Crisis Support Staff

About the Role

Under the supervision of the Program Administrator of LifePath Systems Crisis Center, the Crisis Support Staff's primary responsibility is to oversee the daily needs of individuals served at the Crisis Center through service excellence. This position will assist with direct observations and support for individuals with a mental health diagnosis admitted to LifePath Systems Extended Observation Unit (EOU) and Crisis Respite Unit (CRU). This position supports the overall wellness and recovery of those admitted to the crisis center, provides communication to clinical providers, and coordinates needs of individuals and the units.

The Crisis Support Staff provides direct care and interventions congruent with person-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate practices, as well as maintaining center standards and programmatic parameters. Maintains the ability to assess and determine which direct care practices best meet ongoing needs and help track progress toward recovery goals for persons served through thorough communication and documentation.

This position requires excellent customer service and extensive internal and external contacts with persons served, family members, significant others, internal staff, service providers and practitioners, and community partners. The Crisis Support Staff is an integral part of the Interdisciplinary Team process.

Responsibilities

• Provide services and care that may include transportation, assisting individuals served with utilizing daily living skills, checking individuals served in and out of the crisis center, achieving personal outcomes, and safety monitoring.
• Perform medication monitoring, vital signs, specimen collections, redirection to appropriate behaviors, and data collection and entry.
• Supervise individuals' daily activities.
• Complete daily individual observation 15-minute checks for EOU and 60-minute checks for CRU and notes, per State requirements.
• Document issues or incidents appropriately and notify the Nurse on duty, Supervisor and/or Program Administrator immediately.
• Follow agency procedures for incident reporting.
• Document all changes in mood, behaviors, and/or medication side effects/needs.
• Observe self-administered medications.
• Assist individuals with community activities, outings, and unit milieu activities.
• Comply with, understand, and enforce State regulatory requirements and agency policies and procedures.
• Show the utilization of trauma-informed, person-centered language in all verbal dialogues and documents.
• Document progress / lack of progress toward Recovery goals in daily notes.
• Document all meals eaten and missed and encourage healthy eating habits.
• Answer inbound telephone communications.
• Adhere to all driver responsibilities by consistently following established agency policies and procedures.
• Assist with completing check-in and check-out process for individuals admitting and/or discharging on the units.
• Perform room checks as needed.
• Assist with collection of data for units.
• Perform other job duties or responsibilities as assigned by clinical team, nursing, and/or prescriber.

Expectations and Targets

• Timely and thorough documentation, time management and organization skills, effective communication, and participation in daily treatment team meetings.
• 100% of observation rounds are complete and accurate in real time.
• 90% of service notes are signed within 2 business days of service.
• All documentation is uploaded in the individual's chart within 2 business days 90% of the time.
• Data collection and entry is completed daily on shift and accurate.
• All required trainings are completed prior to due date.

Schedule

Due to the Crisis Center operating 24/7, employees may be required to work on center holidays if the holiday falls on their scheduled workday. In the event of unforeseen circumstances that require the use of Paid Time Off, employees are expected to notify their supervisor within 4 hours of their regularly scheduled work time.

Bilingual Requirements

If bilingual and receiving a stipend, employee will be available to translate for other staff as needed and will utilize approved language in the provision of services as needed.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED.
• Minimum one year of experience in a behavioral health or substance use disorder center or facility.
• Experience working with individuals with dually diagnosed mental health and intellectual/developmental disability strongly preferred.
• Certification as Medical Assistant or Certified Nursing Assistant strongly preferred.
• Food handler's certification within 30 days of hire.
• Bilingual (Spanish) highly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to remain calm and helpful in high stress situations.
• Enhanced knowledge and ability in the use of crisis intervention and de-escalation skills.
• Ability to work with those individuals who are in an acute behavioral health/substance use and/or intellectual & developmental disability crisis.
• High level of advocacy/arbitration/negotiation/conflict resolution skills.
• Knowledge of community resources.
• Ability to work independently with or without limited supervision.
• Ability to work on a team.
• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings/weekends/holidays.
• The ability to learn patient care techniques and behavioral health programs.
• The ability to read and carry out verbal and written instructions.
• The ability to provide individual care to administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and to communicate in an emergency effectively.
• The ability to read and follow a Medication Administration Record (M.A.R.).
• The ability to administrate the correct dosage of medication after being trained.
• The ability to follow a menu and plan and prepare recipes.
• The ability to learn behavior modification techniques as required for training of Individuals with certain specific behaviors.