Health Technician (Home Health)

at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in North Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Summary This position is located in the Inpatient Geriatrics Service, Office of the Nurse Executive located at the Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois. This position is for the “Green House” homes. The Green House home is organized around the needs and lives of elders who live there. The duty of the of this position is to protect, to nurture, to sustain the elder, to maintain the safety and cleanliness of the environment and providing high quality care. Responsibilities The incumbent will rotate the roles of coordinator duties in such areas as Team Coordinator, Scheduling Coordinator, and Care Coordinator, etc. This announcement can be used to fill any Green House shifts. Duties include, but are not limited to: Acting as a liaison between the team and families, volunteers, community members and other members of the staff including clinical support team. Conducting team meetings and communicates decisions to team members and others. Collaborating with clinical support team to schedule treatment planning conferences. Planning menus with the residents for regular and modified diets. Forecasting food usage requirements in order to orders food and expendable supplies for one week out from service date. Meeting regularly with clinical dietitian to review menus and communicates weight loss and food concerns to the appropriate members of the Clinical Support Team. Insuring all areas of the residence, indoors and outdoors, are clean and presentable. Coordinates housekeeping, sanitation, and laundry duties. Collaborating with the Clinical Support Team and others to ensure care planning meetings are held in a timely manner. Monitoring the team’s compliance with elders’ care plans. Insuring that care has been provided. Performing comprehensive nursing care for medical, long term care, and/or dementia residents in the rehabilitative process. The Universal Worker plans, organizes and conducts therapeutic recreational activities at all times to include; weekends, holidays, evening and nights as appropriate. Responsible for transporting residents to various appointments and/or events. 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: Compressed work schedule, 8hr/12hr days,8hr/12hr nights or PMs with rotation to other shifts as needed, including rotation on weekends and holidays, tour will be discussed during interviews Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician (Home Health)/PD06386A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/28/2024. 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. 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. 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. Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. GS-06 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Observing patients physical and emotional response to medical care to recognize deviations from the normal aging process and applies knowledge of basic first-aid principles in responding to situations. Labeling and arranging completed food items following HACCP guidelines for receiving, preparing, storing, and transporting food as needed. Performing cleaning tasks such as washing walls, doors, door frames, baseboard corners and edges; sweeping, moping, and vacuuming. GS-07 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Experience utilizing direct patient care techniques, including ADLs, ambulating patients, infection control, and emergency response, using appropriate safety precautions. Preparing and serving food for consumption; performing a range of cooking to include but not limited to roasting, braising, and boiling. Using modified diet and correct food portions to serve patients and answer routine questions concerning patient diet. Documenting patient treatment and goals such as medical history, vital signs, chief complaints, allergies, pertinent health problems, current medications for the purpose of communicating with the staff nurses and patient families. Using appropriate cleaning agents and germicidal solutions to remove stains from a wide variety of surfaces to provide bacteriological safe environment. Graduate education (Masters level) may be used to substitute for specialized experience only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clinical Data Collection/Documentation Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Food Service Patient Care Work Practices 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