Collaborative Care Behavioral Health Care Manager- Lehighton

St. Luke’s University Health Network; Lehighton (Carbon County); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Luke’s University Health Network seeks a Behavioral Health Care Manager to support and coordinate patients’ mental and physical health needs within the primary care team.

You will work with medical providers and psychiatric consultants to deliver brief, evidence-based interventions to an assigned caseload, while maintaining documentation in the EPIC EHR. Responsibilities include screening for mental health and substance use disorders, supporting treatment adherence, and coordinating care

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, or related field.
• Experience with screening for mental health and substance use disorders.
• Ability to engage patients in therapeutic relationships and work across modalities (phone, video, in person).

Responsibilities

• Screen and assess patients for common mental health and substance use disorders.
• Facilitate patient engagement and follow-up care.
• Coordinate care with medical and mental health providers.
• Provide education about mental health conditions and treatments.
• Track treatment response and document in the registry/EPIC EHR.
• Coordinate referrals to specialty care as needed.
• Conduct brief evidence-based interventions (e.g., motivational interviewing, behavioral activation).

Skills

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Patient engagement

Motivational interviewing

Education

Master’s degree in social work, counseling, or related field

Tools

EPIC EHR

Job description

St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care.

The behavioral health care manager is a core member of the collaborative care team, including the patient’s medical provider and psychiatric consultant, and the larger primary care team or medical team. The behavioral health care manager is responsible for supporting and coordinating the mental and physical health care of patients on an assigned patient caseload with the patient’s medical provider and, when appropriate, other mental health providers. They are also responsible for providing brief evidence-based interventions to the patients on the assigned caseload.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Screen and assess patients for common mental health and substance use disorders.
• Facilitate patient engagement and follow-up care.
• Support mental and physical health care of patients on an assigned caseload.
• Coordinate care with medical and mental health providers as appropriate.
• Provide education to patients, natural supports, and care teams about common mental health and substance use disorders and evidenced based treatment options.
• Systematically track treatment response and monitor patients for changes in clinical symptoms, side effects or complications and communicate changes to care team.
• Support treatment adherence to medications, interventions and treatment plans as appropriate.
• Coordinate referrals to specialty care or other providers as clinically indicated.
• Provide brief evidence-based interventions to patients and families, including motivational interviewing, behavioral activation, problem-solving treatment and solution-focused therapy.
• Participate in regularly scheduled caseload consultation with the psychiatric consultant and communicate resulting treatment recommendations to the patient’s medical provider.
• Consultations will focus on patients new to the caseload and those who are not improving as expected under the current treatment plan.
• Case reviews may be conducted by telephone, video, or in person.
• Facilitate treatment plan changes for patients who are not improving as expected in consultation with the medical provider and the psychiatric consultant and who may need more intensive or more specialized mental health care.
• Track patients follow up and clinical outcomes using a registry.
• Document in‑person and telephone encounters in the registry and use the system to identify and re‑engage patients.
• Maintain all documentation in the EPIC EHR (Electronic Health Record) and other required systems.
• Report registry statistics on a regular to the quality team at St Luke’s Penn Foundation Mental Health services as well as St Luke’s Physician Group as requested.
• Develop and complete relapse prevention self‑management plan with patients who have achieved their treatment goals and are soon to be discharged from the caseload.
• Maintains confidentiality of all materials handled within the Network/Entity and the proper release of information.
• Complies with Network and departmental policies regarding issues of employee, patient and environmental safety and follows appropriate reporting requirements.
• Demonstrates/models the Network’s Service Excellence Standards of Performance in interactions with all customers (internal and external).
• Demonstrates Performance Improvement in the following areas as appropriate: Clinical Care/Outcomes, Customer/Service Improvement, Operational System/Process, and Safety.
• Demonstrates financial responsibility and accountability through the effective and efficient use of resources in daily procedures, processes and practices.
• Complies with Network and departmental policies regarding attendance and dress code.
• Demonstrates competency in the assessment, range of treatment, knowledge of growth and development and communication appropriate to the age of the patient treated.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Physical and Sensory Requirements

Standing and walking six hours per day, up to two hours sitting at a time. Frequently uses fingers for typing, data entry, etc. Frequently uses hands. Occasionally uses upper extremities to lift up to 20 pounds; sometimes heavier. Very often stoops, bends and reaches above shoulder level. Hearing as it relates to normal conversation. Seeing as it relates to general vision, near vision, peripheral vision, and visual monotony.

Education

Master’s degree in social work, counseling, or related field.

Training and Experience

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and communicate effectively in a team setting.
• Experience with screening for common mental health and/or substance abuse disorders.
• Working knowledge of differential diagnosis of common mental health and/or substance abuse disorders, when appropriate.
• Ability to effectively engage patients in therapeutic relationships, when appropriate.
• Ability to work with patients by telephone, video and in person.
• Experience with assessment and treatment planning for common mental health and/or substance use disorders.
• Working knowledge of evidence-based psychosocial treatments and brief behavioral interventions for common mental health disorders, when appropriate (e.g., motivational interviewing, problem‑solving treatment, behavioral activation, cognitive behavioral interventions).
• Basic knowledge of psychopharmacology for common mental health disorders within appropriate scope of practice for provider filling role.
• Experience with evidence-based counseling techniques.
• Experience with child and adolescent populations is strongly preferred.

Company Culture and Mission

St. Luke’s University Health Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non‑profit network of more than 23,000 employees providing services at 16 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue in excess of $4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital. SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital. The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Premier 13 times total and eleven years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally. St. Luke’s is the ONLY health care institution in the Lehigh Valley to be named a Top Workplace regionally repeating the exclusive honor for the third year in a row. Also, for the third straight year, St. Luke’s has been a Top Workplaces in the Philadelphia Region by the Philadelphia Inquirer, ranking 9th in the large employer category for 2025 and the only health care system in PA to receive this award. In 2025, St. Luke’s was recognized as a national Top Workplaces by USA Today, three years in a row, including the 3rd best health care system in the nation in 2023 and 2024. Lastly, in 2025, St. Luke’s was named a Top Workplace in New Jersey for the third year in a row. Learn More Here.