Director of Intake and Referral

Job Description

River Vista Behavioral Health is seeking a highly skilled and experienced professional to join our leadership team as a Director of Intake and Referral. This key position plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of our behavioral health services, and we are looking for a talented individual to lead our Assessment and Referral activities.

Responsibilities

• Direct the screening of potential patients for admission into our program and initiate the integrated assessment process.
• Assist administration, physicians, and clinical staff in the assessment of pending admits to determine appropriateness of level of care and communicate pending admissions to the Nursing Department.
• Use approved admission criteria and make decisions concerning the level of care for treatment using the least restrictive level appropriate.
• Monitor all intake/reservation information calls during normal business hours and prepare appropriate internal forms.
• Function as a liaison between physicians and families, coordinate with transportation services and other mental health facilities to organize the admission procedures.
• Plan, coordinate, and evaluate direct and indirect facility assessments and patient admissions.
• Ensure that all vital patient assessment information is referred accurately to the attending physicians, and that patient historical information obtained is complete to facilitate an accurate determination for the appropriate level of care.
• Communicate with external reviewers and referral sources through implementation of the R.A.P process and conduct all required external reviews and maintain documentation of all such interaction.
• Ensure that third-party payors are notified of, or participate in, decisions about appropriate transitions between levels of care.
• Coordinate activities to provide the community with resources and referrals.
• Prepare monthly statistics for the marketing and administrative departments.
• Prepare morning meeting reports to communicate pertinent census information, referral sources, pending admissions, and follow-up action pending admissions, pending discharges, and nature of discharge.
• Coordinate with PAT assessments of all patients who are potential involuntary admissions.
• Provide guidance to community resources available to persons inappropriate or unavailable for admission but who are requiring further guidance and referrals.
• Maintain records of temporary privileges for all physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and allied health professionals and coordinate staffing privileges with Medical Staff Coordinator and Medical Director.

Professional Collaboration

• Provide services to current referral sources to assure their satisfaction and continued associations.
• Allocate and coordinate program resources for marketing and referral development activities.
• Provide education, support, and recognition to staff participating in referral development activities.
• Collaborate with the Director of Business Development to develop, implement, and monitor a target marketing plan for the program.
• Provide for guest relations and ensure the appearance of the facility and manner in which program staff communicate with patients, families, referral sources, and fellow staff is effective and professional.
• Ensure the implementation of an ongoing system of program orientation for patients, families, and professionals and others.
• Perform routinely scheduled AOC duties, hospital rounding, and other administrative mentoring opportunities.

Utilization Review

• Assist potential patients in gaining access to federal and state support systems.
• Provide opportunity for physicians and prospective patients to tour the facility.
• Consult with the business office and/or admission staff as needed to clarify data and ensure the insurance pre-certification process is complete.
• Provide clinical precertification information to patients, managed care companies, insurance companies, and other third-party reviewers to establish the length of stay or number of certified days.

Personnel Management and Staffing

• Maintain and allocate a well-qualified core of staff resources.
• Assure that hiring, disciplinary actions, and termination procedures are conducted in accordance with hospital policies.
• Involve appropriate facility management in all decisions, and review these decisions with CEO prior to implementation.
• Assure adequate supervision and evaluation processes for all staff members and delegate these responsibilities as appropriate.
• Assure adequate orientation for new employees of the Case Management Department.
• Provide for educational needs and professional development of staff.
• Ensure that the staff schedule and configuration will meet the needs and demands of the patient population and census and adjust it accordingly.
• Ensure an adequate system of communication and reporting is maintained between all staff members, as well as other departments involved in the ongoing operation of the program.
• Create a structure that best meets the needs of the organization, particularly department organization related to supervision and assignment of staff.
• Routinely review job assignments and utilization of staff.

Talent Management - Responsible for retention and engagement of employees:

• Foster staff development and growth of team.
• Provide regular coaching and feedback to employees to motivate performance.
• Complete performance evaluations providing thorough feedback and goals to assigned staff by established deadlines.
• Coordinate and provide day-to-day oversight to staff; actively involved in resolving employee matters/issues.
• Maintain open communication through regular rounding and one-to-one meetings with employees.
• Ensure staff comply with assigned education requirement in a timely manner (i.e., CIA Training, HIPAA training, competencies, etc.).
• Responsible for holding staff accountable with upholding facility policies/procedures and managing the corrective action process when needed.

