Public Health Nurse

Description Position is a 3 day per week position (24 hours) with full part-time benefits. Days are set each week – Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

POSITION SUMMARY: Under the supervision of the Pottawatomie County Health Department Director and Assistant Director, the Public Health Nurse is a non-exempt position under FLSA. Primary responsibilities include providing public health nursing assessment and care, providing health education, monitoring health risks and communicable disease in the county, and promoting good health in Pottawatomie County.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (required): 1. Provides adult health screening/monitoring of chronic disease per protocol or doctor order; 2. Conducts child health assessments as trained and assigned; 3. Assists with child and adult immunizations and administers immunizations at clinics as trained and assigned; 4. Performs direct nursing duties in public health programs as trained; 5. Maintains and updates Communicable Disease Protocols provided by KDHE and develops local protocol to enhance disease investigation process; 6. Conducts home visits to investigate disease or counsel clients with public health concerns or environmental hazards; 7. Conduct home visits to high-risk families for education and risk reduction; 8. Follows protocols and procedures for public health programs; 9. Provides health education/materials to the general public and schools regarding health prevention; 10. Assures that appropriate educational materials are displayed and available in health department and in community; 11. Provides counseling, testing, treatment, and follow up for sexually transmitted diseases as trained; 12. Performs toenail care per protocol as assigned. 13. Conducts communicable disease investigation and provides follow-up recommendations to individual, physicians and family members for the control of disease as assigned and enter all the information into the Disease Reporting system within 10 working days of the report; 14. Completes all paperwork required by KDHE regarding a reportable communicable disease and entering all disease in Disease Surveillance Reporting System within 10 working days of receiving report via mail, fax, lab, or phone; 15. Enrolls clients in appropriate medical assistance programs and completes all paperwork, facilitating the referral; 16. Coordinates the activities of the Pottawatomie County Traffic Safety Coalition/Safe Kids Chapter as assigned: 17. Refers clients for further evaluation and/or treatment when necessary and document all information in electronic health record and electronic referral system; 18. Maintains client records in organized concise manner, integrated with other health department records; 19. Collaborates with other public and private health care providers to provide integrated, comprehensive services; 20. Collects program data for use in community health assessment and planning; 21. Provides and monitors TB drugs as assigned; 22. Provides support for the health department preparedness coordinator as assigned; MARGINAL FUNCTIONS 1. Performs supply inventory and data entry of information; 2. Performs school screening as trained (vision, hearing, growth, scoliosis, immunization status); 3. Works with Volunteer organizations (ACS, ADA, MoD, United Way, Salvation Army, CERT Team,) in programming and support work. 4. Procures and organizes brochures and other educational publications and audio-visual materials at the Health Department. 5. Provides community education to groups, schools, and the public as needed. Develops and displays health exhibits at appropriate events, such as health fairs. Promotes events such as Great American Smoke Out and Breast Cancer Awareness Month; 6. Promotes health department services such as flu shots, immunization clinics, and lead testing; 7. Utilizes the media effectively to promote and educate the public; 8. Performs other duties as deemed necessary or assigned. Requirements EDUCATION/TRAINING/EXPERIENCE:

Education: A high school diploma or GED, and graduation from an accredited School of Nursing. Employee should be a Registered Nurse and be currently licensed to practice in the State of Kansas. Experience: One year of similar or related experience is required. Employee is expected to have acquired the necessary information and skills to perform the job reasonably well within six months to one year of employment.

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The work environment and physical demand characteristics described here is representative and not intended to be fully inclusive of those an employee encounters while performing 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 is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Exposure to human blood and body fluids or communicable disease is possible. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY:

A thorough knowledge of nursing assessment skills, procedures and immunization techniques and a working knowledge of mathematics is required. The ability to operate medical equipment and phlebotomy with a high degree of accuracy is required. Employee must be able to read and interpret patient charts, reports, policies and written instructions, and make proper referrals. Excellent interpersonal relation and writing and oral communication skills are also required. Employee must have good driving skills and a current Kansas driving license.

Employee must be able to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Position requires the ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Employee must be able to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Person must possess the ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Employee must have knowledge of the principles of community education and knowledge of the significance of disease prevention measures in the improvement of public health. Employee must have knowledge of the social and economic forces in society that affect health. Person must have the ability to plan and adapt education measures to persons of diverse cultural, socioeconomic and age groups. Employee must have comprehensive knowledge of the principles of nursing practice with special emphasis on public health. Person must have assessment skills with the ability to develop a plan of care to enhance a positive outcome for the client.

Employee must conform to HIPAA privacy regulation specific to the position held. The employee creates and records protected health information (PHI). The employee is only authorized to use the information for categories for work performance. Disclosures are only allowed as necessary for treatment or to other providers/business associates or as required by law. Access to PHI and information is only allowed for health care opera