This position serves as the Decedent Affairs Clerk in the Health Administration Service at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Position performs administrative duties pertaining to deaths within the facility and deaths of Veterans receiving care at outside facilities at this facility's expense.

Duties

The major duties of this position include: Interview bereaved members of the patient's families, either individuals or groups informing them of the operational details in connection with the patient death. Arrange for the release of remains to the selected undertaker. Type all forms which documents actions taken and obtain appropriate and substantiating signatures. Compose and type letters relating to any phase of work. Obtain the Death Certificate. Obtain a postmortem and arrange for burial, make every effort to determine if the Veteran left survivors. Determine entitlements to burial in a VA or National Cemetery and if the Veteran has left no specific instruction, arrange for burial at the least cost to the Government. Arrange for funds left to be deposited to post funds and seek advice from the District Counsel for disposition of funds or properties left off the station. Advises the interested offices within the hospital and the minister, priest, or rabbi, as appropriate. Work closely with the Pathology Service and the local Eye Bank in arranging for the prompt removal and delivery of donated eyes. Assist clinicians on obtaining permission from the next-of-kin for emergency surgery on incompetent patients. Exercise discreet and careful judgment in reporting death cases to the Medical Examiner. Contact legal authorities for their investigation of a case that is homicide, suicide, etc. Coordinate and arrange contract burials with Supply Service, funeral directors, Director's Office, Chaplain's Office and National Cemetery when there are no relatives or friends to handle the funeral arrangements. Counsel, advise of burial benefits and assist next-of-kin in making prearrangements for patients terminally ill and advises necessary steps to take upon notification. Release military information to respective funeral home directors when a Veteran expires at home or in a private hospital that has been under our care in the past when information is not otherwise obtainable. Maintain an electronic log of deaths by name, social security number, claim number, date of death, ward, autopsy status and funeral director selected for statistical reporting purposes. For cross-training and coverage purposes, the individual in this position may be assigned to assist with the duties of the Program Support Assistant, GS-0303-6, PD #3600A. These duties involve screening, advising, and assisting Veterans and beneficiaries who come to the facility for treatment or services. The PSA coverage requires knowledge of the regulations and policies, pertaining to eligibility for services, admissions processing as well as basic knowledge of means testing for 3rd party billing when appropriate. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD03703A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/15/2024. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience in advising of burial benefits and assisting next of kin in making pre-arrangements for patients terminally ill and advising necessary steps to take upon notification. Medical terminology. Experience using automated systems to input or retrieve data. Knowledge of MS word, PowerPoint, Excel. Experience performing administrative and clerical work in an office setting. Ability to effectively communicate with customers and answer various questions on eligibility and benefits. Experience and skill needed for entering or editing data in spreadsheets and the ability to create a spreadsheet when require. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume to be creditable and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsComputer SkillsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Security 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 is mostly sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing and carrying such items as patients' records, supplies and personal effects. Employee must possess a gracious, compassionate and pleasant attitude and be composed at all times when assisting families during an extreme emotional period for them. 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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Amber Smith
• Phone: 828-203-3930
• Email: [email protected]