Admissions Counselor

Acadia Healthcare; Greenville (NC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Acadia Healthcare in Greenville, NC is seeking an Admissions Counselor for a night shift (11:00pm–7:30am) with no weekends to support patients and families through admissions, verify benefits, and coordinate care with clinical teams.

The role emphasizes empathy, timely pre-admission assessments, accurate documentation, and smooth transitions from referrals to admission, with a focus on patient safety and responsive customer service.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a social services field required (if state allows).
• Master's degree in a social services field (psychology, counseling, social work, sociology, health administration, nursing) or RN preferred.
• One or more years’ experience in mental/behavioral health working with individuals in a clinical or observational capacity preferred.

Responsibilities

• Respond to inquiries about the facility within policy timeframes.
• Develop therapeutic relationships with patients and families.
• Perform benefit eligibility to ensure patient benefits are active at admission and communicate to the business office.
• Collaborate with medical and psychiatric personnel to ensure appropriate recommendations.
• Coordinate admission and transfer from referrals and between care levels.
• Maintain knowledge of milieu management.
• Communicate projected admissions to internal representatives.
• Receive clinical information from referrals or patients prior to admission when possible.
• Schedule and complete pre-admission assessments and consult with admitting physician.
• Prepare and maintain medical record documentation for authorization by payors.
• Complete initial pre-authorization for treatment and admission.
• Admit patient to registration and accounting systems and complete forms.
• Maintain a positive, empathetic, professional attitude toward customers and resolve complaints.
• Coordinate care for non-admitted patients and ensure follow-up care and referrals.
• Demonstrate urgency related to patient safety and provide excellent customer service.
• Conduct safety checks and ensure supervision as required.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Care coordination

Insurance verification

Pre-admission

Education

Bachelor’s degree in social services

Master’s degree in social services or RN

Job description

Overview

Admissions Counselor - ECU Behavioral Health

Shift: 11:00pm to 7:30am (no weekends)

We are searching for a dedicated Admissions Counselor with a proven ability to support patients and families through the admissions process with empathy, professionalism, and urgency. Experienced in insurance verification, care coordination, pre-admission assessments, and communication with clinical teams to ensure appropriate placement, continuity of care, and positive patient outcomes.

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Respond to inquiries about the facility within facility policy timeframes.

• Ability to develop therapeutic relationships with patients and families.

• Perform benefit eligibility to ensure patient benefits are active at the time of admission. Communicate benefit eligibility to the business office and the patient or significant other.

• Collaborate with facility medical and psychiatric personnel to ensure appropriate recommendations regarding pending referrals.

• Coordinate admission and transfer from referral sources and between levels of care within the facility.

• Maintain knowledge of milieu management.

• Communicate projected admissions to designated internal representatives promptly.

• Ensure all clinical information from referral sources or patients (including medical comorbidity information) is received, when possible, prior to patient admission.

• Schedule (when applicable) and complete pre-admission assessments, consult with the admitting physician and communicate disposition recommendations to the patient or their family.

• Possess skill in preparing and maintaining appropriate medical record documentation that will result in authorization at the level of care being requested of the payor.

• Complete initial pre-authorization for treatment and admission prior to admission, when possible, and within payor timeframe guidelines.

• Admit the patient to the registration and accounting system. Complete all admission and consent forms with the patient.

• Demonstrate a positive, empathetic, and professional attitude toward customers always. When patient needs are not met, acknowledge and work to resolve complaints. Recognize that patient safety is a top priority.

• When a patient’s needs are not met, acknowledge and work to resolve complaints. Recognize that patient safety is a top priority.

• Coordinate care for patients who are not being admitted and ensure that they receive appropriate follow-up care and referrals.

• Demonstrate a sense of urgency related to the importance of patient safety and provide excellent customer service.

• Responsible for conducting safety checks and ensuring that supervision is conducted at 15-minute intervals, as noted in special precautions, or by individualized supervision guidelines as needed.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Perform other functions and tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a social services field required (if state allows).

• Master's degree in a social services field (psychology, counseling, social work, sociology, health administration, nursing) or RN preferred.

• One or more years’ experience in mental/behavioral health working with individuals in a clinical or observational capacity preferred.

LICENSES/DESIGNATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS:

• Current licensure, as preferred for the area of clinical specialty, as designated by the state in which the facility operates.

• CPR and de-escalation/restraint certification required (training available upon hire and offered by facility).

• First aid may be preferred based on state or facility.

ADDITIONAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS:

While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the job, management reserves the right to add or remove duties from particular jobs when circumstances

(e.g. emergencies, changes in workload, rush jobs, or technological developments) dictate.

We are committed toprovidingequalemploymentopportunitiestoall applicantsforemploymentregardlessofanindividual’scharacteristicsprotected byapplicable state,federalandlocallaws.