Patient Relations Specialist - AltaPointe Health

AltaPointe Health plans and facilitates a comprehensive, behavioral healthcare system that promotes the wellness and recovery of people living with mental illness, substance use disorders and developmental disability. We are responsible for the public system of mental health, substance use disorder and developmental disability service provision throughout Baldwin, Clay, Coosa, Mobile, Randolph, Talladega, and Washington counties. We facilitate a comprehensive behavioral healthcare continuum through clinical excellence, cultural awareness, and community partnerships. We believe it is our obligation to promote mental health awareness and understanding. We ensure psychiatric competence by educating and training future healthcare professionals. Our care delivery model is characterized by dignity and respect for the individual, patient and family involvement, each patient’s enhanced role functioning and inclusion into the community.

Primary Job Functions:

Training Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with AltaPointe staff to effectively identify program and staff education and training needs.
• Conducts presentations on patient rights, ethics, complaint/grievance procedures, and abuse reporting policies and procedures.
• Adheres to training compliance with the AltaPointe policies and procedures and all accrediting and licensing entities (i.e. DMH, JC etc.)

General Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with patients/individual served, families, and staff to monitor and evaluate the quality of customer care and service delivery.
• Coordinates with staff and accurately resolves and documents complaints, grievances, and feedback from patients/individual served, family, and the community.
• Provides support and education for family members of patients/individuals served.
• Conducts program monitoring of the facilities and completes appropriate documentation.
• Conducts investigations into allegations of abuse, compiles the report, and completes proper documentation.
• Collaborates with programs to complete DHR incident reporting forms and SOR reports as needed.
• Follows DMH, DHR, and JC guidelines, files appropriate reports regarding suspected abuse.
• Attends Patient Relations Sub-Committee meeting quarterly and completes the minutes.
• Attends Peer Council quarterly and completes the minutes.
• Distributes Patient Satisfaction surveys as scheduled and assists with data collection/entry.
• Accurately populates and enters patient/individual served data in reporting databases.
• Demonstrates the ability to recognize the elements of a crisis state and knows how to deescalate or resolve the situation.

Supervision and Consultation:

• Seeks supervision and consultation as needed
• Accepts and employs suggestions for improvement
• Actively works to enhance skills

Clinical Record Keeping:

• Documents in a timely fashion per AltaPointe policy
• Documents in a clear and concise manner that is legible

Courteous and respectful attitudes towards consumers, visitors and co-workers:

• Treats consumers with care, dignity and compassion
• Respects consumers’ privacy and confidentiality
• Is pleasant and cooperative with others
• Assists consumers and visitors as needed
• Personal values don’t inhibit ability to relate to and care for others
• Is sensitive to consumers’ needs, expectations and individual differences
• Is gentle and calm with consumers and families
• Adopts a teamwork approach with coworkers

Administrative and Other Related Duties as Assigned:

• Actively participates in Performance Improvement activities
• Actively participates in AltaPointe committees as required
• Completes assigned tasks in a timely manner
• Follows AltaPointe policies and procedures
• Attends appropriate in-services training and other workshops

Possess a bachelor’s degree in a behavioral health, social services, or healthcare related discipline and at least one year experience required. Experience in the healthcare field preferred. Seeking a candidate with excellent verbal and written communication skills, highly organized, computer proficient, detail-oriented, and self-motivated. Skills, outlined below, to be attained within six (6) months of employment:

• Knowledge of standards for the Alabama Department of Human Resources and Department of Mental Health;
• Knowledge of electronic health records and reporting software for but not limited to DMH and DHR;
• Knowledge of investigative principles and concepts and successful completion of incident investigation curriculum;
• Knowledge of investigation of special incidents;
• Knowledge of Psychiatric Disorders in the adult and child population;
• Knowledge of Consumer Rights Laws and organization policies and procedures;
• Knowledge of monitoring agency’s (DHR, The Joint Commissions, ADAP, MCS, etc) standards and reporting requirements as related to Patient Relations, special incidents, etc.