The Transportation Assistant (Patient Escort) is a staff position located within Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center (VAMC) or Wyoming Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). Transportation Services may be performed at the Battle Creek VAMC, Wyoming CBOC, surrounding parking areas, onboard a vehicle, and at clinics including other VA locations and community providers.

Duties

The incumbent will provide prompt intervention and management of persons who require assistance with mobility and respond to requests from Veterans, family, and VA Staff. The Escort will be assigned to different work areas to maximize customer service and assist team members during peak workload times and when there are staffing shortages, regardless of cause. The incumbent will process reimbursement claims in the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System (BTSSS) or other designated system. Communicates with VTS Staff, Patient Advocates, Greeters, and Nursing or other Ward Staff to determine what work must be accomplished. The incumbent assists patients or authorized individuals from vehicles and during transport, including assisting patients with ambulation or transport via wheelchair within a building, and lifting medical equipment into and out of vehicles. Provides a companion for a patient, traveling from one location to another within the Medical Center or to community locations, properly documents the service episode, and reports problems encountered during service. greets patients and visitors in a pleasant and courteous manner, assists customers with general wayfinding, and monitors and returns equipment necessary for the safe movement of Veterans through the medical facilities and during transport. The Transportation Assistant may transport specimens to a laboratory or as required by nursing staff. The incumbent maintains records and documents actions including daily logs for patient transports. Independently enters claims and processes mileage reimbursement claims in the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System (BTSSS) or other designated system. Reconciles vouchers against authorizations for accuracy prior to preparing certifications for payment. Correctly determines eligibility for the program while processing requests. Responsible for determining method of payment for authorized claims submitted for consideration, receives invoices for payment of transportation services, investigates authorizations, orders, and/or utilizes the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) or other designated patient record system to review medical records. The employee may have contact with personnel external to the agency for the obtainment of services, sharing of information and authorization, clarification, or denial of payment. The incumbent prepares denial letters and provides appeal rights to Veterans. Assists Veterans at common computers in the facility to enter claims or other information into designated electronic systems. The incumbent will return wheelchairs and other items to designated locations at each facility and on vehicles. The incumbent must follow established Safety rules and regulations and maintain a clean working environment. The incumbent maintains CPR certification. The incumbent communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant (Escort)/PD92050-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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, 01/01/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. For a GS-4 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-3. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (SPF) which is a prerequisite to appointment and represents minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. The SPF for this position is: 40Words Per Minute typing speed. [Your typing speed is required]. If you do not submit your typing speed, your application will not be reviewed. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: General Experience: You must have one year of general experience to qualify for the GS-4. Qualifying experience includes: Progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. Including knowledge of current policies and regulations pertinent to the position, Providing customer service, phone etiquette and personal interaction skills, answering and relaying messages, knowledge of VA data systems and skill in operating computers and various software. Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school leading to a Bachelors. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond: Combining Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements at grades GS-5 and below, except for Reporting Stenographer, GS-5. For GS-3 and GS-4 level positions, determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. For GS-5 level positions (except Clerk-Stenographer, which does not require specialized experience), only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Incumbent will be exposed to stressful working situations that require a professional attitude and collective reasoning. The incumbent is subject to a high volume of work, the need for accuracy, frequency of interruptions and ever-changing demands due to program changes. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

GS-4: Two years above high school- This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or 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, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.

GS-5: Four years above high school- This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or 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, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.

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 Battle Creek VA Medical Center 5500 Armstrong Road Battle Creek, MI 49037 US
• Name: Michael A. Robinson
• Phone: 614-439-6881
• Email: [email protected]