The Senior Social Worker represents the rehabilitation service as a liaison to sources referring veterans for VA Rehabilitation including outside hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Community Care as well as patients, families, and caregivers. The incumbent ensures the implementation of the program mission, the strategic plan, policies and procedures, individualized treatment plans, customer satisfaction, and the quality of program outcomes.

Duties

The following duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to the following: Participates in the implementation of the admissions process, developing interventions and goals that maximize function for patients on 15-bed inpatient rehab unit. Collaborates with interdisciplinary team. Liaises with staff to communicate concerns to interdisciplinary team. Engages in the rehabilitation referral process, serving as the primary liaison for outside consultations requesting rehabilitation services. Manages outside consults for potential admission into VA Inpatient Rehab by performing chart reviews to verify admission criteria and appropriateness in collaboration with PM&R Providers. Coordinates all admissions from the EOVAHCS other VA units, outside hospitals, SNFs, and home. Attends meetings as needed. Communicates regularly with staff to ensure pertinent and timely exchange of information. Educates patients and families on the Inpatient Rehab program admission criteria and the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. Demonstrates effective oral and written communication skills to develop a rapport with patients, families, healthcare providers, referral sources, and home health agencies. Documents appropriately in Electronic Medical Record. Is a member of the PM&R Committee/Work Group for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) credentialing process for the EOVAHCS Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehabilitation Program (CIIRP), responsible for implementation and management of program compliance, performance improvement, strategic plan development, and analysis of patient outcomes. Collaborates on the CARF accreditation survey process. Ensures compliance with regulatory agencies including Joint Commission and CARF. Assists with submission of outcomes data to Uniform Data Systems (UDS), Med Tel Outcomes, and FIM scores. Assists in the development of the Strategic Plan, Performance Improvement Plans, Outcomes Analyses and all other CARF documentation requirements. Collaborates with Patient Safety and the Safety Manager to address safety issues for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. As needed participates as Hospital Falls Committee member. Coordinates annual emergency safety training for the Interdisciplinary Team. Develops and implements quality improvement efforts related to all aspects of patient care and the rehabilitation program. Collect data, analyze trends, and identify areas of improvement on patient safety and risk management. Assists in the development of policies and standard operating procedures with both Department and Hospital-wide committees. As needed acts as Chair of Rehab Steering Committee. Collaborates with authorization staff to ensure funding sources are utilized in a fiscally responsible manner. Reviews Community Care Consults for Medical Rehab to ensure timely and efficient care. Provides, in collaboration and consultation with the medical provider, recommendations for alternative level of care. Collaborates with Community Nursing Home Program staff and Community Care staff as needed. Work Schedule: FT, Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Position is authorized, per the needs of the service. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 623-57775-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education. Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. ? 7403(f). Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Clinical Liaison Coordinator), GS-12 Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience. AND Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring. (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. (d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). (e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Assignments. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Program coordinators at the GS12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts. Preferred Experience: Experience with Program building. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 The actual grade for this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: This work requires no special physical demands. It may involve some walking, standing, bending, or carrying of light items. Most of the incumbent's time is described as being sedentary with many hours of viewing information via computer monitor. If this person is traveling in the community they will need a driver's license and training to drive a GOVORNMENT VEHICLE.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Jack C Montgomery VA Medical Center 1011 Honor Heights Drive Muskogee, OK 74401 US
• Name: Phillip Narey
• Phone: 720-723-4833
• Email: [email protected]