Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Day   (9am to 5pm)

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 

Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

Supervised by: ORCA POD RN Supervisor

A cover letter is required as part of your application to be considered for this role.

About the Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) program

DESC’s  ORCA program provides compassionate, low-barrier, and evidence-based  care to individuals who are recovering from opioid overdose and those  seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). The ORCA Center, our  brick-and-mortar location, provides post-overdose subacute stabilization  services and provides walk-in access to medications for opioid use  disorder (MOUD). The ORCA Patient Outreach Division (POD) delivers  field-based MOUD care – meeting people where they literally are in the  community.

ORCA Center

The ORCA Center is open 24  hours per day, 7 days per week, including holidays. It is staffed by a  multidisciplinary team, including providers, nurses, medical assistants,  peers, and milieu specialists. The ORCA Center offers four overlapping  types of services:

• Care to individuals in stable condition  who have experienced an opioid overdose, brought to the ORCA Center by  first responders or transferred from local emergency departments.
• Rapid  initiation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including  buprenorphine (sublingual and long-acting injectable) and methadone  (under the “72-hour rule”, or CFR Title 21 §1306.07 (b)), for people  with OUD, regardless of whether an opioid overdose has recently  occurred.
• Harm reduction counseling and OUD-related physical and behavioral health services.
• Follow-up care for individuals who have started MOUD to ensure support in MOUD continuation.

ORCA POD

ORCA  POD is ORCA’s field-based care team, bringing MOUD induction,  stabilization, and maintenance services as well as education and other  supports directly to patients in the community. ORCA POD operates during  business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). ORCA POD is a  multidisciplinary team, including providers, nurses, and peers,  operating across several geographic areas throughout the greater Seattle  region including:

• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) sites
• Emergency shelters
• Encampments or unsanctioned sites
• High-need geographic zones identified in collaboration with DESC and community partners
• Areas without easy access to low-barrier MOUD services

JOB OVERVIEW:

The  Registered Nurse (RN) provides and coordinates care for individuals  suffering from opioid use disorder in DESC’s low-barrier buprenorphine  program. The RN acts as a member of an interdisciplinary team to provide  buprenorphine services to our community’s most vulnerable population,  many of which are experiencing homelessness, mental illness and a range  of comorbidities. This position provides the opportunity to participate  in community engagement in shelters, encampments and permanent  supportive housing. The RN will provide client-centered care through the  lens of harm reduction and trauma-informed care. Work is done under the  supervision of the Nursing Supervisor and Nurse Manager at DESC’s  Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide  low-barrier, outreach-based OUD treatment focused on a population of  clients who have difficulty accessing traditional buprenorphine  services. Integrate care with a multidisciplinary team of psychiatric  providers, nurses, substance use professionals, peer support  specialists, mental health case managers and primary care providers.
• Assess  and monitor patients in induction, stabilization, and maintenance  phases of treatment with clients wanting buprenorphine or intramuscular  naltrexone, using an approach that is patient-centered and includes harm  reduction strategies and motivational interviewing in a non-traditional  setting.
• Provide counseling and education about treatment options to clients and work together with them to set and monitor goals.
• Follow  state and federal guidelines, as well as program-specific policies and  procedures for patients with OUD in collaboration with prescribing  providers and dispensing pharmacies.
• Provide screening, counseling and care coordination for both HIV and Hepatitis C.
• Use critical thinking, clinical judgment, patience and flexibility in frequent contacts with clients.
• Have strong communication and customer service skills.
• Demonstrate leadership ability as well as using interdisciplinary team concepts.
• Provide ongoing assessment of mental status and the positive impact and side effects of treatment.
• Assess  clients for a range of health care needs and facilitate linkage and  on-going connection to relevant urgent, primary and specialty health  services to ensure continuity of care. Advocate for patients’ access to a  variety of community resources and services.
• Collaborate  closely with other DESC services, particularly DESC housing teams and  substance use disorder professionals (SUDPs) on the SUD team.
• Consult  and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care  and that patients’ needs are being met, and rights maintained.
• Provide nursing services and basic wound care.
• Serve as an educational resource and provide consultation for DESC staff.
• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings.
• Comply  with the agency’s clinical accountability policies and procedures;  maintain current and complete clinical records; participate in quality  assurance reviews.
• Participate in verbal de-escalation and  crisis interventions in emergent situations and be willing and able to  assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe and secure environment.
• Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Registered Nurse licensed in the State of Washington OR  Registered Nurse licensed under Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and will  apply for Washington State endorsement within 60 days of hire.
• Knowledge of psychiatric medications, side effects and methods of administration.
• Desire  to serve people with complex needs who are or have been experiencing  homelessness and are living with serious and persistent mental illness,  substance use disorder, and other complex medical conditions.
• Able to work effectively with clients displaying a wide range of challenging behaviors .
• Adaptable to changing priorities, processes, or workflows as the program grows and evolves.
• Able to give and receive constructive feedback.
• Familiar with trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and equity and social justice principles.
• Possess cultural humility and able to work effectively with individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities.
• Willing to travel across the greater Seattle area.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor of Nursing degree.
• Nursing certifications
• Knowledge  and skill in working with co-occurring mental health and substance use  disorders; with people with a history of homelessness; 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.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English.
• Ability  to drive an agency or personal vehicle to conduct agency related  business, which requires a current Washington State driver's license and  insurable driving record.

Strong applicants are able to  demonstrate the ability to be positive in their empathetic responses to  all persons; understand the value of meaningful and deep client  engagement; and value a non-judgmental response to sensitive issues.  Candidates should be able to accept feedback and work in a highly  collaborative and sometimes 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.