Admissions Counselor - Part Time

Acadia Healthcare Company; Pennsylvania; On-site; USD 10,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare company is seeking part-time Admissions Counselors to support a new behavioral health facility. The role involves clinical assessments and coordinating patient admissions, ensuring the provision of high-quality mental health care. Candidates should have a relevant degree and experience in mental health settings, with a focus on patient care and communication skills.

Qualifications

• 1+ years in mental/behavioral health preferred.
• Experience with CARF, DEA, Joint Commission, or CMS surveys a plus.
• Current licensure in a clinical specialty required.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate admissions and conduct clinical intake assessments.
• Respond to inquiries and develop therapeutic relationships.
• Coordinate admissions and ensure benefit eligibility for patients.

Skills

Therapeutic communication

Clinical assessment

Patient management

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in social services field

Master's degree in social services field preferred

Current RN license or clinical counseling certification required

Job description

Acadia Healthcare and Geisinger Health have partnered to establish a state-of-the-art, 96-bed behavioral health hospital in Danville, PA. Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Danville will serve pediatric and adult patients, offering inpatient treatment, intensive outpatient programming, and ECT services. It will also serve as a teaching hospital for students and residents of Geisinger’s College of Health Sciences. Set to open in Summer 2025, this facility will help meet the urgent need for accessible, high-quality psychiatric care in the region, expanding capacity to support patients with diverse mental health needs.

We are looking for Admissions Counselors for the following part time shifts:

• 7am - 3:30pm
• 11am - 7:30pm
• 3pm - 11:30p

***ALL shifts work 16hr-20hr per week***

What would you do in this role?

Our Admissions Counselors are clinical professionals responsible for facilitating admissions, clinical intake assessments and utilization review processes to assure continuity for the most appropriate level of care for patients and their benefit/resources utilization.

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 other 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 patient (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 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 patient in the registration and accounting system. Complete all admission and consent forms with the patient.
• Demonstrate a positive, empathetic and professional attitude towards 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.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a social services field REQUIRED.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.
• Experience with CARF, DEA, Joint Commission, or CMS surveys, as required by service line(s) supported

LICENSES/DESIGNATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS:

• Current licensure, as required for the area of clinical specialty, i.e., current RN license, CAC or other clinical counseling or therapy license, 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 required based on state or facility.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment regardless of an individual’s characteristics protected by applicable state, federal and local laws.

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