Health Service Upper Management

Agency Name: Tri-County Opportunities Council

Program Name: Early Head Start/Head Start Program

Job Title: Health Specialist

Reports to: Program Operations Manager

Status: Full Time; Full Year Position; Salary/Wage based off degree level and experience

Educational Requirements: Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or a Registered Nurse (RN) with a current Illinois license. A valid driver’s license, excellent driving record, and previous experience in pediatric health, public health, or health management systems are required.

Skills/Characteristics/Physical Requirements:
Demonstrated ability to establish a relationship of trust, respect and non-judgmental attitude when working with children, parents, staff and the community-at-large. Ability to work with individuals from various economics, educational and cultural backgrounds. Must be adaptable, flexible and emotionally mature. Must have excellent oral and written communication skills. Must be computer literate. Must have the ability to multi-task and manage time effectively. Must be able to travel within the nine county service area to perform job duties. Must be able to attend in-area and out-of-area meetings and trainings as related to continued enhancement of job-related duties and skills. Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a contributing member of an established management team. Must have the ability to be self-directed as well as the ability to follow supervisor direction. Must possess excellent problem-solving, conflict resolution, negotiation and leadership skills. Must maintain confidentiality. Must pass a general physician’s health examination and TB test prior to employment and every two years thereafter. Must obtain and maintain certification in First Aid and CPR; may be required to obtain trainer certification in both First Aid and CPR. Employment in this position is contingent on cleared criminal background check, cleared background check as per the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Licensing Standards and Policy Council approval.

Essential Duties, Functions and Responsibilities:

Policies and Procedures:

Must be knowledgeable of, and adhere and contribute to the program’s full compliance with:

• Head Start/Early Head Start Program Performance Standards, particularly those in the areas of health services, i.e. medical health, dental health, health and safety and Health Services Advisory Council.
• Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Licensing Standards, specifically those on required health procedures for children and health, safety and sanitation requirements for classroom facilities and those in the Child Care Act regarding child abuse and neglect and the mandated reporting requirements.
• Illinois Department of Public Health requirements as they relate to the program.
• Tri-County Opportunities Council Personnel Policies and other related agency policies and procedures.
• Tri-County Opportunities Council Head Start procedural manuals as they relate to this position.

Must act in accordance with the grantee agency and the Head Start/Early Head Start program’s mission statements.

Must adhere to grantee code of conduct and the Head Start/Early Head Start Code of Ethics.

Medical Health Services Responsibilities:

Management and Coordination Responsibilities:

• Contract annually with physicians and other medical providers to provide services to enrolled Head Start/Early Head Start children.
• Negotiate annual contracts or collaborative agreements with area health departments for the provision of medical health support to the Head Start program.
• Review all applications at the time of completion. Input data into the ChildPlus.net software tracking system.
• Direct responsibility for ensuring all children and pregnant women have required medical examinations and that immunizations are up-to-date as per DCFS requirements prior to the child beginning class.
• Ensure all needed medical follow-up is completed within required time frames.
• Direct responsibility for ensuring there are systematic procedures in place to familiarize parents with the requirements and purpose of all medical screenings and services.
• Ensure that each child and pregnant woman with a known or suspected medical health problem received appropriate examinations and/or diagnostic testing and treatment.
• Assist the Family and Community Service Workers in assisting families to find a medical home for future medical care.

Services to Children and Families:

• Direct responsibility for facilitation of Individual Health Plan (IHP’s) development on children who require special medical services.
• Complete blood pressure checks and rechecks on children, if needed.
• Prepare and submit an end-of-the-year health summary, birth certificate and acceptable physicals for all children with signed consents to the parent or school which the child will be transitioning to.

Dental Health Responsibilities:

Management and Coordination Responsibilities:

• Contract annually with dentists to provide services to enrolled children.
• Direct responsibility for ensuring all children receive dental screenings and any needed follow-up is completed within required Head Start time frames.
• Ensure there are systematic procedures to inform parents of dental health requirements.
• Ensure there are procedures and systems in place to familiarize children with dental services prior to appointments.
• Assist Family and Community Service Workers in assisting families to find a dental home for all future ongoing dental health care.

Services to children and families:

• Collaborate with Family Specialist and Health Assistant to arrange transportation to dental care appointments as needed. Required to take responsibility for directly transporting children to dental appointments as per staff time constraints and need.
• Facilitate well water testing as requested by family and provide education to parents when fluoride is found to be below normal levels.
• Prepare and submit an end-of-the-year health summary and acceptable dental exams for all children with signed consents to the parent or school which the child will be transitioning to.

