Physician

Who We Are:

Since 1985, BHCHP’s mission has been to ensure unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in greater Boston. Over 12,000 homeless individuals are cared for by Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program each year. We are committed to ensuring that every one of these individuals has access to comprehensive health care, from preventative dental care to cancer treatment. Our clinicians, case managers, and behavioral health professionals work in more than 60 locations to serve some of our community’s most vulnerable—and most resilient—citizens.

From our earliest days as a program, we have always sought to do work that is transformational: recognizing our shared humanity; centering dignity, compassion, mutual respect and supporting the right of every individual to access the highest levels of health care and every staff member to reach their fullest potential. We continue to be committed to building bridges and breaking down barriers, including systemic racism which harms us all. We provide community-based health care services that are compassionate, dignified, and culturally appropriate, incorporating social determinants of health, with the goal of breaking down the physical and systemic barriers that our patients face.

Job Summary:
Hours:  Full-time, Monday - Friday, 40 hours per week
Union: None
Union Name: None
BHCHP is currently seeking a dynamic full-time Family Practice or Medicine-Pediatric physician to provide high-quality, patient-centered primary care to individuals experiencing homelessness at outpatient sites (including a stand-alone patient-centered medical home and possible shelter-based primary care clinics) as well as at BHCHP’s medical respite program, the Barbara McInnis House. BHCHP’s Medical Respite program was created to provide short-term medical and recuperative services in a dignified setting for homeless individuals well enough for hospital discharge but too sick to be discharged to shelter or street.

Responsibilities: 

 Patient Care

• Coordinate patient care with onsite clinical staff at host institutions, including shelters, hospitals, detox facilities, etc.; refer patients when medically necessary for specialty, hospital, recuperative or other appropriate care such as detox, providing appropriate information for continuity of care; provide education to patients on health promotion and disease prevention.
• Provide comprehensive, high-quality primary and episodic and recuperative care at BHCHP sites, working within BHCHP’s clinical and administrative guidelines; provide direct patient care at least 32 hours/week including, if needed, late evening work, with the remaining 8 hours devoted to other clinical administrative duties such as lab follow-up, quality assurance, completion of patient forms, and to remain flexible about changes in those hours and in the site at which the work is performed.
• To provide with other staff members continuous onsite physician coverage at those sites which require physician presence, remaining available to cover sites during administrative time when colleagues are ill or on vacation; to provide on-call coverage with other BHCHP clinicians to ensure 24-hour availability, and to provide onsite holiday coverage at the recuperative care site; to provide comprehensive follow-up of all laboratory tests including notification of patients of all results according to BHCHP guidelines, to educate patients on health promotion and disease prevention and to provide appropriate follow-up of all abnormal results following the highest standards of medical care.

 Collaborative and Educational Responsibilities

• Provide BHCHP support staff with adequate physician back-up; help educate peers and other clinic staff by providing talks in areas of interest and expertise; participate in a collaborative agreement with nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants, ensuring the highest quality clinical care for patients co-managed; participate in the teaching of medical students and residents and to act as a role model and mentor for students, residents, and fellows.
• Actively participate in department meetings, general staff meetings and other meetings including quality assurance, pharmacy, etc.; attend CME meetings on a regular basis as mandated by the appropriate State Medical Board and to maintain the highest level of clinical competence.

Qualifications:

• M.D. licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; board eligible or certified in family practice or internal medicine and pediatrics; life support training certification (e.g., CPR, BLS, ACLS) from a course that includes a hands-on, in-person component.
• Interest in working within multidisciplinary teams to provide primary care to homeless persons.
• Familiarity with addiction medicine and/or Health Care for the Homeless program(s) is desired; strong understanding of the complex health problems of homeless people, substance use disorder, harm reduction strategies, and the social determinants of health; and an understanding of the historical and current effects of racism and xenophobia in the health care setting is desired.
• Bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. Fluency in another language (especially Spanish and Haitian Creole, which are most reflected in our patient population) is desired; DEA X-waiver is desired.

Compensation and Benefits:

• The compensation starts at $172,000 annually and increases based on years of experience.
• BHCHP full-time employees are eligible for our competitive time off program, health, dental and vision insurance, 403B retirement savings plan, pre-tax MBTA pass program with 40% discount, additional compensation for demonstrated bilingual proficiency and more.  Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.