Office Health Assistant I

Hourly Rate of Pay: $26.7640/hr + DOE
Schedule: Monday- Friday 8am-4:30pm

At Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, we welcome diversity; we encourage, uplift, and are honored to serve people who have been historically underrepresented and underserved. Our mission is to provide high-quality, culturally appropriate healthcare to low-income residents of Washington and Yamhill Counties, with a special emphasis on seasonal and migrant farm workers and others with barriers to receiving healthcare. We strive to provide an inclusive environment that welcomes and values the diversity of the people we employ and serve.

If you are unsure whether you meet all of the required qualifications for this role but are interested and passionate about this potential position, we encourage you to apply.

Job Summary: The Office Health Assistant (OHA) facilitates the daily operations of the School-Based Health Center while working as a member of a multi-disciplinary team. The OHA performs a wide range of duties, usually accomplished by several positions in other clinics. OHAs assist in providing patient care and maintaining efficiency in the clinic, supporting a physical health provider, a mental health provider, and dental days for the students.

Receptionist/Front Desk duties, standard Medical Assistant duties, and miscellaneous administrative duties are all integral to the OHA role.

This individual must collaborate with school health services so the clinic can provide intervention and prevention services to students in the District. When the School-Based Health Center is closed, it is expected that the Office Health Assistant will work at another VG clinic or, in the summer, participate in VG migrant camp outreach.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Patient flow and front desk duties:

• Register and update patient information.
• Provide patient assistance with the registration process and provide appropriate information to patients as needed.
• Document medical information in the patient records.
• Procure proper documentation of patient financial status to allow VG to identify appropriate billing services.
• Set appointments with VGs OHP specialist to enroll eligible patients to OHP.
• Perform basic office operations.
• Use the Virginia Garcia Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.
• Answer telephones and assist callers as needed.
• Schedule appointments and print out day’s schedule.
• Ensure proper documentation is maintained pursuant to quality assurance guidelines.
• Prepare Clinic at start of day to receive patients; open doors, turn on lights, and prepare sign-in sheets.
• Prepare Clinic at closing, at the end of the day: make sure lights are turned off, doors are locked and records are secure.
• Maintain waiting room; clean and orderly.
• Submit authorization requests to Washington County Mental Health General Funds.
• Check-out patients.
• Reconcile daily cash and deposit cash to the bank.
• Scan documents into patient’s electronic health records.

Direct patient care duties:

• Coordinate patient flow with the on-site providers.
• Room patients: take and log vitals.
• Administer vaccines and perform lab draws.
• Assist providers with procedures.
• Assist in preliminary screening of students with health needs.
• Perform clinical procedures within scope and practice of training and certification.
• Under the direction of the on-site provider, administer medications, including oral, topical and injections.
• Perform laboratory procedures such as urinalysis and strep cultures.
• Perform qualify control tests on CLIA Waved Labs.
• Disinfect/sterilize instruments and equipment.
• Perform other clinic activities as directed.

In-direct patient care duties:

• Maintain, monitor and order medical, pharmaceutical and office supplies.
• Follow clinic policies and procedures regarding patient care, insurances, new patients, etc.
• Document vaccine refrigerator and freezer temperatures daily.
• File test results.
• Track students for medical appointment follow-up and maintain records of students served.
• Collect individual student immunization data.
• Provide support for referrals (schedule appointments as necessary, track, provide records and obtain reports).

Miscellaneous duties:

• Assist in coordinating school health activities, with other members of the school community, families and other community resources.
• Coordinating conference room schedule.
• Order and maintain patient education material.
• Perform monthly Vaccine Administration Records (VAR) inventory.
• Handle protected health information (PHI) in a manner consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
• Assist other patients as may be appropriate.

HIPAA Requirements

The Office Health Assistant will have access to PHI in the course of carrying out his/her duties such as to schedule and register patients, check and update insurance coverage and demographic information, and perform medical assistant tasks. Applying the minimum necessary standard of HIPAA, the designated records sets to which this employee will have access include: patient demographics and account information, encounter forms, user batch reports and payment posting reports, the patient information section of the medical records, the HIPAA section, recent progress notes (as needed to answer scheduling questions), and the problem list/immunization record (to provide copies to patients up their request).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proficiency in English and Spanish, both written and spoken language preferred.
• Proven sensitivity to inter-cultural issues.
• Ability to perform clerical work with speed and accuracy including but not limited to word processing, data base, basic computer functions, data entry and filing.
• Demonstrated initiative and judgment in problem solving.
• Knowledge of and ability to maintain confidentiality regulations.
• Able to make independent decisions based on Center’s protocols.
• High level of accuracy with numbers and data, which will become patient records.
• Evidence of good leadership and citizenship skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, non-verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to develop effective, supportive relationships with staff, students, families and the community.
• Service-oriented with ability to adapt to changing workload and pace.
• Ability to work with the adolescent population.
• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, safe driving record and insurance coverage required.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• One or more year’s previous medical assistant experience required.
• Active Medical Assistant certification required.
• Basic Life Support (BLS)/Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification required, or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire.
• Six months or more of experience working as Front Desk Receptionist with EMR check-in duties preferred.

Behavioral Competencies:

Accountability

• Role model VG’s mission, vision, and shared values

Customer-Focus

• Listen to the voice of the customer and strive to delight them by exceeding their expectations

Teamwork

• If someone needs help, help them

Initiative

• Be innovative, apply fresh ideas, and continuously improve how you do your work

Confidentiality

• Maintain strict confidentiality and respect the privacy of others

Ethical

• Demonstrate integrity, honesty, and stewardship in all encounters at work

Respect

• Demonstrate consideration and appreciation for co-workers and patients

Communication

• Demonstrate the ability to convey thoughts and ideas as well as understand perspective of others

Physical Requirements

Percentage of time spent

• Standing: 25%
• Walking: 45%
• Sitting: 25%
• Lifting/Carrying: 5%
• Physically demanding tasks: Must be able to lift/carry 40 lbs. – supplies.

Working Environment/Physical Hazards

• Work in well-lighted, ventilated environment.
• Exposure to blood borne pathogens and potentially hazardous chemicals.

Equipment used:Office equipment

• Computer: data entry and word processing
• Telephone, fax, copier, scanner

Medical equipment

• Autoclave
• Non-stress test
• Fetal Doppler
• EKG
• Pulse oximeter
• Audiometer
• Nebulizer
• O2 tank
• Liquid nitrogen
• Glucometer
• Hemoglobin A1C
• Cholesterol Screening Equipment
• Hemoglobin Screening Equipment
• Ultra sound machine

Immunization

Staff member must meet immunization requirements as stated in VGMHC’s immunization policy and state and federal guidelines.

Job description represent a general outline of the essential and major job duties, functions and qualifications required. They cannot be all-inclusive and comprehensive due to the dynamic nature of work performed to accomplish VGMHC’s Mission.

VGMHC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from consideration for employment because of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, veteran status, marital status or physical challenges. The policy applies not only to recruitment and hiring practices, but also includes affirmative action in the area of placement, promotion, transfer, rate of pay and termination.