Director of Assessment, Behavioral Health

Lifepoint Health•Conroe, TX

About The Position

The Director of Assessment ensures comprehensive assessments and quality therapeutic care for patients seeking treatment for substance abuse, dual diagnosis, psychiatric disorders, or emotional disorders. This role oversees assessment of walk-in and phone inquiries, completes initial psychiatric assessments, and coordinates recommendations for appropriate care. The Director leads the assessment and referral office, including creating and revising its schedule, answering and supervising inquiry calls, presenting treatment options, documenting calls, and setting appointments. The role interprets treatment to patients and families, makes referrals or triages patients to other resources when appropriate, and coaches and develops staff in assessment, patient and family interaction, and therapeutic care. The Director is also part of the hospital leadership team and may supervise reception.

Requirements

Master’s degree in social work, counseling, or a related field, or a licensed degree as permitted by state practice guidelines; RN licensure may be used as permitted by state guidelines.
Previous management experience in a psychiatric health care facility.
Direct experience in assessment for chemical dependency, dual diagnosis, psychiatric, and geriatric patients.
Strong clinical assessment skills.
Current unencumbered clinical social work, counselor, or RN license, or licensure as required by state regulations.
Valid driver’s license and favorable Motor Vehicle Report (MVR).
Proof of insurance when using a personal vehicle.
CPR certification and Crisis Prevention Training (CPI) within 30 days.

Responsibilities

Direct and perform screening of potential patients for admission and initiate the integrated assessment process.
Assist administration, physicians, and clinical staff in assessing pending admissions, determining the appropriate level of care, and communicating pending admissions to nursing.
Apply approved admission criteria and recommend the least restrictive appropriate level of care; initiate the plan for the episode of care at admission.
Coordinate admission procedures as a liaison among physicians, families, transportation services, and other mental health facilities.
Ensure vital assessment information is accurately referred to attending physicians and that patient histories are complete enough to support an appropriate level-of-care determination.
Communicate with external reviewers and referral sources, conduct required external reviews, and document interactions in accordance with HIPAA guidelines.
Ensure third-party payors are notified of or participate in decisions about transitions between levels of care.
Prepare morning meeting reports covering census information, referral sources, and pending admissions.
Maintain relationships with current referral sources and support their satisfaction and continued association.
Assess, coach, and develop team skills and hold the team accountable to high standards.
Maintain knowledge of CMS, JCAHO, EMTLA, and state regulations and standards, and regularly audit functions for compliance.
Oversee assessment of walk-in and phone callers, answer and supervise inquiry calls, present treatment options, document calls, and schedule appointments.
Complete initial psychiatric assessments and present symptoms to psychiatrists to support care recommendations.
Explain treatment to patients and families to help reduce barriers to accepting and continuing care.
Refer or triage patients to other treatment sources when appropriate.
Create, revise, and implement the assessment and referral office schedule.
Participate as a member of the hospital leadership team and potentially supervise reception.