Patient/ Donor Counseling Specialist- Bilingual

Versiti is a fusion of donors, scientific curiosity, and precision medicine that recognize the gifts of blood and life are precious. We are home to the world-renowned Blood Research Institute, we enable life saving gifts from our donors, and provide the science behind the medicine through our diagnostic laboratories. Versiti brings together outstanding minds with unparalleled experience in transfusion medicine, transplantation, stem cells and cellular therapies, oncology and genomics, diagnostic lab services, and medical and scientific expertise. This combination of skill and knowledge results in improved patient outcomes, higher quality services and reduced cost of care for hospitals, blood centers, hospital systems, research and educational institutions, and other health care providers. At Versiti, we are passionate about improving the lives of patients and helping our healthcare partners thrive.

The position exists to manage donor eligibility status and to perform processes that follow from that status. Objectives include counseling donors regarding all aspects of eligibility, processes of health history deferral management, units quarantined due to eligibility issues, post donation information, abnormal test follow up, re-entry, transfusion associated incidents and case follow up, and donor incident (injury/reaction) follow up. A high degree of completeness and accuracy is expected. The incumbent may work individually, but also within a group to coordinate the accomplish all daily tasks; and participates in peer-review second checks. The expert level of donor criteria knowledge acts as a resource to other departments.

• Act as the bilingual expert(s) when communicating with Spanish-preferred speaking donors during the course of the routine work described.
• Counsels donors regarding the significance of their infectious disease testing results as well as their reason for health history deferrals; ie. Positive test results for HIV, HCV, HBV, Syphilis, HTLV, high risk behaviors for relevant transfusion transmitted disease, and other testing and pertinent health history issues related to donor and recipient safety.
• Process daily health history deferrals as well as deferrals stemming from recruitment, website, donor calls, apheresis, special collections, etc. (Note: Donor Services will usually have performed entry, and DM reviews by exception based on specific needs.) If not automated, deferral entry including accurate time frames, succinct entry of reason comments if needed, and additional donor notification/education as needed. Facilitate information to/from personal physicians to blood center physicians regarding donor medical conditions in order to accurately capture details and ensure donor eligibility or deferral for future donation. Ensure necessary record releases obtained.
• Initiate and complete post-donation-information cases resulting from daily health history deferrals, donor callbacks, or other sources which encompasses donor acceptability and donation suitability tasks.
• When called upon by other departments, assist with obtaining or clarifying health history to establish release or discard of collected donations.
• Perform duties related to abnormal test findings: monitoring/updating deferrals, succinct entry of reason comments, ordering, monitoring for and entry of additional test results if needed, lookback for potentially available prior products, required notifications to donor/MD/Health department, recipient tracing initiation and case follow-up, counseling of donors on significance of tests and eligibility, etc. Tests include standard infectious disease panel, hemoglobin screening, rare red cell donors, red blood cells, and Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) aby screening, platelet and white blood cell counts, etc.
• Request testing and perform reentry of donor with prior non-confirmed test results when eligible.
• Perform duties related to donor incident follow up including contacting donors, advising on suitable follow up, entry of data into appropriate software, etc. Escalating case to Supervisor of Donor Incidents or Medical Liaison when needed.
• Investigate transfusion-associated events reported by transfusion services or other reliable sources such as health departments or treating physicians through case completion.
• Ensure donors are eligible or deferred, and products are released or discarded according to regulations, donor eligibility, and Versiti policy when performing deferral, post donation information, quarantine disposition, test result lookback, re-entry, and transfusion investigation tasks.
• Other duties as assigned, such as document annual review, electronic case work entry, investigating returned mail, record management, data collection of department productivity, filing, copying/faxing/emailing, etc.
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all policies and standards

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in science/allied health field, RN, or MT required

Experience

• 4-6 years in health-related field working with donor/patients required
• Direct health care experience or infectious disease education/counseling preferred
• Degree requirement may be substituted with equivalent combination of education and/or commensurate experience in blood banking exclusively at the discretion of management. required
• Exceptional communication skills in English and Spanish required
• Must successfully pass Spanish competency exam to maintain proficiency required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills in both English and Spanish, demonstrating working proficiency to manage donor interactions in both languages. Versiti’s language certification required. required
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as Standard Operating Procedures, safety rules, corporate insurance rules and documents, and other department manuals. required
• Must have basic mathematical aptitude such as adding and subtracting two-digit numbers and multiplication and division, money, and statistical averages, rates, and frequencies. required
• Strong assessment and problem-solving skills. Ability to apply judgment to detailed written or oral instructions and to deal with problems involving variables in work including frustrated, distraught donors and their family. required
• Able to organize work to provide productive work flow when multi-tasking and with multiple work priorities. Exercises resourcefulness and initiative to be able to complete a variety of tasks and duties with minimal supervision. required
• Fosters and maintains a professional environment. Work independently and with minimal supervision with all levels of management, staff and health care professionals, internally and externally. required
• Gains and maintains technical expertise in adverse events. Ability to collect and document pertinent details, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. required
• Strong interpersonal and effective written and oral communication skills. Ability to document events utilizing medical terminology as related to the treatment of injury/reaction. Able to be assertive without being autocratic to solve problems. Interacts with donors, staff, customers, etc. via phone, email, letter, and in-person. Provides an exceptional experience to donors and other customers. required
• Ability to interact with others to build relationships in a confidential manner. Maintains confidentiality regarding sensitive donor and associate information. required
• Ability to effectively tailor messages to audience with empathy, and professionalism. Ability to acknowledge and recognize verbal and non-verbal cues and respond appropriately. Strong listening and verbal communication skills including the ability to convey factual information and assure understanding while remaining compassionate. Ability to interact calmly and professionally in adverse situations. required
• Maintains knowledge of and observes all applicable regulatory requirements and practices, including current Good Manufacturing Practices; e.g. AABB, FDA, State/County Departments of Health, and Versiti policies and procedures. required
• Follows universal precautions and protective measures required by Versiti and outside regulatory agencies. Incumbent may be exposed to blood or body fluids or be in areas which contain these items. required

Tools and Technology

• Personal Computer (desk top, lap top, tablet) required
• General office equipment (phones, computer, printer, fax, copy machine) required
• Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) required
• Virtual meeting technologies required
• Reporting and statistic software by Versiti insurer(s) required
• Cell phone for on-call and reading company emails required

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