Community Paramedic

Description

Ocala Fire Rescue’s Community Paramedics provide high-quality care to patients in our community. This includes traditional paramedic functions as well as operating under an expanded scope of practice. Community paramedics must be able to identify weaknesses in our continuum of care and find innovative solutions to overcome them. Members of our team must possess an in-depth understanding of procedures and processes, attend meetings, schedule appointments, maintain equipment, and document meticulously, while maintaining punctuality and professionalism at all times.

Examples of Duties

The following list outlines the principal functions and scope of responsibility of this position, but should not be considered an exhaustive list of work requirements. Individuals may be assigned other duties, including working in different functional areas to cover absences or provide relief, to equalize peak work periods, or to balance the workload otherwise.

• Patient Care: Assess and treat patients, including emergent and non-emergent medical care, chronic disease management, and follow-up care.
• Field Visits: Schedule and conduct visits for patients referred to the program. This will require working in austere environments at times. Recognizing the importance of personal safety and the need for PPE, the community paramedic must be able to operate autonomously with due regard.
• Health Education and Health Literacy: The OFR Community Paramedic must be able to educate patients and their families on chronic disease management, injury prevention, medication compliance, and overall wellness.
• Care Coordination: The OFR Community Paramedic will collaborate with other healthcare professionals, such as social workers, nurses, and primary care providers, to ensure continuity of care.
• Care Planning: The OFR Community Paramedic will develop and implement care plans tailored to specific patients. The plan must be documented in the appropriate software system and communicated to all relevant parties involved in the patient’s care.
• Compliance: The OFR Community Paramedic will adhere to all applicable patient privacy and confidentiality standards and regulations, including HIPAA and CFR Part 42 requirements.
• Resource Navigation: Assist patients in accessing community resources and services.
• Data Collection: Maintain detailed records of patient interactions and health outcomes to support program reporting and continuous improvement.
• Crisis Intervention: Provide crisis intervention and connect patients to appropriate resources in cases of mental health crises or substance abuse situations.
• Preventative Healthcare: Administer vaccines, conduct screenings, and offer other preventative health services during field visits or community outreach events.
• Health Advocacy: Advocate for patient needs and ensure they receive the appropriate care and services.
• Emergency Response: Serve as a first responder when necessary, providing emergency medical care in the field.
• May perform specific tasks associated with specialized training and/or other duties as assigned.
• Assists with community events, such as health screenings and educating the public on medical procedures, as well as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
• Performs miscellaneous duties and administrative tasks, including station cleaning and general housekeeping, scheduling maintenance for vehicles and equipment, answering phone calls, taking and relaying messages, running reports, participating in training, extracting data, and preparing presentations of information
• Operates an assigned motor vehicle. The OFR Community Paramedic will maintain a clean vehicle inside and out. The OFR Community Paramedic will be responsible for adhering to all City of Ocala policies and procedures regarding the use of City vehicles, as well as requesting or scheduling services and/or repairs as needed.
• In the event of a declared state of emergency, employees may be called to work during days or hours other than those for which they are regularly scheduled.

Perform any other related duties as required or assigned

Minimum Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty mentioned satisfactorily.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

High school diploma or equivalent, 911 EMS experience

REQUIRED CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Must possess a valid Florida Driver’s License with an acceptable driving record.

Current Florida Paramedic Certificate, EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator’s Course),

Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support, CP-C Certification IBSC (Must have within 1-year of hire date)

PREFERRED CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

Pediatric Advanced Life Support, International Trauma Life Support

Supplemental Information

ANALYTICAL ABILITY / PROBLEM SOLVING MODERATELY DIRECTED

Activities covered by wide-ranging policies and courses of action and generally directed as to execution and review.

PLANNING

With regard to general assignments in planning time, method, manner and/or sequence of performance of own work.

CONSIDERABLE RESPONSIBILITY

in addition, the work operations of a group of employees, all performing Basically the same type of work.

DECISION MAKING

Performs work operations which permit opportunity for decision-making of minor importance. FREQUENTLY.

Performs work operations which permit opportunity for decision-making of major importance. FREQUENTLY.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze, and understand common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents; Ability to respond to complex or difficult inquiries or complaints.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ration, and percent and to prepare and interpret bar graphs.

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram formats.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Under general direction, WORKING FROM POLICIES AND GENERAL DIRECTIVES. RARELY REFERS SPECIFIC CASES TO supervisor unless clarification or interpretation of the organization’s policy is required.

MENTAL DEMAND

VERY CLOSE; Operations requiring very close and continuous attention for control of operations which require a high degree of coordination or immediate response.

USE OF MACHINES, EQUIPMENT AND/OR COMPUTER

Occasional use of highly complex machines and equipment; specialized or advanced software programs.

ACCURACY

Probable errors would not likely be detected until they reached another department, office or patron, and would then require considerable time and effort to correct the situation.

PUBLIC CONTACT

Extensive contacts with various diversified sectors of the public environment; wherein, the contacts are of extreme importance and failure to exercise proper judgment can lead to substantial losses to the organization.

EMPLOYEE CONTACT

Contacts of considerable importance within the department or office. Requires tact in discussing problems and presenting data and making recommendations.

SOFTWARE SKILLS REQUIRED

Accounting Basic

Alphanumeric Data Entry Advanced

Contact Management Basic

Database Advanced

Enterprise Resource Planning None

Human Resources Systems Basic

Payroll Systems None

Presentation/PowerPoint Intermediate

Programming Languages None

Spreadsheet Intermediate

Word Processing/Typing Intermediate

ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE SKILLS

Experience with EMS, ePCR, EHR or fire reporting is preferred.

