Overview

The Behavioral Health Program Coordinator is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and implementing the structured therapeutic program activities for individuals and groups of patients of an assigned patient care unit for a specific shift. The role may provide care to various patient populations including pediatrics, adolescents, adults and geriatrics.

Responsibilities

• Monitors therapeutic milieu to identify need to initiate structured interventions to ensure that patients are engaged and needs are met and acts as a patient advocate by ensuring each individual’s rights are maintained at all times
• Provides leadership and guidance to unit staff, in collaboration with the nursing leadership, as it relates to programming and interventions to achieve and maintain a therapeutic milieu
• Stays informed regarding changing status of all patients on the unit and, in collaboration with the nursing leadership, assists in providing leadership to maintain a safe and therapeutic environment for patients and staff utilizing proactive techniques to de-escalate the milieu and/or individuals
• Participates in development, implementation and utilization of therapeutic milieu activities and interventions
• Intervenes to facilitate crisis intervention or conflict resolution for patients within the unit milieu during assigned shift; responds to codes on own unit in a timely manner using procedures established by policy
• Performs specific functions and skills to assist the nursing staff in providing patient care as needed; to include specimen collection, hygiene, and activities of daily living

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree counseling psychology, psychology or other closely related health degree (required)
  • In lieu of Bachelor’s degree, a minimum of 5 years clinical experience specific to unit, program and field.
• Master’s degree in counseling psychology, psychology or other closely related behavioral health degree (preferred)

Licensure:

• If required by position/department operations, active drivers license authorization

Certification:

• Basic Life Support (BLS) accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA) (required)

Facility determined crisis intervention training program (required)