PRN Admissions Specialist

Acadia Healthcare; Barling (AR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Behavioral Health Hospital in Arkansas is seeking a PRN Admissions Specialist to guide patients and families through the intake process with compassion and clinical insight in a fast-paced inpatient setting.

You will coordinate pre-admission assessments, verify benefits, collaborate with the multidisciplinary team, and help ensure timely access to care while prioritizing patient safety and excellent service.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science or RN with required nursing education.
• Master’s in therapeutic field preferred.
• 1+ year clinical or observational experience in the area.
• Licensure as designated by state; CPR and de-escalation certification required.
• First aid may be required depending on state or facility.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate admissions and assessments for incoming patients.
• Coordinate with clinical staff to verify benefits and authorize treatment.
• Schedule pre-admission assessments and communicate recommendations.
• Ensure patient safety and provide compassionate customer service.
• Perform insurance verifications and gather admission documentation.

Skills

Clinical empathy

Communication skills

Customer service

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science

RN with Associate's degree in nursing (minimum requirement)

LPN/LVN training program (minimum requirement)

Master's degree in a therapeutic field (preferred)

Tools

CPR Certification

De-escalation training

First aid certification

Job description

Overview

PRN Admissions Specialist

Join a mission-driven team where your work directly impacts patients at some of the most critical moments in their lives. As an Admissions Specialist, you will serve as the first point of contact for individuals seeking behavioral health support—guiding patients and families through the intake process with compassion, efficiency, and clinical insight.

In this fast-paced inpatient environment, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring timely access to care by coordinating assessments, verifying benefits, and collaborating closely with a multidisciplinary team. Your ability to balance urgency with empathy will help create a seamless and supportive admissions experience while prioritizing patient safety every step of the way

At Valley Behavioral Health Hospital, you will be part of a healing environment: The focus is on personalized and compassionate care.

Join a team with purpose: If you're passionate about mental health and want to help reduce stigma, employees at Valley live that purpose daily.

Responsibilities

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Facilitate admissions and assessment processes for incoming patients.

• Respond to inquiries about the facility within facility policy timeframes.

• Schedule and complete pre-admission assessments and communicate recommendations to patients or their families.

• Collaborate with other facility medical and psychiatric personnel to ensure appropriate recommendations and admissions.

• Coordinate admission and transfer between levels of care within the facility.

• Communicate projected admissions to designated internal representatives promptly.

• Perform insurance benefit verifications, disseminating the information gathered to the patient, their families, and other appropriate facility staff.

• Ensure all medical admission documentation is gathered from external sources prior to patient admission and secure initial pre-authorization for treatment and admission.

• Assist individual therapists with concurrent reviews with insurance companies to secure continued treatment.

• Coordinate and facilitate peer-to-peer reviews when needed and collaborate the results of reviews with the multi-disciplinary treatment team.

• Provide accurate and ongoing assessment of patient status in the admissions process.

• Communicate treatment recommendations to other treatment teams.

• Demonstrate a positive, empathetic, and professional attitude toward 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.

• 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 in accordance with individualized supervision guidelines as needed.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

• Perform other functions and tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science, Social Services Field, may also be an RN registered nurse, in which case, an Associate's degree in nursing may be the minimum educational requirement or a licensed practical or vocational nurse, in which case, successful completion of an LPN or LVN training program may be the minimum requirement.

• For states in which a therapist may act in this role, a master's degree in a therapeutic field is preferred.

• One or more years’ experience working with individuals in a clinical or observational capacity within the area of specialty for the facility preferred.

LICENSES/DESIGNATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS:

• Licensure, as preferred for the area of clinical specialty 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.

ADDITIONAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS:

While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the job, management reserves the right to add or remove duties from particular jobs when circumstances (e.g. emergencies, changes in workload, rush jobs or technological developments) dictate.

We are committed toprovidingequalemploymentopportunitiestoall applicantsforemploymentregardlessofanindividual’scharacteristicsprotected byapplicable state,federalandlocallaws.