Public Health Nurse - Community Health Services COVID –19 Homelessness Response
- Summary
SUMMARY
As part of the Community Services Division COVID-19 Homelessness Response the Public Health Nurse (PHN) in this role on the HEART (Health Engagement Action Resource Team) team will conduct visits to sites that serve people who are currently or formerly living homeless. Sites are located across King County.
The purpose of the visits is to assess the site’s environmental features, the activities conducted on site, the behavior and characteristics of the site’s participants/residents/staff as they relate to the ability to implement mitigation strategies intended to reduce the potential spread of SARS-Co V19.
Site Nursing Assessments generate plans to address any challenges or barriers to mitigation, and to create a mitigation plan with the site’s leadership. Follow-up visits evaluate the sites efforts to implement recommendations. Visit reports are generally co-written with Environmental Health team staff.
Proactive visits focus on mitigation/ risk reduction efforts. Responsive visits assist disease investigation and on-site testing teams, review mitigation practices, offer support and education for staff, participants and agency managers.
Other aspects of this role include providing health education classes for site/agency staff, residents and or managers, identifying the site’s need for other services related to SARS-Co V19 planning and response. Public Health Nurses in this role may also be called upon to participate in testing and vaccination efforts.
Commitment to Equity and Social Justice:
As the only jurisdiction in the world named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.
We have a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from vulnerable communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.
Applicants should be committed to working with diverse populations throughout King County to provide excellent customer service to a broad range of cultures, in accordance with the King County Equity and Social Justice Ordinance and the King County Strategic Plan.
Job Duties:- Respond to requests for HEART visits as determined or delegated by the Advanced Practice Nurse Specialist (APNS) or Personal Health Services Supervisor (PHSS)
- Conduct on-site visits applying the Nursing Process in a variety of settings including encampments, shelters, supportive housing and other sites that serve people living or formerly living homeless
- Work with an assigned case load
- Assess sites’ application of mitigation efforts
- Collaborate with Environmental Health Specialists, Behavioral Health specialists on visits and report writing.
- Participate in or conduct post visit debrief sessions.
- Write timely and concise reports on site visits.
- Identify health education needs of communities and individuals, collaborate with the team APNS, Lead Physician and PHSS to find health education resources, create appropriate materials or provide training or health counseling.
- Delegate appropriate tasks to other nurses, medical assistants or community health outreach workers as needed.
- Work with in-house test team and perform disease testing, vaccination or treatment as needed.
- Work collaboratively with the Covid-19 Call Center staff, Isolation and Quarantine site staff, and Communicable Disease-Epidemiology staff including disease investigators.
- Attend staff meetings and other meetings as required by supervisor.
- Stay up to date on local, national and global pandemic trends
REQUIREMENTS:- Active Washington State credential for Registered Nurse
- Bachelor’s in Nursing from an accredited nursing program
- Current Valid Washington State Driver's License
- Ability to travel to locations throughout Seattle-King County
- Current BLS CPR certification for Healthcare Providers
- Willing to provide options counseling
- Letter of interest
DESIRED EXPERIENCE:- Bicultural
- Bilingual
- Experience in Public Health.
- Experience in Mental Health, social work or case management
- Experience in a wide variety of settings mental health, substance use, community clinic, school-based health, emergency room, corrections, immigrant and refugee health.
- Experience working with communities of color.
- Experience working with people living homeless
- Awareness of community resources or willing to learn.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES:- Able to apply nursing process to communities
- Strong assessment and observational skills.
- Able to plan collaboratively and creatively with our customers and build enduring, trusting relationships
- Able to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Able to work with multidisciplinary teams.
- Skilled in use of Motivational interviewing techniques or willing to learn
- Skilled and comfortable applying concepts of Trauma Informed care and harm reduction when working with communities and individuals
- Excellent verbal and written communication: Ability to provide in-the=moment guidance on visits, provide health education classes and Q&A sessions, write “after visit summary reports and communicate verbally and in writing with team members
- Follow up and evaluate each visit to assure that they have been able to apply mitigation strategies. Identify and reduce or remove barriers to effective mitigation
- Able or willing to learn about seeing all Public Health Seattle-King County work through a racial health equity lens.
- Able to articulate how racism permeates all institutions and systems; awareness and understanding of historical impact health structures have had on communities of color and the fractured trust this has caused.
- Knowledge about communicable diseases, particularly a SARS-Co-V 19 and influenza.
- Must believe in the use of vaccines to control the spread of communicable diseases.
- Ability to perform testing for SARS-Co-V 19 and influenza
- Ability or willingness to learn how to perform vaccination for various diseases via various routes of administration
- Able to perform or assist with SARS-Co-V 19 testing, flu testing, treatment and vaccination
- Some outreach may require being outside in variable weather conditions. Outreach may require the ability to traverse terrain that may be muddy, wet or sloped, Outdoor conditions may be noisy.
- Language skills are desirable; proficiency in Spanish, Amharic, Tegrinya or Somali.
- Basic computer skills including Microsoft Office, Teams, and Power Point. Ability to attend participate and conduct in remote meetings via Zoom, Skype and other remote platforms
- Ability and willingness to drive to points across King County.
- Independent and reliable, willing to work with minimal or remote supervision.
- Flexible able to respond to situations that are subject to change,
- Adaptable – able to make complex information understandable by and applicable to the customer’s setting.
