Nurse

Job Description

Job Description

Registered Nurse, Community Based

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Services

South Lane Mental Health

Last reviewed: 12/30/24

Salary: $90,000-109,709.50

Depending on relevant years of experience

About South Lane Mental Health:
Located just south of Eugene Oregon in the beautiful and historic city of Cottage Grove, South Lane Mental Health is a non-profit community mental health agency guided by an enduring commitment to providing individualized mental health services with compassion and respect. South Lane Mental Health’s staff of nearly 100 provides a variety of therapeutic services to over 2,000 individuals annually in Cottage Grove and the surrounding community. Our employees have a wide range of backgrounds, educational attainment, and skill sets. We strive to create an agency community characterized by empowerment, compassion, and innovation.

Benefits of Working for South Lane Mental Health:

• 100% employer paid health insurance premiums for the employee.
• 100% employer paid coverage of in-network copays, deductibles, and pharmaceutical expenses.
• 100% employer paid dental and vision premiums.
• Possibility to earn up to 5 weeks paid time off per year with full time employment
• 9 paid holidays per year (including Indigenous People’s Day and Juneteenth)
• Up to 12 weeks of paid family/medical leave through the Paid Leave Oregon program plus paid bereavement and civic duty leave.
• Employee assistant program, including gym and wellness discounts and resources for legal and financial advice.
• Supplemental insurances (disability, life, etc.)
• Office set up budget
• Exceptional community where employees are supported, trusted, and treated as professional adults

About the position:

South Lane Mental Health is looking for a Registered Nurse to join our Assertive Community Treatment team providing direct support to individuals diagnosed with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness. As a member of a 10-person team of specialists working with approximately 40 participants in the rural communities of Cottage Grove and south Lane County, the Nurse facilitates care plans that support the physical health, wholistic wellness, and client stability in the community.

On a day-to-day basis the Registered Nurse works in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of specialists who meet daily to triage care needs and plan for the day. The Nurse maintains a primary focus of managing our participants' ongoing prescription medications that we hold for them in our facility as well as conduct interventions with program participants in the field at their homes or other community-based locations, for example, doctors' offices or other community partner locations. The Registered Nurse is a point of contact bridging communication with our team, program participants and their PCPs, and other treatment specialists. As such it is vital that the Nurse maintaining supportive relationships with program participants directly in the community helping them to implement individual care plans in support of their physical health challenges while they work towards long-term health goals.

Below are the full duties and responsibilities, which encompass the scope and range of the role, some of which may not be routinely exercised duties as some duties are dependent on individualized care plans and are not necessarily routine.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Manage ACT Participant Medications

• Administer non-IV medications to ACT participants (e.g., IM, SQ, PO routes)
• Maintain medication administration records
• Coordinate medication delivery with staff
• Deliver medications to ACT participants
• Advise ACT participants on medication (e.g., correct dosage, side effects, answer questions)
• Coordinate medications with pharmacy (e.g., initial, refill, changes)
• Maintain medication storage and lock safety (e.g., boxes, lockers, safes)
• Reconcile ACT participant medications (e.g., clarify medication orders, assess supply)
• Report ACT participant response to medication to prescriber (e.g., effectiveness, side effects)
• Assist with disposal of ACT participant medications (e.g., expired, discontinued)
• Support ACT participants in developing medication autonomy (e.g., adherence, dosage/timing, benefits/side-effects)

Perform ACT Participant Assessments

• Conduct initial ACT nursing assessments (e.g., in-home/on-site, environmental, ADL)
• Perform medication side-effect assessment (e.g., AIMS, Glasgow)
• Perform routine assessment of vital signs
• Conduct health screenings (e.g., STI, diabetes)
• Conduct focused health assessments (e.g., wound, skin condition, acute need)
• Assess ACT participant health needs (e.g., need for treatment, intervention)
• Assess ACT participant living spaces (e.g., hazards, basic needs/ ADL, heat/power/ water)
• Recommend ACT participant care based on assessments
• Analyze diagnostic or laboratory tests

Coordinate Care for ACT Participants with ACT Treatment Team

• Participate in ACT team meetings (e.g., daily, staffing)
• Hold regular consultations with ACT prescriber
• Provide team members info about client medical concerns (e.g., medical, rx side effects, health status)
• Update treatment team on med changes/increased symptoms/LMP plans
• Consult with LMP (Licensed Medical Practitioner) on specific med/ symptom (e.g., provide med lists, narcotic counts)
• Provide treatment support/coverage as team member
• Participate in development and updating of treatment plans (e.g., goals/ objectives, with team & ACT participant)
• Review ACT participants' treatment progress
• Participate in discharge/step

