Intake Nurse

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

About Interfaith Community Services:  

As North County's largest social services agency, Interfaith Community Services has been "helping people help themselves" since 1979. The organization provides a wide range of programs designed to empower hungry, homeless, and low-income community members to begin a pathway towards self-sufficiency. Each year, Interfaith Community Services impacts more than 20,000 community members by providing basic needs and nutrition support, social services, shelters and housing, employment development, senior services, veterans programs and addiction recovery support.

Together, in partnership with 250+ diverse faith communities, more than 1,700 recurrent volunteers, and a growing staff of over 275, Interfaith provides a safe-haven and pathway towards self-sufficiency for more than 20,000 community members annually. 

If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a service-driven environment, we invite you to be part of our mission!

What You'll Do:

In the Registered Nurse role, you’ll conduct referral screening, intake coordination, and provide clinical support to Licensed Vocational Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, and the interdisciplinary care team working with individuals with complex medical, psychiatric, and substance use recovery needs who are experiencing homelessness within a recuperative care/medical respite setting. This role also supports clients in achieving or maintaining individual stability to prevent hospital admission or readmission and system disengagement by providing persistent outreach, advocacy, health education, and coordination of care across multiple service domains.

• Screen referrals and coordinate intakes from inquiries received from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, local contracted hospitals, Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and other partnering agencies
• Determine whether referred individuals are medically and psychiatrically stable for safe on-site admission, including evaluation of neurological status and level of consciousness. 
• Review of clinical documentation including labs and medical history of individuals referred to determine appropriateness for admission 
• Understanding of medical and psychiatric inclusion and exclusion criteria and how to assess conditions that are not appropriate for admission 
• Conduct general nursing screening for members who present for intake 
• Engage in frequent client contact through scheduled or unscheduled visits, in program outreach, and telephonic support—often multiple times per week 
• Monitor client progress and report significant changes to the supervising nurse or clinical program manager
• Promote clients’ self-determination by establishing individual care goals and educate clients on individual health conditions, medications, and self-care skills 
• Conduct vital signs, breathalyzer, O2 saturation levels, and glucometer levels 
• Knowledgeable in assessment of communicable disease exposure, risk, and interventions 
• Able to evaluate for emergency medical conditions and competent in assessing when stabilizing treatment is necessary 
• Understanding of general and psychiatric medications 
• Able to assess and manage members at risk of self-harm or harm to others 
• Complete risk assessments for danger to self, danger to others, sexual acting out behavior, and vulnerability 
• Coordinate care with pharmacies, specialty providers, and obtain health records. Assure critical health information is entered in clients’ records to assist with documentation to support wrap around services and promote whole person wellness 
• Collect client care metrics for process improvement measures and promote optimal client care 
• Provide education, health evaluation, monitoring, and outreach, as needed, to improve client outcomes 
• Provide support as needed with medication management for individual clients; this may include organizing medications in weekly pill organizer, ensuring individuals are taking medications as prescribed, educating clients on purpose of medications and side effects, and assisting with prescription refills as necessary
• Provide care coordination by assisting with discharge planning with outside agencies and follow up with medical providers. 
• Collaborate with case managers with discharge planning to ensure linkage to medical resources and referrals and facilitate transition to stable or alternate housing 
• Communicate client health changes or concerns to interdisciplinary staff and external healthcare providers 
• Provide guidance to newly licensed RN's, LVN’s, CNA’s, staff, interns and volunteers 
• Assist with training and educate staff and clients on various medical-related topics 
• Participate in case reviews, multidisciplinary team meetings, and quality improvement initiatives 
• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential documentation in compliance with agency and regulatory standards 
• On time completion of assigned training and policies 
• Performs other duties as assigned 

Requirements:

Who You Are:

You're passionate about making a lasting impact, whether supporting individuals directly or enhancing our organizational effectiveness. To thrive in this role, you'll:

• Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), required 
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, preferred
• An active California Registered Nurse license in the state of practice, required
• 1+ years of clinical nursing experience as a Registered Nurse, required 
• 1+ years of knowledge of mental health and alcohol and other drug recovery, preferred
• Experience working with severely mentally ill, medically fragile, and people experiencing homelessness preferred
• Experience working in community health or residential care preferred 
• Basic Life Support (BLS) for healthcare providers (American Heart Association preferred) to be completed within three (3) months of hire 
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred 

 

SKILLSETS / ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS  

• Strong clinical assessment and patient care skills 
• Strong clinical judgment and ability to manage high-acuity cases. 
• Ability to apply methods and techniques of professional nursing 
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced environments. 
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Ability to establish and maintain professional boundaries with clients 
• Working knowledge and skills in mental health, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse treatment models, and crisis intervention 
• Ability to react calmly and professionally to emergency situations 
• Ability to identify problems, and research and recommend resolutions 
• Knowledge of community and social service agencies 
• Knowledge of adult development
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• Must be highly organized and demonstrate attention to detail 
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple deadlines and working effectively under pressure, using independent judgment to produce quality work under time constraints 
• Demonstrated experience working with a collaborative team 
• Working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook) 
• Maintain a high degree of confidentiality over all matters in the course of business operations including client and employee information 
• Ability to multi-task in an efficient, thorough, and prioritized manner 
• Ability to work quickly, accurately and independently 

WORKING CONDITIONS / PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS  

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. 

• Must be able to perform work in an office setting 
• May be subjected to adverse conditions, including contact from hostile people 
• Potential exposure to contagious diseases, hazardous chemicals, and other hazardous fluids
• Must have the physical ability to sit for long periods of time, stand, walk, bend, kneel on a frequent basis 
• Occasionally lifts, carries and balances objects weighing up to 30 pounds 
• Pulls and pushes such objects as file drawers, computers and similar office equipment and supplies 
• Prioritizes and multi-tasks work and projects requiring good memory, concentration and analytical thinking 
• Occasionally is required to perform the safe operation of office equipment and machines, and recognize and abate safety hazards within the workplace 
• The noise level in the work environment is usually low 

Location: Onsite/Escondido

Hours: Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm

Salary: $97,110-$118,690

SIGN ON BONUS: $500.00

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

· Paid Time Off

· Paid Holidays – 13 scheduled

· Flexible Work Schedules

· Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

· AD&D / Group Life Insurance

· Flexible Spending Accounts – Medical and Dependent Care

· Matched 401(k) Retirement Plan

· Early Release Days!

· Work Anniversary Bonuses

· Tuition Reimbursement and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Eligibility

· Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

· Home Ownership Assistance Program

· Casual Work Environment

· Professional Growth and Career Development Opportunities

Interfaith is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, pregnancy, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, nationality, sex, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Interfaith will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.