Nurse Coordinator PHN10

The Division of Healthy Start Systems (HSS), under the Child, Adolescent, and Family Health Bureau (CAFH) at the Boston Public Health Commission, has advanced maternal and infant health equity for Boston families for over 30 years. The mission of the Division is to promote infant, maternal, and family health with a focus on reducing health inequities; this mission is catalyzed through wrap around programs and services delivered by a multidisciplinary team of public health advocates (community health workers), public health nurses, and social workers whom support the needs of birthing families clients through care coordination, connection to resources, health education, and advocacy. The programs under HSS are : Boston Healthy Start Initiative, Healthy Baby/Healthy Child, Healthy Start in Housing, Welcome Family, Shirley's Food Pantry, Father Friendly, Community Perinatal Initiative (COPHI), and the Fetal Infant Mortality Review pilot (FIMR).

The Role: The Division is seeking a public health nurse to support the establishment of a Fetal Infant Mortality Review process in the City of Boston.

Reporting to the Senior Program Manager for the Fetal, Infant, and Maternal Review initiative, the public health nurse will be responsible for abstracting cases under review from the medical record to identify key events during the birth journey. The public health nurse will complement case abstractions with one-on-one structured interview sessions with the mother, father and/or appropriate caregiver of the infant who has died, to produce a comprehensive case narrative for review by the Fetal Infant Mortality Review Team (CRT).

About FIMR: Fetal and Infant Mortality Reviews (FIMRs) are part of a large national initiative that address maternal health disparities across the country. FIMRs operate at the state, local, and county levels with teams consisting of health and social service professionals that review fetal and infant death cases and work with stakeholders to prevent future deaths. They investigate, share findings, and make recommendations to improve policies and supports for birthing individuals/families impacted by infant loss. A core component of this process is medical record abstraction and family interviews, which provide essential insights into the family's experience, the birth journey, and available resources that could have supported or strengthened families during their planning process. The goal of the interview is to:

• Gather information about the parents' experiences before and during pregnancy.
• Gather information about the events during the infant's life and around the time of death.
• To identify community assets and deficits that affected the parents' life during the pregnancy, birth and death of their infant.
• To accurately summarize and convey this information so that it may be included within the FIMR case review document.
• To assess the family's needs and provide culturally appropriate health and human service referrals as needed.
• To facilitate the bereavement process and provide appropriate referrals.
• To follow up, as needed, over the following months to ensure the family is receiving appropriate services.

Role Responsibilities and Duties:

Medical Record Abstraction

• Review medical records and related documents to extract relevant data on fetal and infant deaths, ensuring accuracy and thoroughness.
• Abstract key clinical information, including prenatal care, delivery details, and postnatal care, to support FIMR case reviews.
• Analyze medical records for patterns, risk factors, and potential causes of death, contributing to comprehensive case summaries.
• Ensure confidentiality and adherence to privacy regulations when handling sensitive medical information.
• Collaborate with healthcare providers to clarify medical details and fill gaps in records as needed.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of FIMR protocols, guidelines, and best practices in medical abstraction.
• Support the preparation of reports and recommendations based on abstracted data, contributing to policy and program development aimed at reducing infant mortality.

Family Interviews

• Assist in developing and implementing family interview protocols, ensuring clarity, structure, and cultural sensitivity.
• Coordinate and conduct family interviews with professionalism and empathy, accurately recording responses and personal notes.
• Screen for depression and assess suicide risk, following established protocols and providing appropriate follow-up care.
• Ensure compliance with public health and safety regulations during home visits and meet all necessary reporting requirements.
• Maintain confidentiality of interviewees and integrate interview findings into the FIMR case summary.
• Stay up to date on technology, policy, and procedure changes to ensure the use of best practices in all aspects of the role.
• Support provider outreach activities, raise awareness of the FIMR program, and assist families in accessing grief support, counseling, and other needed services.

Administrative/Other

• Work closely, collaboratively and in a confidential capacity with the Senior Program Manager for the FIMR; this includes but not limited to supporting with administrative components of the FIMR process.
• Work collaboratively with other public health partners including the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention.
• Work to help BPHC become an antiracist organization by meeting or exceeding the standards set by the BPHC Anti-Racism Policy.
• Passionate commitment to health equity and racial/social justice issues.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn about the role of public health in addressing racism, the social determinants of health, and inequities in health outcomes as well as strategies to advance racial justice and health equity.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• BSN or a Bachelor's Degree in a related field required except that 10 years clinical or public health experience (health education, outreach) may be substituted for a BSN or Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree in Nursing, Education, Public Health, or related field preferred.
• Licensed to practice as Registered Nurse in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts driver's license (required)
• 3-5 years' experience in case management and/or emergency nursing
• One-year (or more) experiences with individuals suffering trauma and loss.
• Ability to interact sensitively, effectively, and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds.
• Ability to effectively organize, plan, and manage tasks and projects, ensuring timely completion and attention to detail while maintaining a high level of efficiency.
• Ability to synthesize, prepare and present information, written and oral, including reports, presentations, and other materials in a clear, coherent, and concise manner.
• Experience with Windows Office Package (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, etc.) and ability to learn new software applications and technology.

Preferred Skills or Experience

• Bilingual -bicultural skills strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with maternal health, reproductive health disparities and public policy.
• Deep understanding of the literature pertaining to grief, loss, trauma, resilience.
• Lived experience with infant loss and/or supporting families who have experienced loss.
• Knowledge of Boston and Boston communities with willingness to travel within Boston communities as needed.
• 1 year of demonstrated formal or informal social justice advocacy experience and/or community organizing/mobilization experience.