Sea Mar Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) founded in 1978, is a community-based organization committed to providing quality, comprehensive health, human, housing, educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington State. Sea Mar proudly serves all persons without regard to race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, or sexual orientation, and regardless of ability to pay for services. Sea Mar’s network of services includes more than 90 medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics and a wide variety of nutritional, social, and educational services. We are recruiting for the following position:
Sea Mar is a mandatory COVID-19 and flu vaccine organization

POSITION SUMMARY

The TOC Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) delivers specific time-limited services to identified patients to ensure healthcare continuity, avoid preventable negative outcomes among at-risk populations, and promote the safe and timely transfer of patients from one level of care to another and from one type of setting to another. This position provides advocacy and education for the patient and/or his family or caregiver during transitional periods between hospitals and/or other facilities and the patient’s home. The TOC LPN collaborates with hospital staff, discharge planners as well as Care facilities to assist Sea Mar providers to resolve gaps in care, improve clinical outcomes related to the discharge plan, prevent all cause readmissions, and over-utilization of hospital services.

The Transitions of Care LPN provides support with a focus on the following areas:

• Medication self-management: The TOC RN will act as a resource to the LPN as needed for medication reconciliation.
• Patient-centered record: Patient understands and uses a personal health record, My Chart, to facilitate communication and ensure continuity of care.
• Primary care and specialist follow-up:
• Knowledge of Red Flags: Patient is knowledgeable about indicators that suggest their condition is worsening and how to respond.

The TOC LPN will have an understanding of patients with diverse medical, mental health, and social determinants of health challenges. Interventions with patients is time-and-scope limited and TOC staff will not maintain an ongoing caseload. However, the TOC LPN is expected to complete outreach and transitions of care activities for all patients identified who are willing to participate in the program. Active participation is encouraged related to community wide efforts/coalitions to provide ever improving comprehensive interdisciplinary care.

This position is a unique, specialized position in the following ways:

• The TOC LPN will intensively case manage the patient for 30 days post discharge.
• The TOC LPN will be required to use a nationally standardized evidence-based tool for documenting, tracking, care-planning, and quality metric reporting.
• The TOC LPN will be performing risk assessment for clients to identify level of need.
• The TOC LPN will be performing root cause analysis for all readmissions to personalize interventions and support.
• The TOC LPN will be responsible for monthly data gathering pertaining to appointment benchmarks, risk assessment stratification, readmissions, root cause analysis, barriers to care, and access to appointments. This data will be broken down by CMS identified diagnoses. Other metrics may be gathered related to clinical quality measures and measures identified by contracted entities such as Accountable Communities of Health and Medicaid/ Medicare organizations.
• The TOC LPN must maintain the standard knowledge base related to electronic health records, medication reconciliation and facility processes related to transitions of care. Additional skills include knowledge of CMS guidelines and standards for transitions of care, quality metric data gathering, and evidence-based practice standards for transitions of care including the Coleman Model.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The ability to work effectively with all persons and groups with respect and an awareness of

cultural differences.

• Good organizational and communication skills.
• Demonstrates professionalism and appropriate boundaries in all interactions.
• The person in this position shall have no history or evidence of alcohol or other drug misuse for a period of three (3) years prior to the date of employment at the facility, and no misuse of alcohol or other drugs while employed at this facility.
• This individual cannot be a person who has been convicted of a felony within the last seven years or ever been convicted of assault, abuse, fraud, or crimes that have brought harm to another financially, emotionally, or physically.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to connect and maintain effective relationships and professional rapport with patients and other members of the care team; individual has strong communication skills.
• Ability to act professionally in patient’s home setting, community setting, or clinic.
• Ability to navigate different systems in relation to managing patients care transition needs
• Ability to understand medical terminology pertaining to chronic conditions.
• Ability to work with an interdisciplinary care team including medical providers, nursing staff, care coordinators, behavioral health and support staff.
• Ability to perform independently and at the same time perform effectively and professionally as an interdisciplinary team member.
• Ability to complete documentation in a timely and thorough manner

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before patients or employees of the organization.

