If you want to become a community care coordinator, you first need to determine if this career path is a good fit for your skills, interests and personality traits. If the following description sounds like you, then you’re probably well suited for work in this field:
• You have an interest in brining together healthcare specialists on behalf of those who need their services
• You are resourceful, and have the ability to set priorities
• You have, or are interested in earning, a degree in a field related to healthcare
• You are able to deal with clients and their relatives in a manner that demonstrates tact, empathy and patience
• You have an interest in helping the ill, injured or elderly obtain seamless, quality healthcare
Below we've outlined how to get started in this profession. We've also included helpful supplementary information, such as a job description, an overview of the job duties, salary expectations, a list of possible employers and much more!
Education Needed to Become a Community Care Coordinator
Those who employ the services of community care coordinators generally prefer to hire candidates with at least an undergraduate degree in a healthcare related field, such as Public Health, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Speech-language Pathology or Healthcare Administration.
Experience You'll Need
Although not an industry-wide standard, many employers prefer to hire community care coordinators that have a few years of experience working in a community health capacity. This experience could be in roles of lesser responsibility, such as community care worker, or in positions of similar responsibility, such as registered nurse.
Generally speaking, the more experience you have in roles of progressive levels of responsibility, the less formal education you need (and vice versa) to qualify as a community care coordinator.
Community Care Coordinator - General Job Description
A community care coordinator functions as a case manager who coordinates and integrates health care and support services for people who have acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative health care needs. They are responsible for supervising interdisciplinary care, and bringing together the different specialists whose help the patient may need.
The ultimate goal of a community care coordinator is to help clients and their families to function in the community. They must asses the needs of clients and determine their eligibility for services, according to government and local program guidelines.
Community care coordinators are generally responsible for assisting clients who are not eligible for such programs with accessing placement services and medical supplies and plans for alternate care.
They are also responsible for providing leadership to the site based nursing team. They must also act as client advocates, educators and stewards of resources while implementing the process of case management.
Typical Duties of the Job
• Report to and take direction from the Area Manager
• Assess the needs of palliative patients and their families
• Implement strategies and interventions as needs justify
• Ensure collaboration between the nursing team, clients and their families
• Coordinate the provision of direct nursing care
• Provide comprehensive care and health resource management
• Work closely with other team members
Who Employs Community Care Workers?
Community care workers are employed on a part-time, full-time, casual and contractual basis, typically by the following types of organizations:
• Non-profit community organizations
• Cultural agencies and councils
• Private companies (employee assistance programs)
• Private for-profit social service companies
• Long-term care organizations
• Municipal, regional and federal government agencies
Average Salary Level in This Field
The salary level of community care coordinators can vary based on factors such as:
• Their level of education
• Their level of experience
• The size and type of their employer
• The region in which they work
There is no salary information available from reliable sources specifically for the career Community Care Coordinator. We can however get a good idea of what they earn by looking at the salary level of workers in closely related occupations. Unfortunately, no similar statistics were available for the rest of Canada.
Community Care Coordinator Salary - Canada (Alberta figures only): According to the 2016 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey (latest figures available as of May 28, 2019), Albertans working in the Social Workers occupational group earn an average salary of $65,593 per year.
Community Care Coordinator Salary United States: According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary level of American workers in the Social and Community Service Managers occupational group is $59,970 per year.
Why Are These Workers So Important?
Community care coordinators are essential for providing quality care for patients who have acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative health care needs.
The care coordinator acts as the face of healthcare for their clients, who often have health care needs that are quite complex. They help these clients navigate the murky waters of finding and coordinating the proper healthcare services for their complex needs, rather than having to do so on their own.
They also monitor the quality of the services provided, and makes adjustments as necessary, all while ensuring the client receives seamless care.
By ensuring seamless health care service provision, community care coordinators are also essential for allowing patients to focus their energy on recovery, rather than sourcing and planning health care service. This significantly decreases the need for future service provision for the client, which in turn keeps the overall cost of their health care services low.
Characteristics Needed to Be Successful
In order to enjoy performing the duties of a community care coordinator you need to have certain personality traits. Taking enjoyment from your duties is important, as it helps you maintain a positive attitude towards your work, which usually leads to having a long and successful career.
• Empathy, kindness and patience
• Maturity and emotional stability
• A client centered and results-oriented approach to work activities
• Able to see a patient’s needs through their eyes
• Willing to stay abreast of developments in the field
• An interest in relieving clients of the burden of health care service coordination
• An interest in ensuring clients receive seamless service
Crucial Skills to Have
To be effective in this profession, and perform your job duties with competence, you need to posses a certain set of skills, including:
• Excellent knowledge of community resources
• Knowledge of the roles of health professionals
• Excellent assessment, decision-making and priority setting skills
• Ability to form effective working relationships with local, regional and national organizations
• Able to match the needs of clients with available service providers
• Able to develop care plans and re-arrange them as necessary
Job Opportunities - Current Openings in Your Area
Our job board below has "Community Care Coordinator" postings in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Similar Career Guides in Our System
Listed below are career guides in our system that are similar in nature to community care coordinator, as they may involve many of the same skills, competencies and responsibilities.
• Community Outreach Coordinator
References
Please consult the references below to find more information on the various aspects of this career.
Wages & Salaries in Alberta: “Social and Community Service Workers.” (n.d.). ALIS website - Alberta Learning Information Service. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Management: “Social and Community Service Managers.” (September 4, 2019). Occupational Outlook Handbook - United States Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Employment Outlook: “Community Care Worker.” (n.d.). Open Colleges website. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Scholarships for Becoming a Community Care Coordinator
The 'Relevant Fields of Study' section below shows fields of study relevant to this career. You can find scholarships matched to those fields of study on our All Scholarships by Major page.
Success Tip: Be sure to apply for any scholarships that you even barely qualify for, as there are millions of dollars of scholarships that go unused every year due to a lack of applicants!
Relevant Fields of Study
Studying one of the university majors listed below is an excellent starting point to becoming a community care coordinator. Click on the links to find out what else you can do with these majors!