Program Design and Management Responsibilities:

Professional Development:

• Collaborate with management staff to provide relevant medical and dental health training at pre-service sessions.
• Teach First Aid and CPR training for all staff on an as needed basis.
• Provide annual OSHA training to all staff.
• Provide relevant medical and dental training and technical assistance to staff as requested.

The Health Specialist will develop and teach the nutrition section of the Head Start Essentials course.

Site Discussions:

• Direct responsibility for preparation for and participation in scheduled site discussions for all options within assigned service area.

Home-Base Options:

• Cooperate with Education Specialist to ensure all children enrolled in the home-based option receive the same medical and dental health services as center-based classes.

Recordkeeping and Reporting:

• Direct responsibility for insuring all required documentation as per the medical and dental health areas is completed thoroughly and in a timely manner.
• Responsible for regular (at least monthly) review of relevant administrative reports from ChildPlus.net software tracking system to ensure effective monitoring of program services. Responsible for sharing benchmarks and concerns with Child Education and Health Services Manager.
• Submit monthly report of health services updates for program board report.

Child Education and Health Services Responsibilities:

Collaborate with Head Start/Early Head Start health and education managers and specialists to:

• Develop and annually update the program’s health curriculum.
• Health and wellness activities for children, staff and families.
• Direct responsibility for annual update of all health and dental sections of the Child Education and Health Services written area service plan.

Health Services Advisory Council:

• Direct responsibility for planning and facilitating a minimum of two Health Services Advisory Council meetings.
• Recruit members to serve on the Health Services Advisory Council.
• Develop and distribute agendas to the meetings.
• Develop and distribute a minimum of one newsletter to Health Service Advisory Council members annually.

Early Head Start:

• Complete licensing observations at centers by the Department of Children and Family Services.

Team Participation:

Responsibilities to the Program Operations Manager:

• Maintain respectful, open and regular communication.
• Complete assignments as directed.
• Collaborate on projected budget for medical and dental health activities and training and technical assistance needs.

Responsibilities to the T.C.O.C. Head Start/Early Head Start management team:

• Annually update the medical and dental health sections of the written service delivery plan.
• Assist with updates to the safety sections of other written service delivery plans, as requested.
• Participate in the program-wide effort to identify and document sources of non-Federal revenue.
• Attend and present at Policy Council meetings as requested.
• Assist with the annual update of the Teacher’s Manual as requested.
• Contribute to the program’s staff and parent newsletters.
• Provide information to be included in the program’s semi-annual report to the Regional Office as requested.

Program Planning and Evaluation:

• Provide statistical information for the Head Start/Early Head Start annual Program Information Report (PIR).
• Serve as a member of the program’s annual self-assessment team. Assist the Program Operations Manager to identify other medical and dental health community providers to serve on the team.
• Assist, if requested, with data collection and information for update to the program’s Community Assessment.
• Work cooperatively with grantee agency staff, program staff, Board, Policy Council and the community-at-large to develop and implement short-term goals and objectives as per the program’s self-assessment process and to develop and implement long-range goals as per the Head Start/Early Head Start strategic plan.
• Responsible for insuring all documentation related to the requirements of the medical and dental health components is completed in a timely manner.

Confidentiality:

The person filling this position must abide by the program’s confidentiality policy and Code of Ethics regarding children, family, staff and/or agency matters.

Non-Essential Duties, Functions and Responsibilities:

• Serve as a member on one or more of the T.C.O.C. Head Start/Early Head Start special committees or participate in special initiative projects other than those listed in the essential duties section of this position description.
• In accordance with the team philosophy of the T.C.O.C. Head Start/Early Head Start Program, the person filling this position may be requested to carry out other tasks in addition to the duties listed in this job description.

Meetings, Trainings and Professional Development:
The person filling this position is required to attend the following:

Meetings:

• All scheduled central staff meetings.
• Policy Council meetings as requested.
• Committee meetings as they relate to medical or dental health activities.
• Annual self-assessment meetings.
• Family and Community Service Worker meetings as requested.
• Site Supervisor meetings as requested.
• Other meetings as may be requested by the Program Operations Manager.

Trainings:

• Annual pre-service and in-service sessions for teaching staff and ‘all’ staff; nutrition and transportation meetings if requested by the Program Operations Manager.
• Annual central staff retreat.
• Strategic planning retreat, if requested.
• Other trainings as may be requested by the Program Operations Manager.

Professional Development:

• Responsible for attending training or completing other requirements as may be necessary for retaining professional nursing license.
• As a method of continued professional development, the person filling this position may be eligible for in-area and out-of-area training, classes or conferences as recommended by the Program Operations Manager and in accordance with time and budget constraints.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid sick time
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

License/Certification:

• RN License (Preferred)
• LPN (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Rock Falls, IL 61071 (Preferred)

Ability to Relocate:

• Rock Falls, IL 61071: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person