis, and dashboard reporting.
• Bilingual ability, especially English/Spanish, preferred based on patient population needs.