PACE Primary Care Physician (Merced PACE Center)

The PACE Primary Care Physician is responsible for providing direct primary medical care to participants of the PACE program and to supervise medical care personnel, such as Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, RNs, and Personal Care Assistants.

The PACE Primary Care Physician provides care to PACE participants in the context of the Interdisciplinary Team (IDT). Works under the direct supervision of the PACE Medical Director and/or designee.

The PACE Primary Care Physician may be required to work scheduled evening clinic hours, and when appropriate, act independently as a solo provider.

Location and Schedule

This position will work at our Central Valley Merced PACE Center, scheduled Monday - Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Flexibility to work scheduled evening clinic hours, and when appropriate. Will train at our Modesto PACE Center, and may support when needed.

Compensation: $265,000 - $297,000 Annual Salary; Sign On Bonus and Relocation Assistance Eligible

We are pleased to consider and support qualified physician applicants requiring H-1B visa sponsorship.

About Golden Valley Health Centers – PACE Program

Central Valley PACE is dedicated to empowering our aging adults. We work closely with eligible seniors, their families, and the community to enhance health, dignity, quality of life, and independence. Together, we strive to ensure our participants thrive within their communities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Consistently adheres and/or exceeds GVHC’s communication guidelines and expectations with patients, peers, and supervisors.
• Communicate effectively by using welcoming words, proper tone of voice, appropriate body language, eye contact and smiling with every interaction.
• Listens skillfully and displays a willingness and ability to acknowledge the needs, expectations and values of others through the use of reflective listening and empathy conveyance. Responds to needs in ways that are helpful and beyond expectation.
• Perform comprehensive history and physicals on new referrals.
• Perform interval history and physicals on established participants, completed quarterly or as indicated.
• Admit participants to the hospital when indicated: (a) provide primary care (attending) responsibilities for management; (b) provide updated to the IDT on a regular basis; (c) judiciously utilize specialty consultants; (d) responsible for coordinating discharge planning with the IDT.
• Manage all care of participants who reside in nursing homes: (a) provide regular visits; (b) perform telephone contacts with nursing home staff as required; (c) admit nursing home participants to hospital when necessary.
• Perform or assist in laboratory or screening procedures routinely performed at the clinic site indicating the collection of body fluid and tissue specimens.
• Assess and interview in the common development and behavioral problems of the family and its individual members.
• Collect, record, and interpret clinical data in a "problem oriented SOAP" format.
• Promote health and disease prevention in all patients through age group specific interventions including immunizations, counseling, physical examinations, and accepted screening procedures.
• Observe all existing Golden Valley Health Centers medical protocols, personnel policies and Principles of Practice.
• Participate regularly in quality assurance and peer review activities, as well as medical and general staff meetings.
• Performs health histories and PACE Participant teaching. Orders, interprets and follows up on lab tests and results. Performs selected procedures and documents care in writing in EMR. Initiates emergency measures as indicated. Recognizes abnormalities that justify immediate referral for intervention by others.
• Initiates, evaluates, reviews and changes orders for selected medications and diagnostic studies/treatments.
• Requests consultations from other services as needed.
• Participates in the PACE provider call schedule.
• Participates as a member of the IDT. Attends staff meetings and takes part in participant care planning.
• Assists the IDT in formulating a plan for the coordination of 24-hour care.
• Documents participant changes appropriately in the medical record and communicates participant changes IDT members.
• Participate in the ethics and quality assurance committees and/or work groups as assigned.
• Observe each participant for any change in physical, mental, emotional and social functioning and shall report such changes to the Medical Director and/or IDT.
• Evaluates and treats participants in their homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals when medically indicated.
• Precepts medical students and residents during their PACE rotation.

Physical Demands

• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds. Moving, lifting or transferring patients may involve lifting or pushing greater than 30 pounds, should be done with assistance as appropriate.
• Ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull or carry patients.
• Must be able to hear staff/clients on the phone and those who are served in-person, and speak clearly in order to communicate information to clients and staff.
• Must have vision with or without lenses that is adequate to read memos, a computer screen, personnel forms and clinical and administrative documents.
• Must have high manual dexterity.
• Must be able to reach above the shoulder level to work, must be able to bend, squat and sit, stand, stoop, crouching, reaching, kneeling, twisting/turning, fingering and feeling.

Work Environment

• Exposure to biohazards, including infectious material and waste and any other conditions common in a health care environment.
• Subject to unpleasant odors.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate, but may at times be noisy and crowded.

Education/Experience Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bilingual English/Spanish highly preferred.
• Demonstrates clinical competencies with geriatric population.
• Geriatric medicine; special needs of complex geriatric patients.
• Meet a standardized set of competencies for the specific position description established by Central Valley PACE and approved by Medical Director before working independently.
• A high level of autonomy is required for clinical management decisions while reporting to Medical Director.
• Knowledge of physical, mental and social needs of frail older adults.
• Effective skills in physical assessment and chronic disease management for frail older adults.
• Ability to work within the IDT setting.

Education/Experience

• Graduate of an accredited medical school of allopathic or osteopathic physicians.
• Valid license in good standing to practice medicine in the State of California.
• Satisfactory completion of an accredited residency training program with Board eligibility or certification; Family Practice or Internal Medicine is highly desirable.
• Current American Heart Association Basic Life Support Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation certification.
• Fellowship or additional training in Geriatrics preferred.
• DEA certificate.
• Minimum two years’ clinical experience required.
• At least one year of experience working with a frail or elderly population, preferred.