Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 6), Asheville VA Medical Center, Office of the Director, Asheville, NC. The Patient Relations Assistant provides interaction with patients and their families and assists in the administration support of the Veterans Experience Office. Responsibilities MAJOR DUTIES Customer Service As a direct support staff member to the Patient Experience Officer and Veterans Experience office, the incumbent shares in the joint management relationship of planning and execution of the service. The Patient Relations Assistant provides essential administrative support to the professional and administrative staff and coordinates the Veterans Experience and Patient Advocacy program with other services within the Western North Carolina VA Medical Center and the Executive Office. The incumbent has full, direct, and delegated responsibility and authority to act for the Veterans Experience office in all matters relating to the service that do not require a professional or technical decision. The Patient Relations Assistant is responsible for providing the PEO or Patient Advocate Supervisor with complete information and specific recommendations concerning all administrative aspects of the service. The incumbent addresses patient questions and concerns regarding their health care and/or administrative issues as well as interaction with clinical and administrative staff within the various clinical areas as well as throughout the medical center. The incumbent keeps the PEO or PAS advised of trends, problems and patient issues. Provides advisory and technical assistance to patients, administrative staff and professional staff regarding service recovery needs. Directs patients to proper areas and replies appropriately to requests for information from patients and visitors in patient related matters. Administration and Management The incumbent assists in receiving and handling Veteran concerns ensuring that quality service is rendered in a timely, competent and caring manner. Researches problems and/or review issues and requests related information regarding provisions for medical care, eligibility, etc. Conducts investigations and follow-up as needed. Is responsible for accurately recording patient inquires and problem resolutions using the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS). Prepares and/or assists Service Level Advocate Key Audits, reports, and account updates. Incumbent performs day to day operations related to the overall administrative and logistical functions of the Veteran Experience office including monitoring the PEO and PAS's calendar, making appointments and arranging meetings, make arrangements for such meetings by reserving space, setting the specific time, and contacting all personnel expected to attend. Incumbent transmits agenda and all necessary background material to participants and advises them of the topics to be discussed. Incumbent answers phones greet visitors and controls all correspondence. Receives all incoming mail for the service. Determines whether correspondence should be brought to the attention of the PEO, referred to appropriate personnel, or handled personally. Follows up on incoming mail to insure timely and appropriate action. Reviews all outgoing correspondence for neatness, accuracy, adherence to established format, and adherence to the Medical Center's policies. Prepares correspondence, such as routine official correspondence, personal acknowledgements, congratulatory letters, and routine office reports. Takes and dispatches minutes of committees for which the PEO has responsibility. Analyze, track, and forward suspense, Congressional, and appeals received from the Director's Office to the appropriate parties in the Veteran Experience office for response. Reviews suspense for accuracy before forwarding the completed suspense to the Director's Office for close-out. Initiates, constructs, provides input, and reviews Issue Briefs that involve the Veteran Experience office. Receives calls requesting patient or employee information. Screens calls to determine purpose of requested information and, as appropriate, releases only authorized information or forwards calls to proper services. Assist with responding to inquiries from congressional staff members, veterans service organizations, community groups, and others whose interests are in assisting veterans, on matters involving patient services or dissatisfaction. Evaluates patients' specific consumer concerns and/or dissatisfaction and makes independent decisions for appropriate referrals. Anticipates patient related Customer Service problems and attempts to prevent their recurrence when possible. Notifies supervisor of problems as appropriate. Interprets to patients and/or family member's general information about VA health care regulations and VAMC policies and procedures. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 0730 - 4:00PM M-F Telework: This position is only approved for Ad-Hoc Telework with prior approval required. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Relations Asst/PD043910 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/02/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: .Receiving and handling Veteran concerns/complaints in a timely, competent, and caring manner over the phone and/or within the office setting; research problems and/or review issues and requests related to medical care; and providing administrative assistance to the organization. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Conflict Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Interpersonal Skills Technical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary but on occasion might require walking, bending, standing, carrying light items, or assisting patients in a wheelchair. The position demands emotion.al stability as the Patient Relations Assistant can become involved with situations of anger, hostility, and seriously ill/death/dying patients and their family members. Must possess empathy, patience, compassion, tact, diplomacy, and good communication skills in this position. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.