Provide Client Centered ACT Nursing Interventions

• Conduct regularly scheduled nursing contacts with ACT participants and provide direct medical evaluation, first aid and ongoing maintenance consistent with their medical treatment plans to ACT participants in the community
• Recommend nonpharmacological treatments (e.g., heat packs, elevate feet)
• Provide therapeutic communication (e.g., CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), mindfulness, MI (Motivational Interviewing))
• Provide health skills coaching to ACT participants, families, and groups
• Provide social skills/cues training
• Facilitate implementation of harm-reduction programs (e.g., syringe exchange, smoking cessation)
• Obtain information from ACT participants for treatment plan development (e.g., treatment goals, health outcomes)
• Respond to urgent nursing needs and requests (e.g., health interventions, provide nursing expertise, client calls)
• Provide client centered therapeutic interventions according to treatment plan

Provide Health Education to ACT Participants, Family, and Staff

• Support ACT participants in developing health medical literacy
• Educate ACT participants on harm reduction strategies (e.g., safer sex practices, substance abuse)
• Educate staff on medication and s/s of side effects (e.g., potential risks, response)
• Provide cross training to staff

Perform Case Management for ACT Participants

• Help track participants' providers to identify gaps in care
• Coordinate care with outside providers to address ACT participant goals (e.g., ophthalmology, dental, medically assisted treatments)
• Advocate for ACT participants during interactions with outside organizations (e.g., community providers, local organizations, court hearings)
• Accompany ACT participants to medical appointments
• Help support ACT participants in obtaining benefits and entitlements (e.g., SNAP, Honored Citizen, OHP (Oregon Health Plan)) G.6 Schedule appointments for ACT participants
• Facilitate ACT participant transition within levels of care (e.g., from BH unit, from sub-acute, from ER (Emergency Room))
• Obtain ROI consent from ACT participants
• Provide consultation to home care providers for ACT participant care (e.g., home health, respiratory providers)
• Consult with professionals on complex cases (e.g., specialty physicians, ortho, psychiatric)

Perform Administrative Tasks

• Manage professional communications (e.g., email, voicemail, text)
• Maintain ACT required documentation (e.g., activities, encounters, treatments)
• Develop medical forms/templates
• Create tracking systems (e.g., labs, injection dates, providers)
• Maintain supply inventory
• Maintain time and attendance reports
• Maintain productivity logs (e.g., contacts, locations, direct service hours)
• Complete expense/ reimbursement reports
• Manage transportation use/ acquisition (e.g., fleet vehicle, mileage logs)
• Manage work schedule (e.g., appointments, coverage, PTO)
• Participate in quality assurance activities (e.g., staff chart audits, fidelity review, service codes)
• Participate in staff hiring processes (e.g., screening applicants, interviews)
• Draft BH policies/ procedures for review and approval
• Provide input into development of BH policies/procedures
• Contribute data to tracking population health trends (e.g., CDC (Centers for Disease Control), Oregon Health Authority)
• Complete authorization documentation for restorative services to secure housing

Participate in Personal Professional Development

• Participate in annual ACT conference
• Maintain professional certifications and licensures
• Participate in agency/department ACT retreats
• Participate in required training activities
• Participate in supplemental/interest -based training activities
• Participate in personal performance review process
• Participate in ACTRN Network activities

Position Requirements:

• This position requires a Registered Nursing Degree (RN)

Preferred Experience:

• Some experience in the field of mental health and/or substance use treatment, with a focus on the SPMI (Serious and Persistent Mental Illness) population, proffered.

Preferred Skills and Knowledge (trainable):

• Understand mental health assessment, treatment, and service terminology, and apply these concepts.
• Experience working with individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
• Ability to respond calmly and professionally in high-stress situations and respond constructively to clients in a mental health crisis.
• Ability to balance clinical, cultural, and ethical values, particularly as relates to client and staff needs.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to interact with people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Sound computer and typing skills.

Essential Job Functions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, move, talk, hear, and manipulate equipment, as well as lift and move objects, equipment, and supplies. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Lift up to 40-50 pounds may occasionally be required, depending on the specific style or type of care provided. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The employee must travel using a personal vehicle to locations throughout the community, including client homes.

The employee works in well-lit, clean environments. The noise level in the work environment is quiet to moderate. May work evenings or weekends. The employee may occasionally work with angry or hostile clients or members of the public, work with toxic substances and biohazards, and be exposed to infectious illnesses.

Equal Opportunity Statements

South Lane Mental Health provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

We encourage applications from members of historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQIA+ community members. The strength of our organization lies in the diversity of our workforce and the perspectives our employees bring to their work at South Lane Mental Health.

Additional Information

This description is intended to provide a snapshot of the work performed and is not designed to contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required for the position.