Diabetes Care Assistant

Children's Wisconsin•Milwaukee, WI

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Diabetes Program services include the evaluation, treatment, education and adult transition of patients with diabetes. The Diabetes Care Assistant (DCA) partners with Nurse Case Manager and the clinical team to provide support and coordination services. The DCA works closely with families to link them to clinical, community and social resources as necessary and assumes responsibility of a patient/family caseload. The DCA must demonstrate skills in creative problem-solving, and have knowledge of the assets and challenges of the Diabetes population they are serving.

Requirements

High School graduate or Certificate of General Educational Development (GED) or High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) required
Graduate of an accredited Medical Assistant (MA) program required
2+ years experience in a related field with an emphasis on customer service required
Experience with electronic medical records and Microsoft applications including Word and Excel required
Proficient data entry skills with accuracy and speed.
Knowledge of the needs of low-income families and coping styles of families under stress.
Ability to navigate, coordinate multiple services, prioritize and multi-task to meet the needs of patients, parents, physicians and other hospital staff.
Physical ability to lift and position patients weighing up to 75 pounds, as well as push and pull when performing cleaning functions.
Frequently bends, lifts, twists, reaches, and squats.
Effective communication skills (oral and written) necessary for assessment of health concerns and referral for appropriate service delivery.
Ability to effectively interact with health team members and members of the community.
Demonstrated teamwork within the department and community by assisting other staff members and/or organizations as necessary.
Organizational skills necessary to maintain records coordinate clinic appointments and prioritize work independently.
Ability to concentrate and pay close attention to detail.
BLS-Basic Life Support Healthcare Provider - American Heart Association/American Red Cross/National Safety Council required

Nice To Haves

Associate's Degree preferred
Scheduling experience preferred
Experience working with families of diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds preferred

Responsibilities

Facilitates continuity of health care for participants in the Diabetes REACH Program by planning and exchanging information with provider staff (MDs/PAs/NPs/RNs/MAs) and other school, community health and social service agencies while preserving confidentiality.
Acts as a liaison between families, providers, schools, nursing agencies and other community agencies as appropriate.
Has knowledge and keeps updated on available community resources. Works closely with the Family Resource Center and Social Work to facilitate appropriate referrals.
Triages family calls, follow ups with appointments, forms needed and resources and communicates to RN/provider as appropriate.
Shares responsibility of managing patient/family caseload with Nurse Case Manager and works with all team members to assist in other care coordination activities.
Initiates proactive monthly telephonic communication with patients/families to assess needs and follow up on ongoing issues.
Assists with scheduling patient’s appointments and diagnostic testing through the use of the electronic health record.
Maintains and records appropriate documentation in electronic health record for each family and healthcare related contact.
Understands the roles of all team disciplines in order to orient and inform patients, families and referral sources about the Diabetes REACH Program and the team approach to care.
Provides timely and service oriented approach to telephone calls. Takes accurate messages and triages calls as appropriate.
Arranges transportation or assists families to arrange transportation.
Assists with follow up of patients following emergency or inpatient care as notified by tools and other forms of communication such as Patient Ping.
Completes school plans for patients as directed.
Treats patients, families, providers, visitors and co-workers courteously, and with respect.
Contacts insurance companies to initiate prior approval for supplies, medications and diagnostics tests.
Completes FMLA and other forms as directed.
Communicates with providers and staff to support and maintain optimal coordination of care.
Maintains confidentiality in handling all patient and program related matters.
Maintains ongoing list of program/clinic patients.
Participates as directed by nurse case manager in multidisciplinary clinic.
Attends monthly multidisciplinary operational/staffing meeting.
Obtains CITI training for the purpose of consenting patients for ongoing research studies.
Obtains and documents patient vital signs.
Performs point of care testing to include A1C testing.
Assists with the collection and documentation of patient information such as health screenings, allergies, and home medications. Reports any observations or concerns to the nurse or physician.
Communicates with Diabetes Clinical and leadership team issues related to clinic operations to maintain optimal patient care services.