Purpose

Participates in the provision of safe, quality patient care as delegated by the Registered Nurse through support of the standards and philosophies of Jackson County Regional Health Center.

Essential Job Functions

• Patient Care and Monitoring:
• Assisting with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): CNAs help patients with basic needs such as bathing, dressing, grooming, feeding, toileting, and mobility assistance.
• Vital Signs Monitoring: They take and record patients' vital signs, such as blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respiration rates, and report any abnormal findings to nursing staff.
• Assist with Mobility: Helping patients move, such as transferring from bed to chair, walking, or repositioning in bed to prevent pressure ulcers.
• Monitoring and Reporting Patient Condition: Observing patients for changes in condition and reporting concerns to the nursing staff. This includes noticing signs of distress or discomfort.
• Patient Hygiene and Comfort:
• Bathing and Hygiene Assistance: CNAs assist with patients' personal hygiene, including bathing, brushing teeth, and maintaining oral care.
• Changing Bed Linens: Ensuring that patients have clean bedding and maintaining the cleanliness of the patient’s environment.
• Documentation and Reporting:
• Recording Observations: Accurate documentation of patient information, including vital signs, daily activities, and patient responses to treatments, is vital.
• Reporting Changes: CNAs inform nurses and other healthcare professionals of any changes in the patient's health or behavior.
• Assisting with Medical Procedures:
• Supporting Nurses and Doctors: CNAs may assist in basic medical procedures, such as helping to prepare equipment or patients for procedures, although they are not responsible for performing medical treatments.
• Handling Medical Equipment: Setting up and maintaining medical equipment under the supervision of a nurse.
• Patient Safety and Comfort:
• Preventing Falls and Injuries: CNAs assist in making sure the patient's environment is safe and free from hazards to prevent falls and other injuries.
• Comfort Measures: Offering comfort to patients by providing pillows, blankets, or positioning them in a way that alleviates discomfort.
• Feeding and Nutritional Support:
• Assisting with Meals: Helping patients with feeding if necessary, ensuring they are getting the correct food or fluids, and monitoring their intake.
• Monitoring Dietary Restrictions: Following any prescribed dietary restrictions or modifications based on the patient's health needs.
• Collaboration with Healthcare Team:
• Team Support: CNAs work closely with registered nurses, physicians, and other hospital staff to provide holistic patient care.
• Effective Communication: Communicating patient needs and updates to the healthcare team effectively and promptly.
• Infection Control and Cleanliness:
• Maintaining Clean Environment: Ensuring that the patient’s room, equipment, and surroundings are kept clean and hygienic.
• Following Infection Control Protocols: Adhering to hospital infection control procedures such as hand hygiene, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and maintaining sterilized environments.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Assist with daily activities: CNAs help patients with basic activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and feeding.
• Monitor patients' health status: CNAs take vital signs like blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respiration rates, and report any changes to the nursing staff.
• Assist with mobility: Help patients move around, including assisting with walking, transferring to/from beds, and using assistive devices (wheelchairs, walkers).
• Positioning patients: Reposition patients in bed to prevent pressure ulcers and ensure comfort.
• Assist with toileting: Help patients use the restroom or assist with the use of bedpans, urinals, or catheters.
• Assist nurses and doctors: CNAs support the nursing team by preparing patients for examinations, assisting with medical procedures, and carrying out simple medical tasks under supervision.
• Help with documentation: CNAs may assist in documenting patient care activities and observations in medical records, ensuring accurate and timely reporting.
• Prepare equipment and supplies: They ensure that medical supplies and equipment are properly sterilized, maintained, and readily available.
• Provide companionship: CNAs offer emotional support to patients, especially those who may feel lonely or anxious, by offering conversation, reassurance, or simply being present.
• Address patient concerns: CNAs may listen to and relay patient concerns to nurses and doctors, ensuring patients’ emotional and psychological needs are met.
• Encourage mobility and rehabilitation: Support patients with physical therapy exercises or encourage them to maintain activity as part of their recovery process.
• Assist with hygiene routines: CNAs help with oral care, bathing, and dressing, ensuring that patients maintain proper hygiene, especially in intensive care settings.
• Infection control practices: They follow strict hygiene and infection control protocols, such as handwashing and using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), to prevent the spread of infections.
• Assist with meals: CNAs help feed patients, especially those who are unable to feed themselves, and ensure they are receiving the correct meals as prescribed.
• Monitor food intake: They may record how much food and fluid the patient consumes and report concerns regarding their nutritional status.
• Ensure patient safety: CNAs observe patients for signs of distress, changes in behavior, or any safety concerns, ensuring patients’ environments are safe (e.g., no fall hazards).
• Prevent falls: They assist with ambulation and positioning to prevent falls and injuries, particularly for patients who are weak, elderly, or high fall risk.
• Report to nursing staff: CNAs report any changes in a patient’s condition, behavior, or symptoms to the nurse or healthcare team, ensuring that appropriate care is provided.
• Work within a team: CNAs collaborate with nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to ensure that patient care is comprehensive and coordinated.
• Assist with medical procedures: CNAs might assist with basic medical tasks such as applying bandages, changing dressings, collecting specimens for lab tests, and supporting more complex procedures under supervision.
• Transport patients: CNAs may transport patients to different departments or areas within the hospital, including for tests, procedures, or specialist consultations.
• Respond in emergencies: While CNAs are not typically involved in administering advanced medical interventions, they must be prepared to respond quickly to emergencies by alerting the medical team and following basic life-saving procedures (like CPR) if trained to do so.
• Organize supplies and equipment: CNAs ensure that patient rooms are stocked with necessary supplies (like linens, toiletries, and medical materials).
• Assist in patient admissions and discharges: They may help in preparing patients for discharge, ensuring that their personal belongings are packed and transportation is arranged.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities - Competencies

