Milieu Specialist

Job Summary

This position works under the direct supervision of the Unit Charge Nurse. The Milieu Specialist plays a critical role in maintaining a safe, supportive, and therapeutic environment for individuals experiencing mental health crises. This position requires high emotional intelligence, quick decision-making, and a calming presence to deescalate challenging situations. Working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, the Milieu Specialist provides recovery-focused support and coaching to help individuals avoid hospitalization. This position works three 12-hour shifts per week, including every other weekend (Saturday and Sunday). As a 24/7 facility, both day and night shifts are available:

• Day Shift: 7:00 AM – 7:30 PM
• Night Shift: 7:00 PM – 7:30 AM

Essential Functions

• Conduct daily safety and environmental rounds and communicate concerns to nursing and clinical leadership in real time to enable timely follow-up and resolution.
• Comply with regulatory and accreditation requirements, along with organizational policy.
• Check-in with charge nurse at the start of the shift to get directions on how to effectively assist on the assigned unit(s).
• Assess/reassess the units throughout each shift and work collaboratively with the interdisciplinary care team to implement safety best practices and interventions, as applicable, especially during situations when a patient is in crisis or exhibiting challenging or medium to high-risk behaviors.
• Serve as crisis response team member and assist in formal staff debriefings following codes.
• Assist units with checking in patient belongings, visitation, admissions, discharges, and providing staffing coverage during coworkers' breaks or absences.
• Attend unit shift to shift report (daily).
• Assist nursing leadership in precepting Behavioral Health Technicians.

Job Requirements and Qualifications

• Education: High school diploma or GED required; Associate degree or higher preferred.
• Training Requirements:
• BLS Recipient
• Right’s WELLE Completion of agency-specific onboarding and crisis intervention training.
• Ongoing professional development in trauma-informed care and recovery coaching.
• Experience Requirements:
• Minimum of two (2) years' experience in the healthcare industry within in a patient safety, patient relations, and/or risk management role accepted in lieu of college degree.
• Preferred Experience:
• Experience in customer service
• Experience working with adults with severe mental illness, substance use disorder or intellectual/developmental disabilities
• Experience working with children with serious emotional disturbance
• Background in recovery-oriented or trauma-informed care environments
• Experience in crisis de-escalation
• Experience in working with Electronic Health Record systems

Job Specific Competencies/Skills

• Interpersonal Skills
• Ability to remain calm and supportive in high-stress situations
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving needs and schedules.
• Strong Organizational Skills
• De-escalation and conflict resolution
• High emotional intelligence and empathy
• Clinical knowledge of mental health and suicide prevention
• Strong time management
• Strong critical thinking and decision-making abilities
• Knowledge Requirements:
• HIPPA
• Microsoft 365
• Additional Information
• (Travel required, physical requirements, on-call schedules, etc.): Must be available for meetings and events which may occur outside of standard office hours.
• Work performed primarily in a crisis center environment.
• The ideal candidate must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.
• OCHN is committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive and equitable culture. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer that embraces and encourages our employees’ differences. This includes (but is not limited to) ability, age, color, family type, gender expression and identity, individual expression, medical conditions, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, and all other diverse and wonderful characteristics.