ACT RN

POSITION SUMMARY: Facilitate nursing care to adults and youth with severe and persistent mental illness encompassing physical, mental, and emotional needs. Fill nurse role on team ensuring that consumers receive timely, high quality and efficient health care and support services through the development of a multi-disciplinary care plan, self-management goals and referrals to both internal and external resources.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Patient and comfortable relating to individuals with severe or persistent mental illness. Proficiency coordinating services with care providers from other agencies. Willing and able to provide adequate written documentation of services rendered in order to satisfy Federal, State and ACT/EASA requirements. Lead efforts to increase collaboration between primary care and mental health providers and assist in developing and implementing systems of care to address needs of this population such as inadequate physical activity, Poor Nutrition, Tobacco Use, Side effects from atypical antipsychotic medications, Increased morbidity and mortality, Issues related to accessing health care, or Chronic disease management

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Meet and maintain the standards and procedures for the provision of care and services to clients with mental illness in a licensed outpatient Mental Health Clinic.
• Administer medications to designated clients in a timely manner and maintain all Medication Administration Records to match and reflect physician's orders.
• Oversees the care given to the clients provided by Therapists, Case Managers and other providers.
• Will be involved in educational and case management activities with specific focus on medication and health issues.
• Work collaboratively with Residential Administrators, Primary Care Physicians, Psychiatrist, Psychologists, Therapists and Case Managers to provide an environment at Wallowa Valley Center For Wellness that facilitates, promotes and maintains the highest level of health and wellbeing for the clients.
• Communicates effectively both orally and in writing with Peers, Administrator, Physicians and other health care providers by giving timely and accurate feedback and reporting of client and/or staff issues.
• Able to develop cooperative relationships with clients, their families, and the community. Able to maintain excellent working relationships with physicians, law enforcement agencies and the court.
• Be able to prepare concise and complete documentation to include Nursing notes, resident assessments, treatment and care plans.
• Maintain confidentiality-adheres to rules and laws pertaining to client confidentiality and HIPPA regulations.
• Is computer literate and have the ability to utilize word processing and other software programs.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Encounterable Services (50% = 21.15 billable hours/week, including 1 wellness group): Screen and monitor consumers for medical problems/side effects.

• Deliverable: Conduct home visits for 10 consumers per week = approx. 5 hrs. including regular screening for medical conditions and side effects of medications (e.g., screening for metabolic syndrome for consumers taking atypical antipsychotics, and/or completing the abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS) assessment) and consistently monitor existing medical conditions (e.g., blood glucose levels in diabetic consumers), draws labs and conducts UAS. Monitor EASA participants for symptoms and side effects, basic health indicators and track in EHR and EASA nursing log.

• Communicate and coordinate services with other medical providers.

• Deliverable: Facilitate communication between the Team and non-ACT healthcare providers regarding the conditions and treatment of consumers, help coordinate, make linkages to PCP for physical health conditions and may assist in assessing and monitoring health conditions and communicating status to providers through scheduling and facilitating access to care/appointments = approx. 5 hrs. per week

• Clinician of the Day (COD) Shift

• Deliverable: Responsible for a minimum of one COD shift per week
• Deliverable: Responsible for a minimum of one COD shift per week

• Facilitating Access to Psychiatric Care and Recommendations (10% = 2.85 hours/week)
• Collaborate closely with ACT/EASA Team Psychiatrist in assessment, treatment planning, medication issues, general healthcare, medical, and psychosocial approaches and a review of each ACT/EASA clients' progress and treatment.

• Deliverable: Attend psychiatry appointments or provide summary for designee with consumers and team meetings with psychiatrist

• Provide training to other ACT/EASA team members to help them monitor psychiatric symptoms, mental health, physical health and medication side effects

• Deliverable: Offer training during team meetings

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education and/or Experience: This position requires a nursing degree and licensure as an LPN or RN. Additional education or experience in social work, psychology, psychiatric nursing or other experience is preferred.
• Knowledge of medications used in mental health treatment is desirable.
• Knowledge of comprehensive community mental health services, including the interaction of all mental health disciplines to both psychiatry and primary care is desirable.
• Ability and desire to work with people with mental illness. Should be able to understand the behavior of people under stress, have knowledge of co-occurring disorders, basic knowledge of common forms of mental illness and ACT/EASA/PSR Team Nurse

CONFIDENTIALITY: This position requires the handling of highly confidential information. Must adhere to rules and laws pertaining to client confidentiality.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Must be able to communicate information in both oral and written form with the ability to present and exchange information internally across teams and co-workers, and externally with clients and the public, Information communicated ranges from routine/ basic information to complex and confidential information

LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK: Must be able to work effectively and constructively with other office staff, clinicians, the administrative team and all other staff. Participates in staff meetings.

PHYSICAL DEMAND: This position requires you to be regularly available for work as scheduled. Position requires professional and personal skills to cope with stress associated with work involving a high degree of mental, emotional and physical demands. This position also requires the ability to bend, stoop, push and pull. While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; talk and hear; use hands and fingers and handle or feel; reach with hands and arms. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable persons with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is performed in an office environment and the noise level is usually moderate, but occasionally may be exposed to loud noise such as raised voice levels and alarms. Occasionally the work environment may extend to other community offices, residential houses, and off-site locations.

This position may be exposed to the everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as an office (i.e., moving mechanical parts, airborne particles, and electrical shock). This person will be serving clients from all demographics within the community.

WVCW is a Trauma informed Organization and this person is expected to be a leader and example of Trauma Informed Care in the workplace.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable persons with disabilities to perform the essential function.

Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness is an equal opportunity employer.

Position open until filled.

To apply, submit an application online. Be sure to include a resume and cover letter.

Questions? Reach out to our HR Specialist Josey Ross at 541-512-7785 or email Josey.Ross@wvcenterforwellness.org