Patient Care Standards

• Analyze statistical data on programs to determine and respond to trends.
• Ensure programs adhere to specific Standards of Care of Child Patients ages 5 through 17.
• Ensure programs adhere to specific Standards of Care of Adolescent Patients ages 13 through 17.
• Ensure programs adhere to specific Standards of Care of Adult Patients ages 18 through 64.
• Ensure programs adhere to specific Standards of Care of Geriatric Patients ages 65 and older.

Clinical Leadership

• Conduct department meetings on a regular basis and ensure minutes are posted and available for the staff.
• Ensure interdisciplinary treatment planning is organized with participation of all appropriate clinical disciplines.
• Ensure all patient, family, and referral complaints are promptly handled.
• Monitor and evaluate the utilization of the patient satisfaction survey, and evaluate trends.
• Ensure that the physical environment of the unit is monitored for safety, cleanliness, and attractive appearance and all deficiencies are corrected in a timely manner.
• Coordinate the collection of outcome data within the corporate deadline.

Continuous Quality Improvement

• Ensure that a system is developed to provide continuity of care and communication with family and appropriate referral sources, and ensure the system is evaluated and reviewed regularly.
• Evaluate the achievement of program goals and objectives with appropriate staff on a regular basis.
• Ensure the department meets JCAHO, Medicare, and federal and state regulatory requirements.
• Develop and implement a Performance Improvement Plan, evaluate the results monthly, and report results to the Corporate Performance Improvement Committee in a timely manner.
• Ensure that all deficiencies identified through the performance improvement analysis are addressed with appropriate problem-solving actions.
• Review all risk management occurrence and ensure that complete and timely reports are submitted to Risk Management.
• Analyze statistical data of the program to determine and respond to trends.

Additional Standards

• Assist with planning and teaching staff development programs.
• Maintain a record of attendance to meet expected standards.
• Serve on Facility Committees as assigned.
• Accept responsibility for professional growth and development.
• Demonstrate a professional attitude and support the objectives of the Facility's marketing and guest relations philosophy through internal and external communications and interactions with all levels of staff, patients, family members, guests, community, and referral sources.
• Adhere to facility, department, corporate, personnel, and standard policies and procedures.
• Attend all mandatory facility in-services and staff development activities as scheduled.
• Adhere to facility standards concerning conduct, dress, attendance, and punctuality.
• Support facility-wide quality/performance improvement goals and objectives.
• Maintain confidentiality of facility employees and patient information.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of assessment and referral techniques and accepted procedures.
• Knowledge of patient assessment, family motivating treatment planning techniques.
• Knowledge of external review organizations (i.e., managed care, Medicare, Medicaid, state gatekeeper for Medicaid).
• Knowledge of patients' rights, advanced directives, adult and child abuse laws, and emergency detention.
• Knowledge of complex patient care planning.
• Knowledge and utilization of crisis intervention techniques.
• Knowledge of payor resources and financial planning.
• Excellent leadership and negotiation skills.
• Excellent customer relations skills.
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal communication skills.
• Skill in interacting with multiple individuals with diversified roles and perspectives.
• Skill in organizing and prioritizing workloads to meet deadlines.
• Skill in telephone etiquette and paging procedures.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to handle conflicting situations.
• Ability to focus on details in a busy environment.
• Ability to operate in an unstructured environment, orchestrate a myriad of activities, and to manage multiple priorities within complex systems.
• Ability to tolerate ambiguity, uncertainty, and change.
• Ability to work at a rapid pace.
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients and co-workers.
• Ability to adhere to safety policies and procedures.
• Ability to use good judgment and to maintain confidentiality of information.
• Ability to work as a team player.
• Ability to demonstrate tact, resourcefulness, patience, and dedication.
• Ability to accept direction and adhere to policies and procedures.
• Ability to recognize the importance of adapting to the various patient age groups (adolescent, adult, and geriatric).
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to meet corporate deadlines.
• Ability to react calmly and effectively in emergency situations.

Physical, Mental, and Special Demands

• Ability to stand, or walk up to six hours, sit for up to two hours.
• Ability to spend -% of the workday outdoors in temperatures varying from -oF and % of the workday indoors in temperatures varying from -oF.
• Ability to occasionally push/pull wheeled carts from lbs. (i.e., crash carts, patient on stretchers or in wheelchairs).
• Ability to frequently lift and carry up to pounds; occasionally lift and carry up to lbs.
• Ability to see well enough to read written materials.
• Ability to discern a variety of odors.
• Ability to handle hazardous/infectious waste on an occasional basis.
• Ability to work in an environment where the noise level is frequently high; where chemicals are frequently used in cleaning; where mechanical and electrical hazards may occasionally be present; and where dust, mist, and stream are frequently generated in housekeeping tasks.
• Ability to respond to exposure to blood and bodily fluids.

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