Emergency Services Intake Counselor

Universal Health Services; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Generous paid time off

Excellent medical, dental, vision

Job summary

Universal Health Services in Chicago is seeking an Emergency Services Intake Counselor to perform crisis risk assessments and provide clinical triage for families and professionals.

You will manage fast-paced admissions, ensure compliance with mental health laws, and collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to coordinate care during overnight shifts.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in social work, counseling, psychology, or related field.
• Licensure or eligibility for licensure (LSW/LCSW or LPC/LCPC) or RN in Illinois preferred.
• Knowledge of DSM-5 criteria, mental health codes, and confidentiality laws.

Responsibilities

• Clinical Assessment: Conduct risk evaluations (suicide, psychosis, substance abuse) and gathers health and treatment histories.
• Admissions Management: Coordinates intake paperwork, pre-certifications, and physician care collaboration.
• Team Collaboration: Manages bed availability, patient deflections, and multidisciplinary team updates.
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintains records and upholds legal and confidentiality standards.

Skills

Crisis risk assessment

Clinical triage

Admissions coordination

HIPAA compliance

Education

Master's degree in social work

Job description

Responsibilities

Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital provides compassionate, evidence-based psychiatric and behavioral health support to children and teens ages 3 to 17. Guided by the highest standards of ethics and individualized care, our mission is to exceed patient expectations, instill hope in families, and meet the diverse needs of our community.

We are passionate about transforming lives through quality behavioral healthcare, and we are excited to further serve our patients by expanding our partial and intensive outpatient programs through an upcoming construction project.

Job Summary

As the Emergency Services Intake Counselor, you will conduct crisis risk assessments and provides clinical triage for families and professionals.

You will also manage the fast-paced, high-stress admissions process, ensuring compliance with mental health laws and confidentiality policies.

Key Responsibilities

• Clinical Assessment: Conducts risk evaluations (suicide, psychosis, substance abuse) and gathers health and treatment histories.
• Admissions Management: Coordinates intake paperwork, pre-certifications, and physician care collaboration.
• Team Collaboration: Manages bed availability, patient deflections, and multidisciplinary team updates.
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintains records and upholds legal and confidentiality standards.

Environment & Demands

• Fast-Paced Setting: Operates in an environment equivalent to an Emergency Room.
• High-Stress Resilience: Requires strong multitasking skills and high physical stamina to support children and families in crisis

Work Schedule

Full- Time: Sunday–Thursday, Overnight shift; 11:00pm-7:30am

Benefit & Reward Highlights

• Challenging and rewarding work environment
• Competitive Compensation & Generous Paid Time Off
• Excellent Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
• 401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan
• SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Program
• Career development opportunities within UHS and its 300+ Subsidiaries!

For information about the benefits we offer, please visit UHS Benefits Service Center.

Qualifications

Education

Masters Degree required in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, or related clinical field.

Licensure/Certification

• Licensure or eligibility for licensure (LPC, LSW, LCPC, LCSW) or Registered Nurse in the State of Illinois preferred
• BLS (AHA) and CPI certifications required upon orientation completion

Knowledge

Thorough understanding of the DSM-V criteria, psychotropic medications, and assessment skills with the ability to develop quick and strong clinical rapport. Working knowledge of Illinois Confidentiality Act, Illinois Mental Health Code, EMTALA and ILPA process. Must posses a detailed understanding of psychiatric criteria for various levels of care and insurance/benefit verifications. Have the ability to provide de-escalation techniques and crisis stabilization. Must be able to utilize CBT, Trauma Informed Care and Crisis Intervention effectively. Must be able to work cooperatively with other hospital staff and community agencies. Good organization skills, attentive to detail, thorough, as well as excellent oral and written clinical communication skills.

Language

Bilingual in both Spanish and English preferred

About Universal Health Services

One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since itsinceptioninto an esteemed Fortune500 corporation, annualrevenuesduring2025were$17.4billion.In 2026,UHS was again recognized as one of FortuneWorld’s Most Admired Companies™ and in 2025, waslisted in Forbes ranking of America’s Largest Public Companies.

Headquarteredin King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately101,500employeesand continues to grow through its subsidiaries. Operating acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physiciannetworkand various related serviceslocatedin 40U.S.states, Washington, D.C., PuertoRicoand the United Kingdom. Foradditionalinformationvisit www.uhs.com.

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success.

Notice

At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skillset and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. We take pride in creating a highly efficient and best in class candidate experience. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. The recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you are suspicious of a job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, let us know by contacting us at: https://uhs.alertline.com or 1-800-852-3449.