The primary location for the Medical Administrative Assistant (MAA) is in the Veteran Affairs (VA)/Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Venture (JV) Hospital and Clinic located on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska. MAAs are the primary point of contact and serve as the sole administrative/technical resource representing AVAHS and DoD during non-duty hours.

Duties

Provides advice on medical administrative issues and questions. The MAA primary function is to track ER visits of both VA and DoD beneficiaries, provide eligibility information as requested, and facilitate the transfer/transport of VA beneficiaries. Supports the AVAHS mission after hours or for unique situations, as required. Rarely, responds to VA clinic physician sick calls by notifying the physician's scheduled patients of the need to reschedule. Infrequently, assists ER staff by checking in patients to the ER as needed to cover sick calls (quarters). Makes pre-registration phone calls, distributes taxi cab vouchers for JV inpatients and outpatients who require other means of transportation home from the JV hospital or VA clinic. Provides administrative assistance to DoD by taking after-hour incoming calls from the community on DoD beneficiaries presenting for emergency medical care at other local medical facilities and facilitates getting the information submitted to the appropriate DoD source. Assist in orientation level training for any new MAAs that may be hired in the future. Facilitates inter-facility transfers of eligible VA and DoD patients between inpatient facilities. This includes coordinating transfers of patients to/from the JV, between two non-VA facilities, or from a non-VA facility to another VA facility outside of Alaska. Authorizes medevac transports (per physician orders) and arranges with the vendor and receiving medical facility. May assist VA and DoD patients who present to the JV for appointments. Independently responds to various administrative questions (appointment changes, clinic locations, eligibility requirements) and/or complaints). May attempt to resolve customer issues and/or provide guidance based on knowledge of the benefits program administered by the VA or functions of the organizational elements within the JV. During non-clinic hours, the MAA should determine a Veteran's eligibility and DoD patient eligibility through applied knowledge of eligible benefits and services. Verifies claimant eligibility of VA health benefits and processes and/or forwards paperwork to VA benefits application. This may involve direct contact with Veterans to gather pertinent demographic income, insurance, and other information to complete forms for eligibility of services. Infrequently, may have to perform a mini-registration in the VA system for DoD beneficiaries who need follow up appointments with VA surgeons following emergent surgeries at the JV. Infrequently, may have to perform a mini-registration in the DoD system for VA beneficiaries who need follow up appointments with the DoD. Verifies and accurately enters/retrieves VA patient data using both VA and DoD computerized systems (not limited to VISTA, CPRS, CHCS, ESSENTRIS, CITRIX, HAIMS, or AHLTA). Maintains an electric record (MAA log) of VA patients that present to the JV Emergency Room (ER) or other medical facilities within the state and of DoD patients that present to the JV ER or to other local medical facilities in the Anchorage Bowl or in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. VA patients seen in the JV ER are administratively processed through the DoD hospital record system as AF Form 558. Daily, the MAA retrieves the AF Form 558, and if applicable, the admission forms from ER staff on VA patients and scans the records into CPRS (average 25 patients/24-hour period). Work Schedule: 12 hour shifts, mandatory day and night rotations Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Administrative Assistant/PD50311A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 03/13/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of benefits administered by the VA and have a familiarity with VA sources for determining patient eligibility for medical care Interpreting administrative policies and requirements. Knowledge of federal regulations and guidelines on accessing and maintaining confidential/sensitive data, defines administrative requirements and provides advice to management, scheduling, coordinating transfers, determining eligibility, preparing correspondence, and interpreting regulations. Skill in operating hospital computer programs and systems and knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, such as Excel, Outlook, and Word. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: ConscientiousnessData ManagementDecision Making 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: The work requires a mix of sedentary and non-sedentary activities. This position requires potentially extended periods of continued sitting and walking as needed. Typically, the MAA may sit comfortably to perform their work. Non sedentary activity is limited to occasional walking through the facility, standing, bending, climbing stairs (by choice), and lifting of carrying of medical charts, reports, mail, etc. to clinics/wards/offices. Infrequently, the MAA may be asked to escort a wheelchair patient who is coming from the VA Clinic to the JV hospital or the reverse for clinic appointments. This may involve some dexterity for pushing and pulling capability. Work Environment: The work is accomplished in an office area co-located with the JV Hospital or Clinics. The work involves everyday risks and discomforts and requires normal safety precautions typical of a hospital setting. The MAA may encounter patients with medically urgent or emergent conditions and/or infectious diseases. The MAA routinely goes to many sections of the building, including other offices, clinics, wards, and the ER. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Anchorage VA Medical Center 1201 North Muldoon Road Anchorage, AK 99504 US
• Name: Athena Houck
• Phone: 361-277-9613
• Email: [email protected]