- Safety conscious: This work requires a high level of situational awareness.
- Approachable- supportive able to create and sustain trusting relationships.
- Responsive to emerging trends or the presence of health needs in the community.
- Collaborative- Able to work with other HCP’s including PH disease investigators, environmental health specialists, community health outreach workers, testing team staff, vaccine administrator team. External partners include shelter staff, other agency outreach staff.
- Patient centered, customer centric and able to quickly identify and amplify the strengths of the agency, setting or individual
- Aware of and committed to addressing personal biases
- Committed to being antiracist personally and as a public health worker.
- Resilient and committed to caring for self in work that can exposes one’s heart and soul to a depth and breadth of human suffering on an individual community and societal level.
- Curious and willing to learn new things.
- Compassionate, patient and encouraging
WHO MAY APPLY: This position is open to all qualified applicants.
Interviews for these positions will be November 13, 2020.
WORK SCHEDULE: These positions are fully benefited, 1.0 FTE positions that are overtime eligible. Typical schedule is Monday – Friday 8:30AM –5:00 PM; may require occasional evening or weekend work to support operational needs. This posting will be used to fill all needs.
WORK LOCATION: This position is based in the Chinook Building 405 5th Ave in downtown Seattle. Visits occur throughout King County. Due to pandemic, some work will be conducted from home.
CONTACT: For more information, contact Amy M. Curtis, BSN, RN, Healthcare Recruitment Specialist at amy.curtis@kingcounty.gov
APPLICATION PROCESS: The following completed items are required to be considered for this vacancy:
- NEOGOV/Government Jobs on-line or paper application
- Completed supplemental questions that are supported in your application. These answers will be reviewed to determine competitiveness. Please do not use "see resume" in your answers as these will be considered incomplete.
- Letter of interest which details how you meet or exceed the qualifications.
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the required information in the application. If you reference "see resume" on your application, it will be considered incomplete. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience. The selection process may include but is not limited to: evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:- The selected candidate will be required to submit a background check. Records are not automatically disqualifying.
- Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
- Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing required trainings on time.
UNION AFFILIATION: This position is represented by Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA).
- Supplemental Information
Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.
Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.
King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage: King County pays 100% of the premiums for eligible employees and family members
- Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
- Retirement: King County employees are eligible to participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
- Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
- 10 paid holidays each year (plus 2 personal holidays)
- Generous vacation and paid sick leave
- Paid parental leave, family and medical leaves, and volunteer leave
- Flexible Spending Account
- Wellness programs
- Onsite gyms and activity centers
- Employee giving program
- Employee assistance programs
- Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
- Training and career development programs
This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails. Also, in the event of any incorrect information in this document, applicable laws, policies, rules, CBAs, or official plan documents will prevail.
NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.
For inquiries about the specifics of this position, please contact the recruiter identified on this job posting.
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01Have you used an electronic health records system? If so, what systems are you proficient in using?02Have you ever been subject to review, challenges, and/or disciplinary action, formal or informal, by an ethics committee, licensing board, medical disciplinary board or related professional association?
- Yes
- No
03Have you ever been involved, as a health service provider, in a malpractice claim or suit?- Yes
- No
04Have you ever had your license to practice nursing in any jurisdiction revoked, denied, suspended, reduced, or relinquished?- Yes
- No
05Do you have knowledge of any action pending before any licensing board(s) which could affect your license or ability to practice?- Yes
- No
06Are you willing to provide pregnancy options counseling to women and possibly administer Plan B?- Yes
- No
07Are you willing to accept a term-limited temporary (TLT) position?- Yes
- No
08Seattle & King County Public Health has a strong commitment to equity and social justice. All staff are given training in Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) as well as Trauma Informed Care (TIC). Please describe why working for an agency that values ESJ and TIC is important to you.09Do you possess BLS CPR for Healthcare Providers? If so, please attach documentation of your current BLS/CPR certification. If you do not, please describe how you would obtain certification by time of job offer. Failure to obtain this BLS/CPR certification will result in job offer being delayed or rescinded.10Some of our clients have often experienced racism, trauma and poverty. What makes you uniquely qualified to provide services to others who have experienced these inequities?11Are you bilingual? If so, what language(s) are you proficient in reading, writing and speaking?12Please describe the aspects of your education, training, and experience that you feel most align with the needs of this position.13Do you have previous experience providing guidance in a community-based program, and/or community health nursing experience? If so, please provide details.14Are you applying to this position as a Priority Placement Program Participant And Is this position the same or lower percentage of full-time when compared to the position held at the point of the notification of layoff AND Do you possess the skills and abilities to qualify for this position?- Yes, I was given a layoff notice from my role at King County AND I am within two years of the effective date of my layoff. AND The position I was laid off from was the same or a higher percentage of FT status when compared to this one.
- No.
15If you answered yes to the question above and you are applying for this position as a Priority Placement Participant, to be considered, you must provide the following three pieces of information in the space provided: 1. The title you held when you received your layoff notice 2. The department you worked in 3. The effective date of your layoff16Should you be selected to move forward in the recruitment process, you acknowledge that interviews will be conducted November 13, 2020.- Yes
- No
17If your internal, do you have permission from your current Supervisor to be released for a Special Duty?- Yes
- No
Required Question