Outreach Registered Nurse (RN) Supervisor

Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

About DESC:

Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are  shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.

JOB DEFINITION:

The Outreach Nurse Supervisor oversees RNs and Medical Assistants within the agency who provide nursing care on an outreach basis (HOST, COAT and PACT teams), in addition to spending at least 20% of their time providing direct client care. Work is done under the supervision of the Outpatient Nurse Manager. Nursing staff within these outreach teams provide services in participants' home and in the community at least 75% of the time, working with participants in need of psychiatric and other medical attention. All members of the team are expected to work with clients in a variety of shared functions. These teams are designed to work with individuals who have experienced (or are experiencing) chronic or multiple episodes of severe mental illness, co-occurring substance use disorders and possibly homelessness. These individuals have either been unable or unwilling to participate and succeed in traditional treatment settings. Therefore, it is critical that the members of this team work together in a collaborative manner that eliminates traditional treatment barriers.   

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversee the PACT, COAT and HOST medication management systems. This includes reviewing medication orders, coordinating with pharmacies, communicating with housing programs and relevant program staff to ensure timely and accurate medication delivery. Administer long-acting antipsychotic medications and clearly document medication administration. Provide medication education to both clients and staff and assist clients and staff with identifying strategies to adhere to medication plans. Monitor clients' adherence to medication treatment plans, efficacy of psychiatric medications, side-effects/adverse events and communicate any changes with program psychiatrist(s) and other staff as needed. Coordinate continuity of care regarding medications between DESC and other hospitals and jails.
• Provide patient education regarding acute and chronic illnesses, treatments, and medications.
• Provide education to team members regarding health conditions.
• In coordination with PACT nurses, complete the PACT revised comprehensive health assessment on all assigned patients every 6 months. This includes assessing past medical history from client report, internal and external agency records, screening and monitoring physical health and dental health, assessment of health risk factors including the use of drugs or alcohol; assessment of activities of daily living skills (ADL's) e.g. bathing, grooming, dressing, toilet hygiene, functional mobility, self-feeding and instrumental activities of daily living (e.g. cleaning and maintaining the home, managing money, navigating the community, preparing meals, shopping, taking medications as prescribed, using the telephone).
• Under the direction of the team psychiatrist(s) or providers, assist clients with completing required lab work, vitals and AIMS. Collaborate with primary care and laboratory services to obtain those records and upkeep our internal records.
• Monitor medical supplies, reorder and restock at the clinical office and housing sites as needed.
• In collaboration with case managers and other team members, coordinate, schedule, and/or attend primary care appointments. Triage acute medical conditions and refer to primary, urgent or emergency services as appropriate. Assist with continuity of care between primary care and psychiatric teams.
• Serve as a resource for staff and participants about health care needs, treatments and resources.
• Work within a Housing First model and strengths-based participant orientation.
• Provide service coordination in collaboration with the patient's individual treatment team (ITT); assume responsibility for developing, writing, implementing, evaluating, and revising overall health assessment goals and plans in collaboration with the participant and the ITT, providing individual supportive therapy and symptom management, ensuring immediate changes are made in the treatment plans as participants' needs change, educating and supporting participants' families, and advocating for participants' rights and preferences.
• Provide on-call back-up supervision to evening and weekend staff on a rotating basis.
• Document participant progress to maintain a permanent record of participant activity according to established methods and procedures.
• Participate in daily staff organizational meetings and treatment planning review meetings.  
• Participate in weekly nursing meetings and other monthly medical team meetings.
• Other duties as assigned by the Outpatient Nurse Manager

Supervisory:

• Supervise the work of PACT, HOST and COAT nurses and their activities within the team, including their appropriate scope of work within individual program models. Collaborate with team leaders and program coordinator to design and revise RN schedules to facilitate nurses to complete their nursing duties.
• Attend psychiatric consult meetings for HOST, COAT and PACT.
• Organize trainings and orientation of new nursing staff in collaboration with relevant team leaders. This should include both internal and external trainings. Assist employees with identifying nursing development goals, review goals and progress during supervision meetings.
• Attend supervisor meetings and provide feedback to team leaders on nursing needs and staff performance.  
• Deliver regular supervision and maintain written documentation of supervisory communication, and provide corrective feedback as needed.
• Conduct scheduled performance evaluations for RNs and MAs according to DESC requirements.
• In coordination with team psychiatrist(s) and team leaders, supervise medical record management. Monitor and assure that nursing work conforms with relevant regulations, laws, and program contract requirements and fidelity standards.
• Collect, review for accuracy and sign RN time sheets for each pay period, and coordinate RN PTO to ensure adequate staffing.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Registered Nurse, licensed in the State of Washington, in good standing. If licensed under the Nurse Licensure Compact Multistate License (NLC MSL), compliance with RCW 71.12.740 and NLC MSL Rule 402.2 is a condition of employment.
• Interest or experience in working with people currently experiencing or who have histories of homelessness and with people with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders.
• Knowledge of psychiatric medications, side effects and methods of administration.
• Interest or experience in working with participants who are difficult to engage and refer to traditional programs. Ability to deal with participants in safe, calm and therapeutic manner.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with participants and staff from various backgrounds.
• Must have a strong commitment to the right and ability of each person with a severe and persistent mental illness to live in normal community residences; work in market jobs; and have access to helpful, adequate, competent, and continuous supports and services.
• Able to prioritize multiple responsibilities, work independently and exercise professional judgment.
• Basic computer skills: email, data entry, file creation, correspondence.
• Skills and competence to establish supportive trusting relationships with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Respect for participant rights and personal preferences in treatment are essential. Clear understanding and respect for the importance of maintaining participant confidentiality.
• Must have a Washington Driver’s License, a reliable vehicle & current sufficient auto insurance.
• DESC expects a high degree of cooperation and collaboration among its staff, programs, and community agencies. The specific duties and responsibilities of this position requires flexibility and cooperation to achieve the program goals.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
• Supervisory experience.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an  employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required sit for long  periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds and to operate  computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral  vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the  basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are  encouraged to apply.