Senior Medical Director

Description

Supervised by: Executive Director

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Office Day

Insurance Benefits: Medical, Dental, Life, Long-term Disability

Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible  Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per  year), Retirement Plan

Please include in your application a cover letter that includes a  statement regarding your interest in the role as well as DESC as an  agency.

About DESC:
DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization  working to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance  use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest  potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services,  treatment, and housing. Our vision is a community where no person is  abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.
 

As the region's leading provider of services to multiply disabled adults  who have experienced chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 2,000  people each day. Our integrated service model is designed to help people  secure and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is  recognized nationally and regionally as an innovator in developing  solutions to homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION:

The Senior Medical Director is a member of the senior leadership  team of DESC, oversees the psychiatric and other medical services  provided by DESC medical personnel, and coordinates with partner  organizations to bring additional healthcare services to DESC clients.   The Senior Medical Director is a physician, board certified in  psychiatry, who provides some direct clinical care to DESC clients.   Management responsibilities include oversight of a team comprised of  more than 40 personnel (as of March 2023) including nurses, nurse  practitioners, doctors, and others. This position directly supervises  the Director of Nursing, any other Medical Directors and other  physicians, and indirectly supervises all other DESC medical personnel.   This position has administrative duties associated with planning,  hiring, and quality assurance/improvement, represents the organization  externally, participates in leadership and management of the  organization overall, and organizes and collaborates with other health  system partners.  Additional activities include engagement on behalf of  DESC in related healthcare and public health system policy work, and  leadership support and/or direct involvement in DESC evaluation and  other research efforts.

The range of DESC-operated behavioral health services includes: 

• Outpatient mental health services for 1,200+ people with serious and persistent mental illness
• One high-fidelity Program for Assertive Community Treatment team
• Outpatient substance use disorder treatment
• Street outreach and engagement services for people with untreated serious psychiatric conditions
• Low-barrier buprenorphine induction and maintenance
• 20-bed short-term shelter program for people discharged from psychiatric hospitalization
• Multi-program Crisis Solutions Center providing mobile crisis  teams, licensed 16-bed residential treatment facility to divert people  in crisis from jails and hospitals, and step-down 30-bed facility
• Additional multi-disciplinary pre-crisis and post-crisis intensive support teams
• Overdose response including OD reversals and follow-up stabilization services

Additionally, many DESC behavioral health program clients live in  DESC-operated permanent supportive housing (~1,600 units) or emergency  shelter/emergency housing programs (~380 beds).  DESC doctors, nurses,  and mental health case managers visit clients in these facilities, and  some DESC mental health case managers are fully sited in those  locations.    Clients living in DESC-operated permanent supportive housing or  emergency shelter/emergency housing programs, whether or not enrolled in  DESC’s behavioral health services, express a wide range of health  conditions and needs. Physicians and nurses from partner organizations  such as Harborview Medical Center and Neighborcare Health are also sited  in various DESC locations.  DESC medical staff collaborate with these  partner clinicians to serve shared clients.    DESC also partners with Harborview Medical Center to jointly  operate the Clinic at Hobson Place, an integrated physical and  behavioral health clinic located in a DESC property but open to the  broader community.  

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:   

Administration, Planning, and Supervision 

• In coordination with the Executive Director, Clinical Programs  Direct