Unit Secretary/Mental Health Worker-Full Time, Day & Night Shift

Kaweah Health•Visalia, CA

1d•$20 - $31

About The Position

The Unit Secretary/Mental Health Worker is responsible for the safety, comfort, and support of acute psychiatric patients. This role is an integral part of a multidisciplinary team, supporting and coordinating unit activities to promote wellness and recovery for patients with psychiatric disorders and their families. The position is in Kaweah Health’s Youth Crisis Stabilization Unit and is full-time, with day and night shifts available on variable 12-hour shifts.

Requirements

Must be at least 18 years of age.
HeartSaver AED certification is required.
Complete Kaweah Health-approved crisis intervention training within 60 days of hire or transfer.
A desire to work with involuntary or persistently mentally ill adults is crucial.

Nice To Haves

High school diploma.
Experience with basic psychiatric and nursing skills.

Responsibilities

Collaborate and communicate with nursing staff to maintain accurate patient records during hospitalization.
Enter patient data into the computer for admissions, discharges, and transfers; enter computer orders within two hours and process STAT orders immediately.
Keep the Nurse Manager or Charge Nurse informed of admissions, discharges, and transfers through frequent communication.
Prepare and maintain patient charts, reviewing them at the end of each shift to ensure forms are available and filed in the correct order.
Assemble charts after discharge for Medical Records and prepare charts for patients transferred to another unit.
Copy materials as directed and distribute them to appropriate persons.
Refer complaints and problems to the Charge Nurse or Nurse Manager immediately.
Serve as a liaison for the medical nursing unit, facilitating communication among disciplines, patients, families, and visitors.
Assist with personal hygiene, including bathing, showers, and oral care.
Assist with patients’ toileting needs, including emptying bedpans and drainage containers, and report variations in output to licensed nursing staff.
Assist with emergency care, including crash cart checks, CPR, and responding to Code Blue.
Monitor patient behavior in the milieu, set limits when indicated, and communicate observations to the team.
Initiate and respond to Code Gray; participate in holding patients for involuntary medication administration, restraint administration, and transport.
Accompany patients within KDMHH and to community locations for court, assessment, or testing.
Perform and document Q15 checks, audio/video monitoring, and one-to-one observation as assigned.
Monitor patient visitors as indicated and help maintain a safe environment of care.
Participate in patient admission and discharge, assist patients with changing into hospital gowns, conduct contraband searches, and inventory belongings.
Record intake and output, weight, and height.
Collect, label, and deliver specimens.
Assist in gathering patients for physicians, groups, meals, and other activities.
Transport meals from the dining area to the unit for patients who are not clinically appropriate for off-unit meals.
Set out nourishment for patients and clean up afterward.
Answer the phone within four rings, answer patient or family questions, or refer them to appropriate personnel.
Retrieve charts and complete assigned patient paperwork and documentation.
Provide care and services appropriate to the population served, with knowledge of growth and development and patients’ and families’ cultural, linguistic, spiritual, gender, and age-specific needs.
Perform other duties as assigned.