The Health Administrative Specialist on Duty (HOD) is a facility-wide position, located in the Office of the Chief, Health Administration Service (HAS), or Business Office (BO), or Medical Administration Service (MAS), or similarly named and organized service; the position has both the authority and responsibility to represent both the Medical Center Director and the Chief, HAS on all administrative matters occurring when assigned to other than a normal tour of duty.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/17/2025. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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: Knowledge of applicable public laws, VA policy and regulations, station directives, legal decisions, and state laws dealing with care and treatment of veterans and beneficiaries, admissions, discharges, scheduling, inpatient and outpatient policy, community care resources, procedures and coordination activities, domiciliary care, sharing agreements, legal detention, beneficiary travel, patient funds and valuables, death details procedures and burial benefits, compensation and Pension activities, medical and dental benefits, procedures, eligibility, and related matters. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have GS-7 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement GS-9 Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level. 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/.
Interprets rules and regulations relating to determining legal entitlement to benefits. Process administrative issues surrounding beneficiary death, seriously ill cases, elopements, suicides, assaults, deaths on arrival (DOAs), homicides, code blue, cost recovery matters, and facility or community disasters, etc. Provide administrative authority, guidance, and decision making to Medical Officer of the Day (MOD), Nursing Officer of the Day (NOD), and other similarly named Nurse and Medical positions in charge after hours. Provide orientation and situational technical advice to physicians regarding policies and procedures. Observe, evaluate, and coordinate administrative activities with IRMS, Engineering, OI&T, Laboratory, Medicine, Radiology, Nursing, Hospice, and Environmental Management services and personnel among others. Initiate call back roster, deployment of resources etc Participate in Health Care System (HCS) incident command planning committees and emergency management training drills. Assist in responding to emergencies, determines priorities and nature of action to be taken; Implement search plan for missing patients; informs next-of-kin of search. Receive and respond to non-routine patient condition inquiries. Prepare daily Gains and Losses Sheet and other related statistical reports. Maintain current bed inventory utilizing BMS (Bed Management System) software. Brief on-coming shift of pending events or the current status of any administrative issues. Ensure that check-in processes are properly recorded. Act as the subject matter expert during other than normal business hours on VA funded and non-VA funded transportation programs, eligibilities, and procedures. Review clinical requests for transportation and lodging utilizing CPRS, and determines best mode of transportation and appropriate lodging, based on patient medical need and cost effectiveness. Coordinate with VA Crisis Line and VISN or regional Nurse Advice Line in assisting Veterans. Assist funeral homes and families in disposition of effects and Veterans remains. Record operative permits, when appropriate, and assists physician in administrative matters. Record procedural, operative, autopsy, organ donation permits when appropriate. Coordinate lodging required for eligible Veterans or family through local procedure. May investigate issues and prepares complex and sensitive correspondence relating to patient care activities. Coordinate with VA Police, Compliance, Service Chief and/or Medical Center Director to investigate unusual incidents involving welfare checks, injury, abuse of patients, loss of personal property or other areas as deemed appropriate. Receive phone calls and provides patient advocate support to Veterans. Monitor fire system, refrigerator temperature alarms, fire alarms, and intrusion alarms and codes. Ensure Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are operational. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Full-Time - Rotating shifts with weekend and holidays. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Medical Administration Specialist/PD99385S and PD99368S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized