Community Health Nurse II

About the Role

The main purpose of this Community Health Nurse II (CHN II) position is to provide communicable disease prevention, surveillance, and control activities in both a community and clinical setting with a primary focus on tuberculosis. This position provides nurse case management, contact tracing, tuberculosis treatment and prophylaxis, direct observation therapy, follow-up, and education to tuberculosis patients and suspects in Howard County. It also assists with surveillance activities to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and provides direct nursing care to patients in various community settings and Howard County Health Department (HCHD) clinics. This position is NOT eligible for telework.

Responsibilities

• TB Case Manager (70%):
  • Coordinates the care of a selected caseload of patients for referred services.
  • Provides outpatient clinical care, manages active TB cases or outbreaks, and conducts patient home visits as needed.
  • Undertakes epidemiological investigations of infectious diseases (tuberculosis) using Maryland Department of Health (MDH) protocols.
  • Ensures tuberculosis case investigations are completed using HCHD/MDH workflow, protocols, forms, and data systems.
  • Maintains electronic database records, ensures accuracy, and completes reports per guidelines.
  • Responds to inquiries from the medical community, labs, and the public related to tuberculosis.
  • Assists in identifying intervention needs and leads health department response for case management.
  • Provides guidance for isolation measures and conducts contact studies for infectious cases.
  • Tracks treatment progress, follows up with clients, and confers with the TB team during case rounds.
  • Functions as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for HCHD/MDH/CDC recommendations and protocols.
  • Writes disease summary reports and reports unusual cases or outbreaks to supervisors.
  • Performs phlebotomy and administers injections as needed.
  • Maintains medication inventory, collaborates with medical staff, and participates in community outreach.
  • Provides assessments of social determinants of health and makes appropriate referrals.
• Clinic Nurse (20%):
  • Provides flexible coverage for communicable disease and immunization programs.
  • Assists in communicable disease investigation, surveillance, and outbreak management.
  • Manages contact tracing and administers immunizations according to guidelines.
  • Provides patient education on immunizations and assesses social determinants of health.
  • Records health status, immunizations, and treatments in patient records.
  • Evaluates nursing interventions and recommends revisions.
• Quality Assurance and Reporting (10%):
  • Assists in report preparation, data collection, and analysis for program development.
  • Participates in meetings, chart reviews, audits, and case study presentations.
  • Attends professional development and complies with infection control standards.
• Standard Nursing Duties (5%):
  • Participates in special projects, vaccine clinics, and nurse trainings.
  • Orients new staff and cross-trains HCHD staff and nursing students.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited college or university.
• Experience: None required, but substitutions are allowed:
  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field + 1 year of Registered Nurse experience.
  • 2 years of Registered Nurse experience.
  • U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in Nursing classification or specialty codes.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience providing case management services.
• Experience conducting nursing assessments and communicating findings to clinicians.
• Experience in communicable disease prevention and control, preferably tuberculosis.
• Experience performing phlebotomy.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive/SharePoint, and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.

Licenses and Certifications

• Current license as a Registered Nurse from the Maryland State Board of Nursing.
• Valid motor vehicle operator’s license in Maryland (if assigned driving duties).