Behavioral Health Program Manager - Congress - BH Services Therapist

JOB PURPOSE: The Primary Care Behavioral Health Program Manager oversees a continuum of services delivered by Behavioral Health Professionals within El Rio’s primary care clinics and fully integrated health homes. These services are inclusive of lifestyle medicine, health focused consultations, crisis management, and health home coordination/navigation. The key deliverables in this role are to promote quality patient and clinician experience, efficient access to care, maximum utilization of services, positive financial results, and quality health outcomes. To drive these results, the Primary Care Behavioral Health Program Manager will report to the Behavioral Health Clinical Director and work in close collaboration with key leaders in Behavioral Health, Medical, Nursing, Clinic operations, to facilitate effective teamwork across departments and disciplines essential for seamless, unduplicated services. 

The Primary Care Behavioral Health Program Manager provides administrative oversight of Behavioral Health Professionals who work in primary care clinics delivering a range of services inclusive of lifestyle medicine, brief health-behavior focused consultations, crisis triage, navigation, and promotes collaborative care approaches with Psychiatry, Counseling/Psychotherapy, and Primary Care Providers.  The Primary Care Behavioral Health Program Manager provides subject matter expertise to relevant departments, committees, including but not limited to population health and financial analytics, billing/coding compliance, patient care, and engagement workgroups.

The primary goal of the El Rio Health Primary Care Behavioral Health Program Manager is to support El Rio’s Mission of providing comprehensive, quality health care that is affordable and accessible to all who may have healthcare needs, by successfully performing the primary essential functions.

The following functions and responsibilities will contribute to El Rio Health to achieve its KEY RESULTS:

1. World Class Experience for staff and patients
2. Healthier patients and employees
3. Positive Financial Result

Essential Job Functions:

• Recruitment and retention of Behavioral Health Professionals to fill positions based upon organizational match/fit and striving to create a work environment that promotes a high degree of clinician satisfaction and quality clinical outcomes.
• Provides administrative oversight of behavioral health professionals who deliver lifestyle medicine services to address physical health problems, chronic disease management and co-morbid behavioral health conditions thru brief health focused consultations, crisis triage.

• Accountable to positive financial results thru strategic planning to develop and maintain efficient access to BHPs for the maximum utilization of services within the behavioral health care continuum.

• Works in close collaboration with key leaders in Behavioral Health, Medical and Nursing to align services across the care continuum of lifestyle medicine, crisis and triage, intake, psychiatry, and case management with the aim of efficient and appropriate access to care.
• Ensures timely communications to facilitate effective teamwork across departments and disciplines essential for seamless, unduplicated services between clinic staff. 
• Promotes collaborative care approaches with Behavioral Health Medical Professionals and Primary Care Providers, at the direction of Medical Director for Psychiatry, to increase the capacity of treating mild mental health conditions in the primary care setting.
• Actively involved with various departments, committees, and workgroups to achieve key deliverables (e.g., financial and population health analytics) and support organization improvement (e.g., workplace violence, patient care review committee). 
• Maintains close collaboration with medical leaders in Adult, Family Practice, OB/GYN, Midwifery, and Pediatrics, Nursing, and clinic operations through attending regular and targeted meetings to ensure there is active communication about services and strategic plans.
• Provides a range of services inclusive of primary care behavioral health, crisis management, and coordination of care to patients as part of the integrated health team. 
• Provides focused quality clinical services as appropriate to model of care, clinic setting, and patient’s presenting health and behavioral concerns.  Range of services may include:
• Consultation.
• Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention.
• Coordination of care related to life stressors, acute and/or chronic medical health conditions, acute and/or severe mental health conditions, substance use problems, motivational barriers to healthy lifestyle, and/or other identifiable behavioral health concerns.
• Provide bridge mental health services as needed for patients awaiting Specialty Behavioral Health services.

• Provides appropriate recommendations to medical providers, patients, and other members of the multidisciplinary team as necessary.

• Assess patients mental/behavioral health related conditions utilizing DSM, PHQ-9, and other relevant screening tools and diagnostics for the purposes of consultation and treatment planning where and when appropriate to the model of care.
• Cultivates education and self-management skills to targeted populations with comorbid medical and mental health conditions, chronic medical disease, behavioral health concerns, and other health related conditions that impact biopsychosocial health and functioning.

Minimum Education and Experience:

• Master’s Degree in Counseling, Social Work, Psychology or a related field from an accredited college or university.
• Five (5) years of supervisory experience; preferably in a health care environment; primary care or integrated primary care/behavioral health setting.
• Seven (7) years of direct clinical experience in behavioral health settings with at least three (3) years in an integrated primary care/behavioral health setting.

Required Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations:

• Independently Licensed Behavioral Health Professional in the state of Arizona

(LCSW, LPC or Licensed Psychologist)

If applicable, equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered, and must be directly related to the functions and responsibilities of the job.

Preferred Education, Experience, Skills, Abilities:

• Ph.D. or Doctorate in Counseling, Social Work, Psychology or a related field from an accredited college or university.
• Seven (7) years of supervisory experience in a health care environment, preferably in an integrated primary care/behavioral health setting.
• Ten (10) years of direct clinical experience in in behavioral health settings with at least three (5) years in an integrated primary care/behavioral health setting.
• Employees in this position are required to have reliable transportation that can meet any operational reassignments of the organization during the workday.  If an employee is driving during work hours, the employee is required to possess a valid driver’s license and must be in compliance with Arizona vehicle insurance requirements.

El Rio Health is a diverse and inclusive organization. We are invested in helping you and your family Create Tomorrow.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 El Rio Health does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age 40 and over, disability, genetic information, military status, ancestry, marital status, familial status, or any other status protected by law or regulation. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

 El Rio Health requires all employees (except those 100% working remotely) to have a Level One Fingerprint Clearance card. A.R.S. 36.425.03. If the prospective employee does not possess this prior to hire, fingerprint application must be completed within 7 days post hire.

 All employees are strongly recommended to obtain COVID 19 and maintain vaccination status (i.e. as recommended by CDC and/or other public health agencies) to include an Influenza vaccination. Personnel who decline to receive COVID 19 and/or flu vaccination per most recent CDC recommendations will be recommended to wear a facemask while in an El Rio Health facility, including both clinical and non-clinical areas from November 1 to April 30 (subject to change depending on viral activity). Subject to exemptions and accommodations when required by law.

 All employees are required to undergo drug testing prior to employment and will be subject to post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return to duty and follow up drug and alcohol testing in compliance with Federal and State regulations for alcohol and controlled substance testing. Employees in positions holding responsibility for the safety and welfare of others will also be classified as safety sensitive.

 El Rio Health is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and abides by all applicable federal Drug-Free Workplace standards. El Rio Health is an equal opportunity employer.