Job Type

Description

Salary: $154,596.00 - $170,703.12 annually

Days Off:  Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Monday - Friday, business hours (typically 8:30 am - 5pm with 1 hour lunch)

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

About DESC:

DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

JOB OVERVIEW:

The Mobile Response Team (MRT) provides 24/7 mental and behavioral health services to adults (18 and over) at Health through Housing (HtH) facilities and targeted Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) sites across King County. The primary goal of the program is to provide crisis behavioral health services and time-limited behavioral health case management via mobile intensive response teams for the purpose of assisting individuals in linking to ongoing behavioral health and other community service options. The MRT is a mobile interdisciplinary team consisting of certified peer counselors, behavioral health case managers, substance use disorder professionals, mental health professionals, and nursing and medical staff.

The MRT Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) functions as part of the larger team to provide integrated behavioral healthcare services with clients in need of psychiatric and other medical attention, medication coordination/management, client education and health assessments. The ARNP will provide and oversee in-the-moment, low-threshold medical access to clients who may otherwise not present to more traditional clinics. The ARNP will be responsible for providing psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and coordination with community providers as necessary. The ARNP will also assist with initiation of buprenorphine for clients with opioid use disorder. This position is involved in all aspects of referral, outreach and engagement, intensive case management services, and coordination with other providers to assure successful transition of consumers to on-going care. Services will be provided in the field and outreach based. Work is done under the supervision of the Agency Medical Director and supported by other agency psychiatrists.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coordinate client care with a multidisciplinary team of Social Workers/Case Managers, Substance Use Disorder Professionals, Peer Support Specialists, Psychiatric Nurses and other mental health staff.
• Perform psychiatric evaluations, work with clients to discuss the varied care options and work together with them to set and monitor goals, through prescribing of medications and/or recommending other behavioral health services provided by other skilled staff.
• Prescribe and monitor psychiatric medications within all ethical and legal guidelines of the nurse practitioner profession.
• Provide initiation of low barrier buprenorphine treatment services focused on a population of people often experiencing mental illness and homelessness, and thus have difficulty accessing traditional buprenorphine services. Connect clients to DESC's longitudinal opioid treatment team for ongoing care.
• Evaluate clients in crisis and advise courses of treatment. Recommend and coordinate crisis prevention with primary therapy.
• Respond to emergency situations as needed during work hours.
• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings; participate in clinical reviews and case conferences for clients on caseload.
• Take initiative to meet the changing needs of community mental health treatment.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation in emergent situations and be able and willing to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe, secure environment.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric, licensed in the State of Washington with the Department of Health in good standing.
• Advanced knowledge and experience prescribing psychiatric medications.
• Interest or experience in working with clients who are difficult to engage and maintain in traditional mental health programs.
• Be able to pass a Washington State Criminal background check.
• Knowledge of Harm Reduction principles and strategies.
• Ability to relate to a wide range of people, demonstration of highly developed communication skills, and a desire to serve homeless, mentally ill clients.
• Ability and interest in providing case consultations with a multi-disciplinary staff.
• Ability to remain open and receptive to constructive feedback.
• Ability to communicate with and coordinate with staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of unpleasant and/or bizarre behavior.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Knowledge and skill in working with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; with homeless or formerly homeless individuals; and crisis intervention and stabilization experience.
• Familiarity with Recovery Principles, Crisis Intervention and Stabilization, Integrated Treatment of Co-occurring Disorders, Intensive Case Management, Illness Management, and relevant Evidenced based/Emerging best practices.
• Valid Washington state driver's license and insurable driving record.
• Doctoral Degree.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English.
• Experience with buprenorphine prescribing.
• Strong applicants can demonstrate the ability to be positive in their empathetic responses to all persons; understand the value of meaningful and deep client engagement; have the potential to acquire the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills of an effective crisis worker; and value a non-judgmental response to sensitive issues. Candidates should be able to accept feedback and work in a highly collaborative and potentially stressful environment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required sit for long periods of time, communicate with other persons by talking and hearing, required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds and to operate computer hardware systems. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DESC is committed to diversity in the workplace, and promotes equal employment opportunities for all staff members and applicants. The Agency will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, caste, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability in any employment practice, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

Salary Description