Project Director

Position Summary

Under the direction of the Principal Investigator (PI), CHS Assistant Administrator, Co-PI and Chief Operating Officer Cermak Health Services at the Cook County Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the HAT Project Director (PD) will work with the CORE HIV and Hepatitis Clinic teams, outreach and Cermak staff to screen and link patients to HIV/HCV care. The PD is responsible for the overall day-to-day operation to include monitoring progress toward meeting program goals, developing program materials, confer with the Principal Investigator (PI), Chief Operating Officer Cermak Health Services at the Cook County Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and Program Advisors to identify and resolve problems and implement solutions as necessary. He/she works with the clinic multi-disciplinary team to link, engage and retain patients in HIV primary care. The PD will communicate with the multi-disciplinary team members daily and serve as a contact person for patient's needs. He/she will oversee the Patient Navigators and Phlebotomist stationed at Cermak and daily operations. Works with the Hepatitis Clinic staff as a team member in providing patient centered HCV screening and linkage to care. The PD may also provide reminder calls to patients regarding appointments, labs, and medication adherence issues. He/she will work with the care team and provide patient education on medication, treatment, insurance limitations and keep the treatment database up to date. Develops and implements the hepatitis hotline. Develops EMR prompts and educational materials related to HIV/HCV. He/she will assist with manuscript development and program marketing. The position is also responsible for preparing and submitting program progress reports to the IRB, CORE Executive Director and to the funder and functions as a liaison between the Principal Investigator, Cermak administration and clinical staff.

Specific Responsibilities Responsibility:

Supervises the PNs/ Phlebotomists and monitors programmatic goals.

Specific duties:

1. Provides weekly supervision to staff including annual performance review/evaluation.
2. Monitors linkage to care rates and addresses issues as
3. Implements and monitors the hepatitis hotline, and tracks
4. Works with CCH/HIS to develop EMR prompts and educational Cerner
5. Works closely with Cermak administration to implement lab procedures and follow up of positive HIV/HCV positive results.

Responsibility:

Provides patient, provider and community education on HIV/HCV and related topics to help implement routine HIV opt-out testing on the John H Stroger Campus, Specialty Clinics, Cermak Health, and the Ambulatory Community Health Network (ACHN). Encourage increase HCV testing in the patients who fall within the testing birth cohort of throughout Cook County Health (CCH) and provide guidance with linkage to care at the CORE Center HCV Assessment Clinic.

Specific Duties:

In collaboration with the PI, COO Cermak Health Services at the Cook County Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, consults with the Project's Advisors regarding program development and implementation.

1. Maintains collaboration with the PI, Cermak Administration, Providers and Nursing
2. Develops and helps implement HIV/HCV Policy and Procedures for clinic sites and
3. Promotes and explains the project and its objectives to medical providers and other members of the multi-disciplinary care team and to external community partners.
4. Provides training to clinical staff to help engage them in routine HIV opt-out testing & birth cohort HCV testing.

Responsibility: Prepares and submits progress reports and infographics internally and externally to the IRB, various stakeholders and the funder as well as providing Quality Assurance on all data utilized in reports.

Specific Duties:

1. Provides accurate and timely weekly/monthly reports of HIV/HCV screening activities in the clinics, John H. Stroger Hospital and Cermak.
2. Provides QA on all data entered by PN and
3. Prepares reports on linkage rates monthly and uses a PDSA cycle to improve
4. Represents the project at required
5. Presents pre-approved project at local and national
6. Other duties as

Communication

Responsibility: Facilitate effective communication between patients, team members, disciplines, and administrators

Specific Duties:

• Encourage effective communication by all team members
• Use of communication via message center, telephone, in person, & pager
• Communicate to managers/administrators when disciplines are not taking an active role during and between pre-clinic team huddles
• Facilitate communications related to the patient needs before the clinic visit, during and in between clinic visits
• Identify and communicate to the team patients lost to care and those considered at risk for being lost to care
• Communicate to team members operational issues which may impact the clinic functions during the session such as team members absences, who will be providing the services needed and how the flow of the clinic might be impacted

Data/Quality Improvement

Responsibility: Monitor team and clinic performance using data metrics and participate in continuous quality improvement efforts

Specific Duties:

• Use of Power BI and other data sharing tools
• Provide oversight in collaboration with Clinical Care Coordination Committee of clinical data for outcome measures and provides feedback to the team using a PDSA cycle to implement the changes as
• Maintains HAT database and submits reports to

Responsibility:

Prepares and submits linkage data into system-wide database on positive HIV/HCV cases within CCH and perform routine quality assurance on data provided.

Specific Duties:

1. Maintain access to Cerner patient medical charts
2. Review patient charts to look for followed up testing, care, and appointments
3. Enter linkage data into database, to include but not limited to patient viral load, CD4 counts, risk factor and outcomes.
4. Perform Quality assurance on previously entered data to ensure data is most current and accurate for newly and known cases of HIV/HCV.
5. Shares HIV/HCV quarterly reports with CCH leadership for CQI

Qualifications

Two years or more of experience in health care settings, health education in the HIV field, and/or project management. Bachelor's degree required; Masters' preferred. Prior experience in the hepatitis field, emergent care settings, and familiarity with justice involved populations such as detainees or clinical research, preferred. Familiarity with infographics, Microsoft Power Point and Excel preferred. Spanish speaking a plus. Must have a car for travel to different sites and proof of insurance. Strong oral and written communication skills required. Demonstrated ability to communicate and work with a culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse care team.