Crisis Intake & Referral Specialist, Per Diem

St. Luke’s University Health Network•Allentown, PA

14h

About The Position

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 Crisis Intake and Referral Specialist processes referrals for admission to any of St. Luke’s University Health Network Behavioral Health Inpatient Services. Supports requests and assists other hospital services or external customers, in accessing the Network Behavioral Health Inpatient Services.

Requirements

Mental health professional with a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in a Human Services field required.
Minimally, 3 years of direct clinical mental health/crisis intervention experience required.
Previous experience with case management/utilization review and managed care models required.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Basic computer skills – EPIC, word, excel, outlook.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Receives and reviews completed behavioral health intake referrals from internal and external sources and makes unit placement recommendations to the appropriate inpatient behavioral health unit.
Interacts with the Network’s Crisis Intervention team / external sources and the Behavioral Health unit staff to facilitate admission decisions and placement, may need to coordinate with other crisis team members to assist with Emergency Department patient flow and appropriate placement issues.
Verifies insurances authorizations are completed and that the placement location is in network with the insurance carrier.
Obtains insurance authorization numbers upon arrival of the patient to the identified unit when needed.
Verifies inpatient commitment documentation (voluntary / involuntary) is completed to standard and is compliant with local county and department of health regulations.
Facilitates corrections with the referral source to assure compliance when needed.
Transportation arrangements discussed with the referral source and notification made to the accepting unit.
Responsible for obtaining insurance authorizations during the next business day for insurances that were closed overnight or due to holiday / weekend closures for patients processed by the Network’s Crisis Intervention staff.
Assist Crisis Workers with insurance authorizations and bed searches when patient volumes are elevated.
Demonstrates understanding and maintains knowledge of Mental Health regulations and procedures as they pertain to patient rights and status of admission (voluntary/involuntary).
Assists in the update of referral / resource / insurance information as necessary and requested by the manager.