COMPUTER SKILLS

• Typing proficiency of at least 45 wpm.
• Demonstrable computer skills and an ability to learn computer applications from manuals and webinars with minimal supervision.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Ability to learn and proficiently use programs as may pertain to use of electronic health records.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
• Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE, CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS, AND MEDICAL SCREENING EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• The LPN must be licensed in the State of Washington to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse.
• Experience working with underserved, transient populations.
• Experience working with substance use disorders, chronic mental illness, and chronic health conditions.
• Experience working with community agencies and has strong knowledge of community resources.
• Experience with motivational interviewing, the teach-back method, or patient counseling and education preferred.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Pre-hire and annual health screening required.
• Annual influenza vaccine required. Only exception is for employees with a medical or religious exemption approved by Administration. Employees with an approved medical or religious exemption must wear a mask at all times during the flu season. Must be fully vaccinated for Covid and provide documentation.
• Will obtain CPR certification within initial probationary period and will maintain CPR certification throughout employment.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and proof of auto insurance.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

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 is regularly required to use hands for fine motor activities such as keyboarding; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, and sit. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Sea Mar employees serve as an extension of this mission and demonstrate their commitment to an excellent patient experience:

• Understanding and empathizing with patient needs irrespective of their gender, color or socio-economic background
• Surpassing patient expectations
• Demonstrating a high level of integrity
• Exhibiting compassion and commitment
• Advocating for social justice, eliminating barriers to healthcare for everyone
• Taking pride in individual work as well as that of the team
• Continually learning to stay current with industry standards, best practices and technolog

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

As a mission-driven organization, our core values, and services offered at Sea Mar are based on the belief that everyone deserves to be respectfully treated in a way that preserves dignity and enhances self-worth. Sea Mar is an advocate for its patients and aims to achieve industry-leading, patient-centered, culturally aware services.

Sea Mar employees serve as an extension of this mission and demonstrate their commitment to an excellent patient experience:

• Understanding and empathizing with patient needs irrespective of their gender, color or socio-economic background
• Surpassing patient expectations
• Demonstrating a high level of integrity
• Exhibiting compassion and commitment
• Advocating for social justice, eliminating barriers to healthcare for everyone
• Taking pride in individual work as well as that of the team
• Continually learning to stay current with industry standards, best practices and technology

As a Sea Mar employee, the individual in this position commits to adherence to these values to their utmost ability and endeavors to strengthen and embody this mission daily.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support for patient self-management by enhancing health literacy, assessing baseline comprehension, values, and goals, and engaging family/caregivers to be active participants in the patient’s care. The TOC LPN will systematically provide education and supportive interventions to increase patient’s skills and confidence in managing their health problems, goal setting, and problem solving.
• Advocate and negotiate to secure appropriate patient services. Support and empower patients to make informed decisions, and to navigate the healthcare system to access appropriate care. Build strong relationships with providers and discharge planners to maximize patient outcomes during periods of transition.
• Patient and family/caregiver education: Assess readiness to learn, learning styles, and use the teach-back method for care interventions. Use planned learning experiences to provide patients/families/caregivers opportunities to acquire the information and skills needed to make quality health decisions.
• Cross-setting communication and collaboration between primary care and specialty/acute/rehabilitation care. Use of effective communication skills to gain and transmit information, encourage team participation, leverage electronic medical record tools, and design/implement processes to provide timely and successful patient Transitions of Care.
• Coaching and counseling of patients and family/caregivers regarding: community resources, how to be prepared for “Ask Me Three”, and how to recognize red flags for complications.
• Use of the case management process to develop care plans, provide medication reconciliation with the assistance of TOC RNs, and use evidence-based practice for interventions.
• Use of population health management tools to track and monitor select population characteristics and provide evidence-based practice interventions for select health populations. The TOC LPN will implement and evaluate interventions in the context of the health status, culture, and health needs of the populations of which the patient is a member.
• Use of teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration, open communication, and shared decision making with stakeholders.
• Patient-centered care planning to include motivational interviewing and other techniques to elicit patient’s health care goals and priorities, individualizing care plan to transcend barriers and enhance patient outcomes.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The ability to work effectively with all persons and groups with respect and an awareness o