Job Announcement

The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team provides services to individuals diagnosed with chronic and severe mental illness, many with co-occurring substance use and medical conditions, and whose needs have not been met through traditional behavioral health service delivery approaches. Individuals served by ACT have extensive histories of homelessness, arrests, hospitalizations, medical self-neglect and/or lack of access to care, trauma, and diminished connections with family and other support systems. As a result, the life expectancy of individuals with severe mental illness is typically shortened by 25 years compared to the general population. The role of the ACT nurse is to work with individuals to help them reclaim their lives by joining them along the path of recovery.

The ACT Behavioral Health Nurse (BHN) clinician/case manager is part of an interdisciplinary team providing rehabilitation, clinical and medical case management, crisis intervention and stabilization, support services, as well as supportive counseling to those served. Nurses on ACT teams deliver some office-based nursing and case management services but most of the time those services are offered in individuals’ homes and a variety of non-traditional treatment settings such as jails, hospitals, shelters, libraries, crisis stabilization units, and anywhere in the community an individual is willing to accept services.

Nurses on an ACT team provide therapeutic medical and rehabilitative interventions on both emergency and ongoing basis to individuals, as well as consultation about medical issues to non-medical team members. They are responsible for addressing clinical, medical, and primary care issues, as well as serving as liaison to local pharmacies and primary care providers in the community. Nurses in ACT conduct medical/nursing assessments, outreach, support services, crisis intervention, education, and life skills training to individuals served. Other traditional services offered by ACT nurses include, but are not limited to, observation and assessment of physical appearance of clients, monitoring vital signs and behaviors, administering medications (oral and injectable), as well as documenting all delivered services in the electronic medical record.

ACT clients receive services from everyone on the team, but each client is assigned a primary case manager. The person in this position is administratively responsible for a caseload of 9 individuals. Team members ensure that recovery-oriented services are provided to all ACT individuals via targeted interventions created through strength-based and person-centered planning to incorporate individuals’ wishes around empowerment, self-determination, and independence in their service plans.

The ACT team is in the Mount Vernon Area of Fairfax County at the Gartlan Center (8119 Holland Road Alexandria, VA 22306). However, this position will be assigned to a new ACT team in the Annandale area of Fairfax County slated to be created in less than a year from now. The person hired for this position will have the opportunity to be mentored for several months by the Gartlan ACT team nurses prior to moving to the Heritage Center at 7611 Little River Turnpike, Suite 200 Annandale, VA 22003.

ACT program hours are from 8:30 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. Monday through Friday and 8 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. on Weekends and Holidays. This position typically works one weekend every 4-5 weeks and one weekly P.M. shift (12:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.).

This position will include a new employee sign-on bonus amount of $2,000 for full-time positions.

Note: To learn more about careers that make a difference, watch our video "CSB Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Providing Care."

Illustrative Duties

(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)

• Provides nursing services to clients, including administering injections, collecting vital signs, administering tests and interfacing with other nursing staff;
• Provides nursing support to psychopharmacological services, crisis intervention, and case consultation for clients with substance use disorders or serious mental illness;
• Administers, schedules and coordinates medication clinics/medical services, including delivery of medication, monitoring medication room, and inventorying medications;
• Complies with state pharmacy guidelines in ordering, storage, and disposal of medications;
• Monitors client responses to psychobiological and nursing interventions, medications and other treatments;
• Performs quality assurance review;
• Performs physical/mental health assessments, including laboratory testing of new clients at intake and to clients on an ongoing basis as case manager;
• Monitors and assesses clients to identify contributing or co-occurring mental health issues;
• Monitors and assesses clients for risk of harm to self and/or others;
• Coordinates client plan of care to assure interventions are consistent, safe, timely and appropriate.
• Assess continuity of care and evaluates coordination of interventions by interdisciplinary team to ensure consistency with the plan of care;
• Provides nursing assistance and information to clients through the telephone "nurse of the day" service;
• Manages medical needs and urgent care needs of clients;
• Monitors and assesses medical status of clients in the process of detoxification;
• Develops a therapeutic relationship with clients, provides supportive counseling, psycho-education, and health teaching for both individuals and groups;
• Serves as case manager for clients for whom medication compliance is essential for remaining out of the hospital;
• Participates on inter-/intra-agency case management teams, providing nursing consultation and effective integration between clinical and psychopharmacology services; as well as primary care services;
• Documents assessments, treatment plans and quarterly reports on clinical status of clients;
• Plans, develops and leads group and individual psycho-education, health education and wellness programs;
• Provide teaching on disease, management strategies, emergency care and drug information when appropriate;
• Researches available community, private and government resources to support patient self management of disease, recovery and relapse prevention.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

• Knowledge of nursing standards, theories, principles, practices, methods, processes, and procedures;
• Knowledge of federal and state pharmacy and medication clinic regulations and guidelines;
• Knowledge of documentation, nursing diagnosis, and quality assurance;
• Knowledge of human growth and development, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology (e.g., side effects, contraindications), preventive medicine, epidemiology, and nutrition;
• Knowledge of psychiatric, psychological, and/or sociological terminology and concepts;
• Knowledge of substance use disorders and addiction signs and symptoms, assessment techniques, treatment interventions and approaches;
• Knowledge of available community resources for referral or the ability to rapidly acquire such knowledge;
• Ability to perform technical and complex nursing procedures (e.g., injections, venipuncture, blood pressure screening, STD check, tube feeding, nebulizations), administer treatments and medications, and use medical equipment in delivering services to clients;
• Ability to perform emergency treatment(s), with limited supervision, for life threatening conditions;
• Ability to manage a caseload;
• Ability to perform mental and physical health assessments and apply treatment approaches/modalities;
• Ability to assess and monitor the effects of medications;
• Ability to assess level of risk for harm to self or others;
• Ability to develop and implement treatment plans/programs for individuals and groups;
• Ability to work as case manager in a multi-disciplinary team;
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, public and private organizations, community groups, and the general public;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to maintain records and prepare reports.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following:
(Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for “Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to”)
Graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate degree in nursing; plus two years of post-licensure experience as a nurse.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSURES REQUIRED:

• Possession of a current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in the Commonwealth of Virginia or a multistate licensure privilege to practice as a Registered Nurse in Virginia.
• Driver's License
• MANDT certification (within 3 months of hire)
• CPR/First Aid certifications (within 3 month of hire)

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, a Child Protective Services Registry check, a driving record check, and sanction screening to the satisfaction of the employer. A TB screening upon hire and annually thereafter.

This position is emergency/essential services personnel. (Required to report for duty during inclement weather and/or other emergencies).

All newly hired employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (two weeks after the last required dose) as a condition of employment or obtain approval of a medical or religious exemption prior to their start date. Proof of an exemption or vaccination status will be required during the pre-employment onboarding process. New employees who obtain an exemption from the vaccine mandate for medical or sincerely held religious beliefs will still be subject to the weekly testing requirement. Vaccinated employees and employees with a medical or religious exemption will complete the attestation online on their first day of employment or shortly thereafter.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience delivering services in the community, including consumer's homes, homeless shelters, hospitals, and jails.
• Prior work in an ACT team.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Ability to drive a car and conduct out of office visits in homes, hospitals, jails, shelters, or outdoors; communicate with clients and coworkers; observe and report on client appearance and behavior; sit, walk, stand and bend; make clinical interventions in unconventional treatment settings; operate keyboard driven computer equipment, tablet device, and mobile smart phone device; enter/retrieve data on electronic health record; administer injectable medications; and accurately perform tactile and auditory pulse, blood pressure and respiratory assessments. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel Interview and may include a practical exercise.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. EEO/AA/TTY.