Peer Behavioral Health Specialist

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center; Lawrence (KS); On-site; USD 26,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

KPERS retirement

Life insurance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Paid time off

Job summary

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center in Lawrence, KS, is seeking a Behavioral Health Specialist to provide daily community support for clients managing medications. Responsibilities include medication transport, prompting adherence, and coordinating with the treatment team to ensure safe, effective care.

The role requires at least one year in human services or college coursework, valid driver's license, and strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Qualifications

• One year of college coursework in human services or one year of experience in the field; a combination can substitute for a year in any one area.
• Reliable transportation and a valid, unrestricted driver's license.
• Be 21 years or older.
• Prior computer experience and basic computer fluency; familiarity with MS SharePoint is a plus.
• Must achieve EMR competency within six months through timely and accurate documentation.
• Ability to work independently and in cooperation with others.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with diverse populations.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in various situations.
• Some flexibility in working hours; holidays, weekends, or overnights may be required.
• Commitment to interdisciplinary and community mental health center approaches.
• Energetic and positive approach to evolving changes and challenges in the workplace.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily support and supervision in the community for clients who have difficulty managing and adhering to medications.
• Handle, transport, and deliver medication to clients per agency protocol.
• Engage clients to promote medication adherence for stable housing and reduced hospitalization.
• Supervise medication self-administration and assist with counts.
• Monitor for adverse side effects or interactions and report concerns to the medication provider.
• Assist clients in navigating questions about prescribed medications and treatment.
• Relay client concerns to the treatment team as needed.
• Provide services as part of a pool of Community Support staff for attendant and psychosocial services.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Oral communication

Written communication

Independent work

Education

College coursework in human services

Experience in human services

Tools

MS SharePoint

Job description

Pay is commensurate with experience within a range of $18.75 to $22.32 per hour. Full time, non-exempt, benefits eligible. Bert Nash offers excellent benefits which include medical, dental, vision, KPERS retirement, life insurance, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providing free counseling and resources, and generous PTO.

Caring. Hope. Giving back. Our mission at the Bert Nash Center as the Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) of Douglas County is to advance the health of the community through comprehensive behavioral health services responsive to evolving needs and changing environments. We accomplish this by believing in our team. Each person that works for the Bert Nash Center contributes directly to the success of our clients, organization, and community. Our values of compassion, integrity, equity and hope reflect in everything we do.

A. Responsibilities and Duties

The primary responsibility of the Behavioral Health Specialist position will be to provide daily support and supervision in the community for clients who have difficulty managing and adhering to medications. Consistency is a must.

Specific duties include:

• 1. Handling, transporting, and delivering medication to individual clients according to established agency protocol.
• 2. Engaging the client positively and prompting the client to take medications for the purpose of maintaining permanent, community-based housing and reducing the need for hospitalization.
• 3. Supervising medication self-administration
• 4. Assisting with medication counts when appropriate.
• 5. Monitoring the participant for adverse side effects, medication interactions, or other concerns that need to be reported to the medication provider.
• 6. Assisting the participant in navigating questions or concerns about prescribed medications, concerns, etc. to assist them with taking a proactive role in treatment.
• 7. Assist in relaying any concerns or information provided by the participant to the treatment team as needed.
• 8. Providing services as a member of a pool of Community Support staff, to be activated on an as-needed basis for attendant and psychosocial services.
• 9. Follow protocols and procedures established to provide safe and effective client care.
• 10. Delivering reimbursable hours of service compliant with established standards.
• 11. Completing all documentation associated with services provided in a timely and accurate manner including logging medication adherence/non-adherence in the Medication Administration Record and writing individual service notes.
• 12. Assisting with the evolution of an effective, efficient preventative program of services.
• 13. Attend weekly staff meetings.
• 14. Provide crisis on-call services as needed-required on call rotation of 3 nights per month.
• 15. Reliable transportation is a must and
• 16. Regular and predictable attendance is an essential function of the job.

Additional responsibilities may be assigned as circumstances warrant.

B. Accountability

The Behavioral Health Specialist will be directly accountable to the Program Manager or his/her designee. The Program Manager or his/her designee will, no less than annually, complete a performance evaluation in compliance with personnel policies.

C. Qualifications

The Behavioral Health Specialist position requires:

• 1. Have one year of college course work in the field of human services or one year of experience in the field of human services; or other experiences with adults who have severe and persistent mental illness which can serve as a basis for understanding symptoms and treatment; a combination of at least one year of education, and/or work, and/or experience in the field of human services can substitute for a year in any one area;
• 2. reliable transportation and valid, unrestricted driver's license;
• 3. be 21 years or older;
• 4. prior computer experience and basic computer fluency; familiarity with MS SharePoint is a plus
• 5. must be able to achieve within one's first 6 months of employment a working competency in the management and use of the Center's electronic medical record (EMR) software as demonstrated by timely and accurate documentation of the clinical record;
• 6. an ability to work independently and in cooperation with others;
• 7. strong organizational and time management skills;
• 8. strong oral and written communication skills;
• 9. strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations;
• 10. demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment in a variety of situations;
• 11. some flexibility in assigned working hours; occasional work on holidays, weekends or overnights
• 12. a commitment to interdisciplinary and community mental health center approaches; and
• 13. an energetic and positive approach to the rapidly evolving changes and challenges of a complex workplace.