POSITION SUMMARY
MLK Community Healthcare is seeking a Registered Nurse (RN) Coordinator/Street Medicine to be part of our MLKCH Street Medicine program (grant funded). This position is funded by a grant and will be for a period of 18 months. The RN Coordinator/Street Medicine will primarily be responsible for conducting field-based outreach and nursing care to patients in encampments or streets. This position is also responsible for conducting nursing assessments, triaging medical, behavioral health, and social service needs, developing care plans, coordinating care, and working with the team’s medical provider to support the patient’s health goals. This is a dynamic position requiring a combination of excellent leadership, clinical, and patient engagement skills. The RN Coordinator/Street Medicine is essential to organizing the workflows for the team by prioritizing patient care based on acuity and complexity, the resources available to support patients, and the diverse skill sets of the other team members. The Street Medicine Nurse works with a variety partner organizations by providing transitional healthcare until a patient has stabilized enough to transition to others systems of conventional care (e.g. primary care and/or a community mental health clinic, intensive case management program, housing) or has been placed in a higher level of care. The RN Coordinator/Street Medicine is also responsible for overseeing quality measures to ensure the optimal care is given across access, clinical, and experiential benchmarks.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Conduct field-based outreach and nursing care to patients in encampments or streets
- Provide nursing care outreach in encampments and streets to highly vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.
- Implement care plans and provide urgent and primary care services within the Registered Nurse scope of practice.
- Collaborate in managing common health care problems present in homeless populations
- Perform timely client/patient telephone advice and triage assessment with clinical competence and judgment for urgent/drop-in-care.
- Provide education and counseling on various topics (e.g., pregnancy counseling, contraception, HIV, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, infestations, mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and specific diagnostic procedures), including but not limited to patients receiving Medications Assisted Treatment (MAT).
- Perform initial and continued assessment of client health status, immunization, and TB screening, based on established protocols.
- Administer immunizations, medications, and blood draws consistent with current guidelines and established protocols.
- Provides outreach, information and referral, care coordination and case management services as appropriate for Street Medicine and transitional housing and collaborating partners.
- Implement innovative interventions and models to improve the care of high-risk/high-vulnerability individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Be proficient in Cerner and electronic documentation in order to document patient information; document appropriately in the electronic medical record; maintain medical records.
- Provide client care in a manner that is both non-discriminatory and non-judgmental.
- Communicate effectively with the client/patient, clinic staff, the public at large and departmental staff in a non-discriminatory manner.
- Participate in Street Medicine clinical case conferences and other case conferences and meetings.
- Facilitate relationships with other staff of the Street Medicine program and nursing professions and learners
- Provides input for nursing protocols and policies to improve Street Medicine practice
- Participates in ongoing education of nursing staff
- Along with Advanced Practice Provider and Manager of Population Health and Street Medicine, ensures team is appropriately outfitted with supplies
- Reports changes in state law or compliance with regard to nursing practice
- Provides input on appropriate nursing scope of practice
- Ensure clinical nursing protocols adhere to compliance and regulatory requirements
- Participate in onboarding of new nursing staff
- Provide input for development of Policies and Procedures relating to nursing practice
- Conduct nursing assessments, triaging medical, behavioral health, and social service needs, developing care plans, coordinating care, and working with the team’s medical provider to support the patient’s health goals
- Works with a variety partner organizations by providing transitional healthcare until a patient has stabilized enough to transition to others systems of conventional care (e.g. primary care and/or a community mental health clinic, intensive case management program, housing) or has been placed in a higher level of care
- Administrative responsibilities
- Perform other duties as assigned or requested.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS
A. Education
- BSN required
- Current Registered Nurse California state license
B. Qualifications/Experience
- Demonstrated experience building effective, strong relationships with peers and leaders
- Current Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers from the American Heart Association.
- Current Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) for Health Care Providers from the American Heart Association
- Must complete annual Workplace Violence Prevention Program/Certificate, per hospital policy, during initial training/orientation but not to exceed 30 days from hire/transfer.
- Valid unrestricted CA Driver’s License
- Relevant experience in understanding homelessness, and in promoting community relations (preferred)
- Demonstrated ability in providing services for people experiencing homelessness (preferred)
- Demonstrated ability to build consensus on strategies among peers to address homeless patients (preferred)
- Ability to effectively coordinate care with medical assistants and other support staff, encourage and nurture development and growth, to build a strong and productive team, preferred
- Commitment to the provision of primary care services for the underserved with demonstrated ability and sensitivity in working with a variety of people from low-income populations, with diverse educational, lifestyle, ethnic, and cultural origins
- Strong organizational, administrative, and problem-solving skills and ability to be flexible and adaptive to change
- Ability to effectively present information to others, including other employees, community partners, and vendors
- Ability to seek direction/approval on essential matters yet work independently with little supervision, using professional judgment and diplomacy
- Work in a team-oriented environment with several professionals with different work styles and support needs
C. Special Skills/Knowledge
- Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with people on the streets and at all levels of the organization (preferred)
- Demonstrate ability to work with unsheltered homeless, their environment and their social issues (preferred)
- Ability to demonstrate knowledge of public health care systems (preferred)
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