Ndee Bah Dialysis Center Patient Advocate

NDEE BÁH DIALYSIS CENTER, A PROJECT OF APACHE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. (NBDC)

JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION: PATIENT ADVOCATE (Dialysis Center)

CLASSIFICATION CODE: NON-EXEMPT FULL TIME

DEPARTMENT: NDEE BÁH DIALYSIS CENTER

REPORTS TO: CLINICAL MANAGER (Dialysis Center)

WORKS IN CLOSE COORDINATION WITH: Fresenius Medical Staff (Medical Operations), ABHS Behavioral Health Team, Social Services partners, Transportation resources, Community partners.

STATEMENT OF JOB

The Patient Advocate supports NBDC’s mission, vision, core values, and customer service philosophy. The Patient Advocate serves as a primary patient-facing support and navigation resource on the dialysis medical operations side, helping patients and families understand services, coordinate care, access resources, address barriers, and resolve concerns in a timely, respectful, and culturally responsive manner. This position supports a patient-centered dialysis experience by strengthening communication between patients, families, the dialysis team (including Fresenius medical staff), ABHS leadership, and community resources.

The Patient Advocate also assists with patient onboarding, scheduling support, transportation coordination, insurance/eligibility navigation (as applicable), and documentation/communication of patient issues while maintaining confidentiality and compliance. The Patient Advocate adheres to NBDC’s Compliance Program and all applicable policies, including regulatory and privacy requirements, and helps foster a safe, respectful environment for patients, families, staff, and visitors.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

• Promotes and models NBDC’s culture through values and customer service standards.
• Provides outstanding customer service to all internal and external customers (patients, families, staff, community partners).
• Develops and maintains effective relationships through timely, respectful, and clear communication.
• Responds to questions, concerns, and service complaints with professionalism and discretion; escalates issues appropriately and follows through to resolution.
• Supports trauma-informed, culturally responsive engagement with patients and families

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Patient Advocacy & Navigation

• Serves as a patient advocate to support patient rights, dignity, access, and communication with the dialysis care team.
• Educates patients and families on “what to expect” during dialysis care (processes, schedules, general clinic operations) within scope and training.
• Assists patients and families in identifying barriers to treatment adherence (transportation, housing instability, family obligations, financial stressors, communication challenges) and works with the team to address barriers.
• Promotes patient engagement by encouraging questions, helping patients prepare for appointments, and ensuring patient concerns are heard and routed to the correct clinical or administrative team member.
• Assists with patient orientation/onboarding (welcome process, forms support, clinic rules, visitor expectations, safety procedures, grievance process).

B. Care Coordination Support (Medical Side)

• Works under the Clinical Manager’s direction to support coordination of care activities between the facility, Fresenius medical staff, and external providers.
• Helps track and communicate non-clinical status updates that affect care (transportation problems, missed appointments due to social barriers, family issues impacting attendance), ensuring proper handoff to appropriate team members.
• Supports timely follow-up for missed treatments/no-shows according to facility process (documenting outreach attempts and notifying the appropriate staff).
• Facilitates communication with patient family members/caregivers when appropriate and authorized, including appointment reminders, arrival instructions, and resource navigation.
• Supports referrals and warm handoffs to ABHS Behavioral Health services for patients/families needing counseling, crisis support, case management, or wellness resources (following established referral protocols and consent requirements).

C. Patient Experience, Grievances, and Service Recovery

• Receives, documents, and routes patient concerns,…