• Infection Control: Knowledge of hospital infection prevention protocols, including proper hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and sterilization techniques to prevent the spread of infections.
• Vital Signs Monitoring: Understanding how to accurately take and record vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respiration rate), and recognizing abnormal readings that may indicate potential health problems.
• Patient Care Protocols: Awareness of hospital protocols and procedures for caring for patients in different settings and maintaining a safe, clean, and supportive environment.
• Patient Mobility Assistance: Skill in safely helping patients move, transfer, or ambulate using appropriate techniques to prevent injury to both the patient and CNA, including the use of assistive devices like wheelchairs, walkers, and gait belts.
• Feeding and Nutritional Support: Ability to assist patients with eating, especially those who are unable to feed themselves, and ensuring that they receive the correct diet according to medical instructions.
• Use of Medical Equipment: Familiarity with hospital equipment, such as blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, oxygen tanks, pulse oximeters, glucometer, and patient monitoring systems, and ensuring they are used correctly.
• Empathy and Compassion: Ability to provide emotional support to patients, showing understanding, patience, and kindness, which helps alleviate anxiety and contributes to a positive patient experience.
• Effective Communication: Proficiency in clearly and respectfully communicating with patients, families, and the healthcare team. This includes verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills to ensure accurate reporting of patient conditions and concerns.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, supporting nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, and effectively contributing to patient care plans.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Sensitivity to diverse backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, ensuring respectful and individualized care for all patients.
• Observation and Monitoring: Ability to observe and report changes in patients’ physical or emotional condition, identifying potential problems or complications and taking appropriate action, such as alerting the nurse or physician.
• Decision-Making: While CNAs do not make medical decisions, they must use sound judgment in prioritizing care tasks, ensuring patient comfort and safety, and following procedures in urgent situations.
• Responding to Emergencies: Competence in responding to medical emergencies by applying knowledge of basic life-saving procedures (e.g., CPR, first aid) and quickly notifying medical staff when urgent issues arise.
• Fall Prevention: Knowledge of fall prevention strategies, such as keeping the environment free of hazards, assisting patients with mobility, and ensuring that bedrails and call bells are within reach.
• Pain Management: Understanding the importance of pain management, recognizing signs of discomfort or distress in patients, and reporting pain to the medical team for proper intervention.
• Hygiene and Cleanliness: Skill in maintaining patient hygiene, including bathing, oral care, and ensuring that patients’ bedding and clothing are clean, which helps prevent infections and promotes comfort.
• Patient Privacy: Knowledge of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and patient confidentiality, ensuring that patient information is protected and only shared with authorized personnel.
• Ethical Behavior: Ability to act with professionalism and integrity, ensuring patients’ rights are respected and that care is delivered according to ethical standards.
• Informed Consent: Understanding the importance of informed consent and ensuring that patients or their families are adequately informed about procedures, treatments, or care plans.
• Prioritization: Ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced hospital environment, managing multiple patients and activities without compromising care quality.
• Efficiency: Competence in completing routine tasks in a timely manner, such as taking vital signs, assisting with feeding, and cleaning, while maintaining patient safety and comfort.
• Documentation: Skill in accurately documenting patient care, observations, and vital signs in medical records, ensuring compliance with hospital protocols and regulations.

Supervisory Responsibility

No Supervision: The job does not require the provision of guidance or supervision to others. There is no formal responsibility for directing others.

Materials Responsibility

Very Limited. Work requires very limited responsibility for material resources. Examples of resources could include personal work materials, supplies or equipment. The employee has a very limited or indirect amount of control over these resources. Although human error might require the repair or replacement of materials, usually the cost of correcting these errors is minor. The variety and volume of resources is also very limited. Problems associated with material resources are very uncomplicated.

Key Relationships

Co-workers/JCRHC Employees, General Public/Visitors/Volunteers, Patients, Families, and Significant Others.

Position Specifications

Education

Less than high school graduation

Field of Study

N/A

Special Training

Certified Nursing Assistant Program with a minimum of 75 hours, Basic Life Support. Dependent Adult/Child Abuse Mandatory Reporter Training within timelines established in the Licensure, Registration, Certification and Life Saving training policy

Training Preferred

N/A

Licensure / Registration

Certified Nursing Assistant

Experience

No experience required.

Interpersonal Skills

Interaction is with fellow employees or peers within the immediate work area. Communications with others are generally routine. The need for interpersonal skills is very limited. Interactions usually involve brief, simple exchanges of information. The job requires very basic communication skills and common courtesy.

Working Conditions:

There is routine exposure to highly adverse environmental conditions including physical hazards, health and safety risks, and otherwise undesirable characteristics in the environment. Personal risks require safety equipment and precaution to be followed closely. The time the employee may be exposed to these conditions is limited to 70% or less of the work day.

Possible Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens

Yes

Service Excellence Expectations

• Adheres to the “Values and Behavior Statement” of Jackson County Regional Health Center.
• Adheres to HIPAA and maintains confidentiality as relates to all patient and medical information.
• Works in a safe manner at all times and adheres to our safety programs and service expectations.