Behavioral Health Clinician-working with seniors- No Nights No Weekends - Fallon Health

About us:

Fallon Health Weinberg is a partnership between Fallon Health of Massachusetts and Weinberg Campus of Erie County, New York. Fallon Health Weinberg offers a Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)  to serve the health needs of dual-eligible residents of the Western New York counties of Erie and Niagara.

Fallon Health is a company that cares. We prioritize our members--always-making sure they get the care they need and deserve. Founded in 1977 in Worcester, Massachusetts, we deliver equitable, high-quality coordinated care and are continually rated among the nation’s top health plans for member experience, service, and clinical quality. Weinberg Campus has been providing needed services to the elderly for more than 100 years, through both community-based programs and nursing facility care. It is a renowned geriatric education and training institution offering the widest range of housing and care options available on one campus.

At Fallon Health Weinberg, we believe our individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression and unique capabilities allow us to better serve our members. We embrace and encourage differences in age, race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and other characteristics that make people unique. 

Brief summary of purpose:

The Behavioral Health Clinician provides Behavioral Health support to FHW participants and promotes effective caregiving and self-care skills in participants’ caregivers and FHW staff under the supervision of the Social Work Manager.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

Provides counseling to PACE participants as referred by the IDT

• Conducts psychosocial, behavioral assessments of PACE participants and writes professional reports in the EMR  
• Participates in the development of an interdisciplinary plan of care appropriate to participant’s goals and level of functioning, mental health or cognitive status, and care needs.
• Provides direct BH counseling sessions as appropriate in individual treatment as well as psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational groups

Acts as consultant to the IDT and primary care team regarding supporting participant behavior change, recommending interventions and collaborating with team members in family meetings, discharge planning meetings and care planning

• Attends and actively participates in IDT Meetings
• Facilitates BH Rounds with the PACE Care Team
• Provides impromptu “curbside” consultation with team members
• Attends Hospital discharge planning meetings as needed
• Attends care planning meetings as needed and makes BH recommendations for inclusion in the PACE care plan
• Develops and implements psychosocial interventions appropriate to primary care settings.
• Engages in outreach activities to community behavioral health providers and provides recommendations to PACE Program Director for potential contracts to ensure adequate community BH resources are available to PACE participants

Evaluates and provides support to caregivers to improve care giving

• Meets with caregivers as needed to provide participant care
• Participates in family meetings when requested or approved by the participant’s IDT

Reviews service requests and re-authorizations for community-based specialty mental health services

• Receives and reviews updates from community-based psychotherapists for medical necessity
• Makes recommendations to the IDT regarding appropriateness of initial referrals to psychotherapy and on progress of ongoing psychotherapy

Education:

Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Applied Psychology, or Mental Health, or equivalent

License/Certifications

Must be licensed in the State of New York as a Mental Health Counselor and be able to work independently

Experience:

• Experience in providing 1:1 behavioral health counseling services in an outpatient primary care medical office or similar healthcare settings helpful.
• At least one year of experience working with older adults.
• Experience with Cognitive-Behavioral, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused, Transtheoretical, and Interpersonal Theory techniques for promoting behavior change.
• Understanding of the physiological, psychological and neuropsychological contributors to behavior in diverse clinical populations.
• Ability to use independent clinical judgment to provide appropriate and effective treatment
• Ability to diplomatically maintain client confidentiality and HIPAA standards when including family members and caregivers.
• Able to work as part of an interdisciplinary team.
• Provides guidance to interdisciplinary team on difficult cases as it relates to behavioral health challenges
• In conjunction with the PACE Program Director, Social Work Manager and NDM department, works to build community network capacity of behavioral health resources for PACE participants including individual psychotherapy, psychiatric services, inpatient behavioral health services
• Ability to travel independently throughout the PACE service area and see participants at FHW site and in their homes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organization and time management skills and ability to complete paperwork in a timely manner required.
• Facile with computer applications including an Electronic Medical Record.

COVID-19 Vaccination:

With the end of the Global Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic, Fallon Health no longer requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 except for employees who are in jobs that under state and federal laws, regulations and policies are required to be vaccinated and/or they are in Member/participant facing positions.

Fallon Health provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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