POSITION: Community Support Services (CSS) Advisor
STATUS: Full Time, 12 month Contract
REPORTS TO: Director of Client Experience & Engagement, DSORC
REQUIREMENTS: Vulnerable Sector Check
SALARY RANGE: $68,000-$78,000
The Champlain Community Support Network is a bilingual network of non-profit agencies that work together for a community where older adults and adults with disabilities have access to quality community health services that support and promote health, well-being, and independence.
The Community Support Services (CSS) Advisor is responsible for providing support, education, and coaching to targeted hospital patient populations within the hospital Emergency Department, staff and administrative services. This role directly supports the Ministry of Health’s Operational Directive: Home First (issued August 14, 2024). Home First is an approach whereby every effort is made to ensure adequate resources are in place to support patients to remain at home whenever possible and ultimately return home safely upon discharge from hospital.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
This position is an on site in-person role at The Ottawa Hospital (Civic Campus). The operational hours are 7:00 am to 2:30 pm Monday to Friday, with occasional flexibility required. The hours are 37.5 per week, including 30 minutes for lunch. One day per week will be remote to account for off-site meetings and administrative tasks.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The CSS Advisor provides support, education and coaching to targeted hospital patients, staff and administrative services to:
- Enhance understanding of the full spectrum of Community Support Services (CSS)
- Build capacity and knowledge in utilizing existing tools and mechanisms (Caredove, AccessCSS, Going Home, etc.) for referring patients to Community Support Services
- Build capacity and knowledge within the Community Support Sector to support referrals of clients from hospital
- Maintain and expand relationships across hospital and community organizations
- Provide timely access to CSS resources and referrals for patients prior to discharge
Duties include:
- Act as a resource to staff (including but not limited to the Emergency Department), physicians and managers in facilitating referrals to community support programs, and other community resources
- Provide coaching to patients and their families to guide them through the initiation of Community Support Services and their transition to home
- Foster relationships that facilitate a coordinated regional approach to the continuum of care; maintain linkages with acute care and sub acute care partners, as well as Community Support Services
- Coach staff on utilizing access mechanisms for patients to Community Support Services.
- Provide education through events, on the job coaching, and other strategies to share CSS information to hospital team, including updates and changes to services, and supporting patient referral planning
- Engage with other system access mechanisms (Going Home Program, Access CSS, Caredove, etc.) as well as CSS agencies to share experiences and opportunities based on observations in hospital, and to gather input and feedback from community services to inform hospital processes
- Work with collaborative team including Geriatric Emergency Management (GEM) Nurse, Social Worker, Ontario Health at Home & Geriatric team to support navigating patients ready for discharge from the Emergency department through the transition from hospital to community
- Identify opportunities to translate learnings into improvements to access and service models under the direction of the Champlain Community Support Network and the Ottawa Health Team- Equipe Sante Ottawa (OHT-ESO) Ontario Health Team (OHT).
- Prepare regular, brief reports on activities, learnings, outcomes, and key performance indicators, to share with the steering committee and other stakeholders
- Other administrative tasks as required
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Regulated healthcare worker (RN, RPN, SSW, BSW, MSW RSW) with more than 3 years experience in a community or hospital care environment
- Certificate of Registration from the College of Nurses of Ontario or Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, in good standing.
- Knowledge and experience of the community support service sector in the former Champlain region, including the continuum of services available, as well as key partner sectors.
- Strong understanding of the older adult population, and the complexity of their care needs
- Experience in Hospital Emergency department environment is an asset
- Bilingualism, English and French (read, write, speak and understand) is strongly preferred
- Customer-service oriented with solid administrative and time-management skills
- Intermediate experience in data collection and tracking mechanisms (1-3 years)
- Intermediate experience in education and coaching provision (1-3 years)
Candidates must:
- Live within/close to Ottawa-Renfrew County. Remote work is not permitted though the organization does provide a flexible hybrid working arrangement, working from home and from our Ottawa location.
- Possess a valid driver’s license and reliable access to a motor vehicle as some local travel will be required.
The Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County is committed to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from women, Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, 2SLGBTQI+ people, people living with disabilities, and other equity seeking groups. If you identify as a member of an equity seeking group, you may choose to identify as such in your application.
Please send your resume and cover letter to info@dsorc.org by Wednesday March 5th at 4pm EST. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
