The incumbent of this position serves as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for the Caregiver Support Program (CSP) and Medical Foster Home (MFH) Programs within the Oscar G. Johnson, VAMC (OGJVAMC).

Duties

MFH is a specialized program that provides interdisciplinary health care to veterans who are unable to live independently but prefer a home-like setting for their long-term care. The incumbent works closely with Social Worker/ Program Coordinator and the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Interdisciplinary Treatment Team, which will be the assigned Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) for all veterans enrolled in the MFH program. The incumbent provides a complete range of program support which includes customer service and coordination, data analysis and graphing, special CSP/MFH projects and events, and support for local, VISN, and national guidelines. Composes correspondence as indicated to assist with the clinical functions of MFH staff. Composes reports and meeting minutes as directed by MFH Program Coordinator. Uses computer programs to type all recurring correspondence, minutes, and reports, maintaining computer files easily accessible by other team members. Major Duties of VA Community Care (VACC) Advanced Medical Support Assistant: The incumbent acts as the liaison between patients and medical center staff, serving as a consumer advocate. The incumbent accepts telephone calls from patients/caregivers, CGS/MFH staff in the field, other VA staff, and/or community agency staff, regarding program inquiries, patient care concerns, etc. He/she obtains as much information as possible, provides information; and resolves problems independently, when possible, based on specific caller needs. The incumbent ensures timely clinical response to patients/callers that potentially have emergent or urgent care needs through prompt identification of the problem and appropriate clinical referral. Interacts with customers, family members, visitors, and co-workers in a courteous, tactful, and helpful manner, exercising professional judgment and diplomacy. The incumbent assists with scheduling visits and monitors the location of off-station staff for safety through a check-in/check-out process. Incumbent keeps storage areas in order, orders administrative supplies as needed, and ensures the privacy of patient information is maintained. The Incumbent is responsible for notifying proper staff if the Veteran indicates they no longer want to use the services of the department. Develops and maintains communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies (e.g., assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge; communicates with non-VA medical facilities Develops and manages a tracking system for follow-up care such as consults and tests). Works with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions Informs the patient telephonically or via mail of follow-up appointments or H&CBC services arranged in a timely manner to assure continuity of care. Assists patients in completing various health questionnaires or other screening assessment tools. Upon notification of Veteran death, works with the PACT team to assure appointments, medications, and enrollment in clinic and team are canceled. Uses word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications to process and produce a wide range of documents in support of the programs' functions. Examples include creating, editing, and reformatting reports requiring tables, and statistical data and converting and importing changes and graphs from other software programs. Performs other duties, as assigned. Work Schedule: Various tours are available and are to be determined by the Service during interview and confirmed upon selection. Telework: N/A Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: A group retention may be authorized after 90 days of employment. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/28/2023 BASIC REQUIREMENTS CITIZENSHIP: Must be a United States Citizen. ENGLISH: Must be proficient in basic written and spoken English. EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: Must possess six (6) months experience of clerical, office, customer service or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skill necessary to perform the duties of the Medical Support Assistant. OR Must have successfully completed one (1) year above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying for entry level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE GRADE REQUIREMENTS AT THE GS-6 LEVEL TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION. GS-6 LEVEL GRADE REQUIREMENTS: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have one (1) year of experience that is directly related to the duties of a MSA and that equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must be equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-5, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current MSA responsibilities. Experience at this level includes, but is not limited to: Advising clinical staff on current administrative processes. Answering phones, greeting patients, relaying messages to appropriate staff inside or outside of the unit, scheduling, canceling, re-scheduling patient appointments and/or consults including interpreting and verifying provider orders in accordance with VHA national scheduling guidelines. Entering no-show information; monitoring appointment requests from multiple electronic sources; participating in huddles with other MSAs and/or clinic staff to determine the daily needs of the clinic, monitoring both inpatient and outpatient appointments in areas of responsibility; verifying and updating demographics and insurance information when patients check-in for appointments. Coordinates administrative functions relating to emergency and non-emergency transfers to other VA facilities or private hospitals and determines appointment type based on the patient's eligibility status (i.e., TRICARE, sharing agreements, collaterals, research patient, VA employee, etc.). AND KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: You also must demonstrate the following KSAs: KSA-1. Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met. KSA-2. Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines, ensuring compliance with established processes, policies, and regulations. KSA-3. Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively, electronically, by phone, in person, and in writing. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels, as well as resolving patient concerns. KSA-4. Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including, but not limited to: scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care. KSA-5. Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect the patient flow, and patient support care to include, but not limited to appointment cycles, outside patient referrals, follow-up care, overbooking, provider availability, etc. KSA-6. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians. REFERENCE: VA Handbook 5005/117, Part II, Appendix G45, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standards. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing twisting, turning, sitting, pushing, bending, repetitive keyboarding, or carrying of light items. Some positions may require sitting for long periods of time at a computer terminal typing data while talking on a telephone headset.

Education

Contacts

• Address Oscar G Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility 325 East H Street Iron Mountain, MI 49801 US
• Name: Jeremy Burton
• Phone: 7089010850
• Email: [email protected]