Director, Assessment

Lifepoint Health®; Youngstown (OH); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Director of Assessment at Lifepoint Health oversees comprehensive assessments and therapeutic care for individuals seeking treatment for substance use, dual diagnoses, and psychiatric conditions. This role manages walk-in and phone inquiries, conducts initial evaluations, presents findings to the psychiatrist for treatment recommendations, and ensures patients understand their care options.

The Director also leads documentation, scheduling, staff coaching, and ensures compliance with HIPAA

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work, counseling, or related field from an accredited school.
• RN license or Independent Counseling license per state regulations.
• Three years of assessment experience in an inpatient behavioral health setting.

Responsibilities

• Directs and conducts the screening of prospective patients and initiates the integrated assessment process for program admission.
• Collaborates with administration, physicians, and clinical staff to evaluate pending admissions and communicate admission plans.
• Applies approved admission criteria to determine the least restrictive and clinically appropriate level of care.
• Serves as a liaison among physicians and external facilities to ensure smooth admission procedures.
• Maintains accurate patient assessment data and communicates findings to attending physicians to support clinical decisions.

Skills

Leadership

Organizational skills

Communication

Team collaboration

Healthcare IT

MS Office

Education

Master's degree in social work or counseling

RN license (state regulations)

Tools

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Position Summary

The Director of Assessment oversees the delivery of comprehensive assessments and high‑quality therapeutic care for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders, dual diagnoses, and psychiatric or emotional conditions. This role manages all walk‑in and phone inquiries, conducts initial psychiatric evaluations, presents clinical findings to the psychiatrist for treatment recommendations, and ensures patients and families clearly understand their care options. The Director also manages documentation, schedules appointments, directs individuals to appropriate internal or external services, and develops and maintains the assessment and referral office schedule.

Full Time

Day Shift

Position Summary

The Director of Assessment oversees the delivery of comprehensive assessments and high‑quality therapeutic care for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders, dual diagnoses, and psychiatric or emotional conditions. This role manages all walk‑in and phone inquiries, conducts initial psychiatric evaluations, presents clinical findings to the psychiatrist for treatment recommendations, and ensures patients and families clearly understand their care options. The Director also manages documentation, schedules appointments, directs individuals to appropriate internal or external services, and develops and maintains the assessment and referral office schedule.

In addition, the Director provides leadership and coaching to staff, enhancing team competence in assessment, patient and family engagement, and overall therapeutic care. The role responds to inquiry calls, ensures consistent and accurate communication regarding treatment options, and helps reduce barriers to care. The Director serves as part of the hospital's leadership team and may also supervise reception services as needed.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Directs and conducts the screening of prospective patients and initiates the integrated assessment process for program admission.
• Collaborates with administration, physicians, and clinical staff to evaluate pending admissions, determine the appropriate level of care, and communicate admission plans to the nursing department.
• Applies approved admission criteria to recommend the least restrictive and clinically appropriate level of care, initiating the episode‑of‑care plan at the time of admission.
• Serves as a liaison among physicians, families, transportation services, and external mental health facilities to ensure smooth coordination of admission procedures.
• Ensures that all patient assessment data and historical information are thoroughly and accurately communicated to attending physicians to support sound clinical decision‑making.
• Communicates with external reviewers and referral sources, completes required reviews, and maintains all related documentation in compliance with HIPAA requirements.
• Notifies third‑party payors of transitions between levels of care and facilitates their participation in treatment decisions as needed.
• Prepares daily reports to communicate census updates, referral activity, and pending admissions.
• Maintains strong relationships with referral sources to support satisfaction and continuity of collaboration.
• Provides coaching and development for team members, establishing clear expectations and holding staff accountable to high standards of performance.
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of CMS, The Joint Commission, EMTALA, and state regulations, routinely auditing departmental functions to ensure full compliance.
• Always exhibit the company's core values of champion patient care, do the right thing, embrace individuality, act with kindness, and making a difference together.
• Other duties as assigned.

Additional Information

Access to and/or works with sensitive and/or confidential information.

Exhibit a comprehensive understanding of healthcare regulatory and compliance (e.g., HIPAA). Skilled in the application of policies and procedures.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS

Education: Master's degree in social work, counseling, or related field from an accredited school required, or Bachelor's degree in Nursing from an accredited school required per state regulations.

License: Independent Counseling or Social Work license required, or Registered Nurse license required per state regulations.

Experience: Three years of assessment experience in an inpatient behavioral health care setting required. Three years of experience working with patient populations served at the facility preferred.

Certification: CPR certification is required within 30 days of employment and prior to any patient contact; De‑escalation certification is required within 30 days of employment and prior to completion of orientation.

Required Skills

• Knowledge in behavioral health care.
• Strong leadership and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse team of healthcare professionals.
• Proficiency in using technology, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Skills And Abilities

Mathematical Skills

Business Mathematical Skills -- Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rates, ratios, and percentages and to draw and interpret graphs.

Computer Skills

Advanced Computer Skills -- Routine use of electronic mail and computer systems. Ability to incorporate complex and complicated functions into documents, spreadsheets, databases, and presentations to support business objectives.

Communication

Organizational Communication-Handles broad-based complex information with company-wide impacts and interacts with leadership. Can present, resolve, and address delicate situations. Ability to motivate and persuade others.

Decision Making

Organizational Impact-Decisions have significant, broad implications for the management and operations of the behavioral health division.

Nature of Problems

Varied Business Problems --Problems are varied and complex, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation. Problems are solved using knowledge and skills, general precedent, and practices.

Independent Judgement

Functional Independent Judgement--Provides and sets goals and priorities for functional areas. May make recommendations for department policies, practices, and programs. Makes decisions for and/or resolves problems for others.

Planning/Organization

Moderate-Handle multiple tasks simultaneously with moderate complexity.

Physical And Mental Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job responsibilities.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit for extended periods of time; use hands to finger, handle, feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, bend, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Repetitive motion of upper body is required for extended use of computers. Required specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment And Travel Requirements

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job responsibilities.

Works in well-lit, ventilated and climate controlled office environment with routine office equipment; some equipment has moving mechanical parts. Noise level in the work environment is typical for an office and/or hospital environment.

In hospital/behavioral health environment, may be exposed to hazards and unusual elements, which may include but are not limited to bloodborne pathogens and / or contagious illnesses, toxic chemicals, and biohazardous materials which may require extensive safety precautions and the use of protective equipment.

Minimum overnight travel (up to 10%) by land and/or air.

Lifepoint Health is a leader in community‑based care and driven by a mission of Making Communities Healthier. Our diversified healthcare delivery network spans 29 states and includes 63 community hospital campuses, 32 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals, and more than 170 additional sites of care across the healthcare continuum, such as acute rehabilitation units, outpatient centers and post‑acute care facilities. We believe that success is achieved through talented people. We want to create places where employees want to work, with opportunities to pursue meaningful and satisfying careers that truly make a difference in communities across the country.