Member & Recipient Services Clinician (Sun-Thurs, Remote NC)

LOCATION : Remote - this is a home based, virtual position. This person must reside in North Carolina or within 40 miles of the NC border.

Work Schedule : Sunday 10am-7pm and Monday-Thursday 11am-8pm. Due to the nature of the Call Center and the Behavioral Health Crisis line, the job may require some holiday work throughout the year.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

This position is within the Member and Recipient Services Department at Vaya Health. The Member and Recipient Services Clinician is responsible for providing an array of functions to assist consumers in receiving clinically appropriate assessments and services. Telephone calls come to the unit via a 1-800 number from consumers, families, agencies, organizations, professionals and others in a catchment area encompassing Vaya's entire catchment area. This service line operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year and the employee is subject to working holidays and holiday rotation as deemed necessary by the business.

The primary purpose of the position is to provide telephone screening and triage for consumers and families who are seeking mental health, substance abuse, or developmental disability services. The unit assesses the nature of the consumer's problem situation, determines the urgency of the consumer's need, and makes a referral to the most appropriate service available based on the consumer's preferences and resources.

Duties include linking consumers to needed services within clinically appropriate time frames, including telephonic clinical triage and referral which includes a determination of need for urgent or emergent services. In addition to providing clinical support the position will also directly handle any telephonic requests for services at times of heavy call volume.

The employee works productively and efficiently with a wide variety of consumers, families, agencies, professionals, law enforcement and others in the community. Callers may be in distress or in emergency or crisis situations requiring speedy assessment and intervention. Some callers are at risk to harm themselves or others and this risk must be accurately assessed. The high volume of calls requires the employee to balance the need to do a careful and accurate telephone assessment of the consumer's need and situation, with the need to be efficient in the use of time to complete the screening and triage interaction. The employee develops and maintains the knowledge and skills necessary to accurately assess and refer consumers from all disability areas, and also maintains a good working knowledge of resources available throughout Vaya's entire catchment area.

Note : This position requires access to and use of confidential healthcare information or protected health information (PHI) as described in laws addressing patient confidentiality, including, but not limited to, the federal HIPAA law, the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Patient Records law, 42 CFR Part 2, and various state laws. As such, the individual filling this position shall be required to be trained regarding such laws and shall be required to observe those laws in his / her capacity as an employee of Vaya Health. The individual filling this position shall also sign a confidentiality statement as an employee of Vaya Health.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Facilitate Consumer Access to Care :

• Perform clinical screening, triage and referral to consumers needing services.
• Answer and provide disposition to service request calls at times of heavy call volume
• Handle crisis calls in the Member and Recipient Services Call Center : Triage calls for urgency and facilitate access to crisis services when risk indicators are present. Where safety is at risk, the employee initiates immediate intervention via law enforcement, emergency medical assistance, or involuntary commitment.
• The employee provides brief crisis interventions and / or support when indicated to facilitate the assessment process, encourages compliance, addresses safety issues, etc. Clinical functions are performed by the Member and Recipient Services Clinicians.
• The employee accurately documents all contacts according to MCO and State standards and promptly transfers screening and triage information to the provider of choice to conduct the assessment and develop the Person Centered Plan.

Other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES

Knowledge of databases and data entry is essential. A degree alone does not prepare an applicant for this position. Experience providing mental health, substance abuse, or intellectual / developmental disabilities services are essential. This employee should have knowledge of individual and group dynamics, and will learn de-escalation of telephonic situations, and a thorough knowledge risk indicators. Considerable knowledge of governmental and private organizations and resources in the community is beneficial. Considerable knowledge of the laws, regulations, and policies that govern MCO operations is beneficial. Skill in establishing rapport with staff / consumers in discussing their issues in a sensitive, supportive and nonjudgmental way is necessary. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with community members and provider agency staff is necessary.

Other skills or abilities require are as follows :

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Master's degree in a Human Services field (such as Psychology, Social Work, etc.) and at least two (2) years of post-degree-progressive experience providing services in the population served OR graduation from a State accredited school of nursing and two years of experience in psychiatric nursing which provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the work; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Must possess a current and valid professional license or certificate in North Carolina; or possess a current and valid license or certificate from another state or be certified by the national accrediting body appropriate to their profession. (URAC HCC 5)

Experience in the public mental health field and a through understanding of the services available in the catchment area is highly desired due to the complexity of the work of the organization. Prior experience in a Call Center environment in Behavioral Healthcare would be valuable for this employee.

A degree alone does not prepare an applicant for this position. Experience providing mental health or substance abuse services are essential.

No experience can be substituted for the formal degree.

Licensure / Certification Required :

Must possess a current, active, unrestricted professional license or certification from North Carolina in a Human Services field (such as Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Addictions, etc.). Acceptable licenses include Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC), Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS), Doctor of Psychology (Psy. D.), PhD. Psychologist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA). For RN candidates, the employee must have a current, active, unrestricted professional license to practice as a registered Nurse in North Carolina by the NC Board of Nursing.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT : The person in this position is required to reside in North Carolina or within 40 miles of the North Carolina border.

SALARY : Depending on qualifications & experience of candidate. This position is exempt and is not eligible for overtime compensation.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION : Open Until Filled

APPLY : Vaya Health accepts online applications in our Career Center, please visit https : / / www.vayahealth.com / about / careers / .

Vaya Health is an equal opportunity employer.

WORK SCHEDULE : Sunday from 10am-7pm and Monday - Thursday from 11am-8pm. Due to the nature of the Call Center and the Behavioral Health Crisis line, the job may require some holiday work throughout the year.