Part-Time Provider (Physician/NP/PA) - Night Shift
Schedule: Three (3) 12-hour shifts with at least a 30-minute lunch break, 7:00 pm – 7:30 am, over a two-week period.
Supervised by: ORCA Center Senior Medical Lead Physician
Insurance Benefits: Medical, Dental, Life, Long-term Disability
Other Benefits: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (17 days per year), Retirement Plan
Union Representation: This position is a part of a union and is represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW
About DESC:
Recognized nationally as an innovator and leader in developing solutions to homelessness, DESC is a social services organization, supportive housing operator, and licensed behavioral health treatment provider focused on meeting the needs of people experiencing long-term homelessness and living with complex behavioral health and other medical conditions. Approximately 3,000 people are actively receiving services from DESC at any given point in time. Our vision is a community where all people are shown compassion, treated with dignity, and everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.
DESC operates five shelter/emergency housing programs, 19 permanent supportive housing facilities with over 1,750 units, several hundred additional scattered site apartments, and a range of behavioral health services including outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment, residential crisis stabilization, street outreach, mobile crisis response, and treatment for opioid use disorder.
JOB OVERVIEW:
This role will provide direct clinical care within the DESC Opioid Recovery and Care Access (ORCA) Center. The ORCA Center is open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, including holidays. It offers four overlapping types of services, delivered by a team of prescribers, nurses, medical assistants and peer specialists, with operational leadership support:
- Care to individuals in stable condition who have experienced an opioid overdose, brought to the ORCA Center by first responders or transferred from local emergency departments.
- Rapid initiation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including buprenorphine (sublingual and long-acting injectable) and methadone (under the “72-hour rule”, or Code of Federal regulations Title 21 §1306.07 (b)), for people with opioid use disorder (OUD), regardless of whether an opioid overdose has recently occurred.
- Harm reduction counseling and OUD-related physical and behavioral health services, such as hepatitis C testing and treatment and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.
- Follow-up care, at the ORCA Center or at times field-based, with individuals who have started MOUD to ensure support in MOUD continuation.
This is a clinical role without administrative or supervisory duties.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Clinical Care
- Provide evidence-based treatment for OUD, including initiation and management of buprenorphine (sublingual and long-acting injectable) and, according to DESC protocols, methadone initiation.
- Conduct harm reduction counseling and provide services related to infectious diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis C, and HIV (including PrEP).
- Manage and treat conditions commonly seen in individuals with OUD, such as skin and soft tissue infections and linkage to mental health care.
- Perform initial health assessments and follow-up visits for individuals starting or continuing MOUD.
- Educate patients on health-related topics, treatment plans, and harm reduction strategies.
- Document clinical care in accordance with DESC and regulatory standards.
Care Coordination
- Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, peer specialists, and social workers to provide holistic care.
- Ensure continuity of care for individuals transitioning between ORCA Center services and other health care providers.
Professional Development
- Stay updated on best practices in addiction medicine and harm reduction through continuing education.
- Participate in in-service training and case discussions to maintain high clinical standards.