Community HEALTH NURSE II Tuberculosis Nurse

Main Purpose of Job

The main purpose of this Community Health Nurse II (CHN II) position is to provide communicable disease prevention, surveillance, and control activities in both a community and clinical setting with a primary focus on tuberculosis. This position provides nurse case management, contact tracing, tuberculosis treatment and prophylaxis, direct observation therapy, follow-up, and education to tuberculosis patients and suspects in Howard County.

Also assists with surveillance activities to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. This position assists in the daily operations of Howard County Health Department (HCHD) providing direct nursing care to patients in various community settings and HCHD clinics. The work may be performed at patients' homes, schools, and other community settings to provide community health nursing services to individuals, families, and the community.

Provides assessment, education, and assistance to patients in understanding present health status with consideration for social determinants and provides counseling, guidance, referral, and treatment of physical, mental, and emotional health needs to patients, their families, and other caregivers. This position is NOT eligible for telework.

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Howard County Health Department
8930 Stanford Blvd.
Columbia, MD 21045

• Coordinates the care of a selected caseload of patients for referred services.
• Provides outpatient clinical care; managing active TB cases or outbreaks;
• Conducts patient home visits as needed for TB treatment.
• Undertakes epidemiological investigations of infectious diseases (tuberculosis) reported to the health department using Maryland Department of Health (MDH) protocols and standards in order to control infectious diseases in the county.
• Ensures that tuberculosis case investigations are initiated and completed using HCHD/MDH workflow, protocols, forms, and data systems.
• Completes electronic database records of tuberculosis cases, ensuring record review of cases for accuracy and completeness.
• Records health status of patients, treatments administered, and other appropriate information in the patients' record accurately and timely, and reports to the clinician and TB supervisor as indicated.
• Ensures that reports are completed per HCHD and MDH guidelines and protocols.
• Responds to calls, voicemails, emails, faxes from medical community, labs, and general public related to tuberculosis.
• Assist in identifying intervention needs associated with tuberculosis and helps to lead health department response for case management.
• Provides guidance for isolation measures to affected individuals, families, community members as needed.
• Initiates and completes contact studies for infectious cases - tuberculosis.
• Tracks treatment progress of patients with infectious illness - tuberculosis per HCHD/MDH guidelines and processes.
• Follows up with clients to ensure compliance with recommended guidance via phone, email, letters, or home visit if needed.
• Confers with TB team and medical director during case rounds regarding management of identified cases.
• Functions as a HCHD SME for HCHD/MDH/CDC recommendations, protocols, and public health management of infectious diseases - tuberculosis.
• Writes timely and accurate disease summary reports for HCHD and/or MDH as directed.
• Reports to TB supervisor and medical director all unusual cases, outbreak activity, emerging diseases, and any problematic issues.
• Phlebotomy as needed as related to CD functions
• Administers injections to adults and children as related to CD functions.
• Review and maintain program policy and procedures
• Conducts and maintains accurate medication inventory and supply records;
• Collaborates with medical director, providers, other TB program staff to ensure effective service delivery
• Attends necessary or required meetings
• Collaborates with medical director for educational materials
• Responsible for data management to include gathering, organization, review and presentation of data to supervisor;
• Participates in TB program community outreach and formal presentations
• Performs DOTs (Directly Observed Therapy) and/or reviews VDOTs…