OTHER SKILLS

Active listening, collaboration with large groups, note taking

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

While performing the functions of this job, the employee may be required to:

Stand Regularly

Walk Regularly

Sit Frequently

Use hands to handle or feel Regularly

Reach with hands and arms Regularly

Climb or balance Frequently

Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl Frequently

Talk or hear Continuously

Taste or smell Occasionally

WEIGHT LIFT REQUIREMENTS

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move:

Up to 100 pounds

VISION REQUIREMENT

Specific vision abilities required by this job may include:

Ability to adjust focus (work duties that require the ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus at various distances or focal lengths).

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

The following work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work near moving mechanical parts (spinning shafts, engines, lifts, etc.) Occasionally

Work in high, precarious places (tall structures, bucket lifts, extension ladders, etc.) Never

Fumes or airborne particles (painting, sanding, solvents, flying lint or dust particles, etc.) Regularly

Toxic or caustic chemicals (including potential for chemical spills, etc.) Never

Outdoor weather conditions (exposure to outdoor heat, cold or inclement weather) Occasionally

Wet or humid conditions (not weather-related, such as greenhouse, carwash, etc.) Regularly

Extreme cold (not weather-related, such as freezer, cold storage, etc.) Occasionally

Extreme heat not weather-related, such as furnace, kitchen, ovens, etc. where temp is regularly above 100 degrees F) Occasionally

Risk of electrical shock (live electrical wires, equipment that retains power after shutoff) Never

Work with explosives (TNT, dynamite, nitroglycerine or other related explosives) Never

Risk of radiation (x-ray equipment, nuclear radiation, electromagnetic radiation, etc.) Never

Vibration (jack hammer, soil compactor, equipment that creates high vibration, etc.) Never

The noise level in the work environment is usually Moderate (business office with computers/printers, light traffic, etc.)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g., emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technological developments).

The City of Ocala provides a competitive, comprehensive benefit package for all full-time employees.

Health Insurance

We offer both single and family coverage, for employees working 30 or more hours per week.

Dental Insurance

For full time employees, we offer both single and family dental coverage.

Vision Insurance

For full time employees, we offer both single and family vision coverage.

Life Insurance

For full time employees, the City of Ocala provides Basic Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberments policies as an employer paid benefit. Employees can opt for additional coverage such as supplemental voluntary life, spouse life, dependent life, and child life. For full time employees, the City of Ocala provides Basic Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberments policies as an employer paid benefit. Employees can opt for additional coverage such as supplemental voluntary life, spouse life, dependent life, and child life.

Short Term and Long Term Disability

Offered to full time employees, STD and LTD coverages are income replacement benefits that assist policyholders who are unable to work for an extended period of time due to sickness or accidental injury.

Medical FSA (Flexible Spending Account) and Dependent Care FSA

Flexible spending accounts allow employees to pay out-of-pocket medical, dental, vision, and dependent care expenses using pre-tax dollars.

Pet Insurance

We also offer special pet insurance for your pets in the case of illness or accidents, as well as preventative care.

Employee Health & Wellness Center

The City of Ocala offers the use of the City Clinic for those employees, and covered dependents over the age of 8, which have elected one of our health insurance plans. Services offered by the City Clinic include primary care, chronic disease management, labs, x-rays, and wellness coaching.

Voluntary Cancer Insurance

For full time employees, the cancer insurance policy can help provide security if you, or a covered dependent, suddenly become diagnosed with cancer.

Supplemental Critical Care Insurance

Our full time employees have the option of electing critical care insurance that is available to help with medical expenses that could arise from things such as a heart attack or stroke.

Supplemental Accident Insurance

Also available to full time employees, is our Accident Coverage. This supplemental plan can be used to help with expenses like MRI’s, physical therapy, and hospital admission.

Legal Plan Insurance

Full time employees can have access to local attorneys for a monthly fee and receive discounts on services such as legal consultation, wills, traffic violations and the purchase or sale of your home. The carrier also has a separate policy assisting with the matter of identity theft and social media monitoring.

Deferred Compensation Plan

Deferred compensation is available to all full-time employees at the time of employment. This benefit allows the employee to defer income without paying taxes until money is withdrawn. Current plan is administered through MissionSquare.

Direct Deposit

Direct deposit automatically deposits your net pay each pay period to your checking or savings account at your own financial institution. Direct deposit is a condition of employment for a person hired by the City.

Each pay period the employee receives an earnings statement showing gross pay, taxes, other deductions, accruals and net pay. Enrollment forms are available at Human Resources or Payroll.

Discounts – Theme Park

Discounts are available to all non-temporary employees at the time of employment.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The Employee Assistance Program is available to all full-time employees and members of your household as an employer paid benefit. The EAP offers emotional wellbeing support in the form as counseling sessions and all sessions are confidential. The EAP also provides daily life assistance, legal services, and financial services.

Holidays and Paid Time off

The City provides paid holidays and paid time off for full-time employees. Refer to the Employee Handbook for details.

Retirement Plan

All full-time employees hired after 10/01/2013, apart from Sworn Police Officers and Firefighters, are enrolled in the 401a Defined Contribution Retirement Plan with MissionSquare. All contributions to the 401a Defined contribution plan are pre-tax and earnings grow tax-deferred. The City contributes 8% and employees contribute 3%. City contributions are 100% vested after one year of employment. You will be enrolled automatically and should take time to review your investment options at your earliest convenience.

Training Programs

The City is committed to provide training programs for all departments and all positions. Risk Management conducts classes in Defensive Driving, Safety, and Insurance. With rare exceptions, classes are offered during working hours, and are open to all eligible employees.

Tuition Reimbursement

All regular, full-time employees are eligible to participate in the tuition reimbursement program.

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