Job Title: Mental Health Associate

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATE

MISSION

To help adolescents and their families recover from the effects of mental illness, learn to care for themselves and each other; and achieve effective quality health care, behavior health treatment and residential services for children, adolescents and their families in a therapeutic milieu to enhance further growth and community reintegration in the least restrictive setting possible.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervises patients’ activities and monitors behaviors to ensure safety and engagement in appropriate instructional, leisure and daily living activities.
Reduces the potential for the occurrence of aggressive, self-abuse, property destruction and disruptions in programming by providing supervision, physical presence and support in patient environments.
Provides support to patients in performing a system of gradual and graded alternatives for de-escalating patients and managing their behaviors.
Coordinates and engages in emergency and crisis intervention responses to ensure adequate coverage and incident management.
Implements crisis intervention strategies, including physical interventions, as needed, ensuring proper and trained techniques are practiced; ensures that all incidents are timely reported and correctly documented before the end of shift.
Monitors patients during the de-escalation stage and ensures stabilization through their re-entry to normal routines.
Assists in performing functional assessments of behaviors by gathering data relative to the conditions under which target behaviors occur.
Ability to comprehend and demonstrate an understanding of the developmental milestones of children.
Assists in developing intervention strategies that reinforce correct behaviors.
Provides and/or accompanies transportation and supervision of patients, including “at risk” patients, to appointments, meetings and site trips.
Works with patients to assure that needs and schedules are met and behavioral plans are followed as prescribed.
Supports the Residential Director, supervisors and the inter-disciplinary teams (clinical, facilities, dietary) in carrying out activities and behavioral interventions on the unit.
Responsible for completing all required daily documentation and reporting of incidents by end of shift.
Ability to work and effectively communicate with other staff to ensure a patient is not left unattended and without supervision.
Maintains current certification as required by policy.
Attends job specific meetings and/or training as scheduled.

REQUIRED TRAINING

All direct care staff must remain in compliance with regulatory trainings. Failure to remain compliant will result in staff being removed for the work schedule.

First Aid
CPR
Crisis Prevention Intervention
Client Rights
Abuse and Neglect
Minor Aversive Interventions
Major Aversive Interventions
Behavior Management Plan
Obtaining Medical and Psychiatric Assistance
Identification and Assessment of Contraindications
Assistance with Self-Administration of Medication
Non-Physical Intervention/De-escalation Techniques
Identification and Utilization of Less Restrictive Alternatives
Fire and Other Disaster Procedures
Human Resource Orientation
Annual Training

Other – Tuberculosis testing prior to employment and, thereafter, annually.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Minimum of high school diploma or GED equivalent. Previous experience or associates degree in human services preferred.
Current, valid Ohio driver’s license. Successful completion of background check and drug screen.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Quality of Work: Maintains high standards of accuracy in performing duties and responsibilities. Ability to communication clearly and concisely within the department, with co-workers and the general public.

Quantity of Work: Maintains effective and efficient output of all duties and responsibilities as described under “Specific Duties and Responsibilities”.

Dependability: Assumes responsibility for completing assigned work and meeting deadlines. Completes assigned tasks on or before deadlines in accordance with directives, policy, standards and prescribed procedures.

Attendance: Responsible for being punctual for scheduled shifts and adheres to policies and procedures regarding absences and tardiness. Provides adequate notice to management for approved absences and paid time off.

Initiative and Enthusiasm: Maintains an enthusiastic, self-reliant and self-starting approach to accomplish job responsibilities. Strives to anticipate work to be completed and initiates proper and acceptable direction for completion of work with a minimum of supervision and instruction.

Judgment: Exercises analytical judgment in areas of responsibility. Identifies problems or situations as they occur and assists in solutions to problems or situations.

Cooperation: Accepts supervisory instruction and strives to meet the goals and objectives of same. Questions such instruction and direction when clarification of results or consequences are justified, i.e., unclear communications, variance with policy and procedures. Offers suggestions and recommendations to encourage and improve cooperation between all staff within the department.

Relationships with Others: Shares knowledge with supervisors and staff for mutual and departmental benefit. Contributes to maintaining high morale among all staff. Develops and maintains cooperative and courteous relationships with all staff members, representatives from organizations and the general public.

Management of Time: Plans and organizes daily work schedule. Establishes priorities for the completion of work in accordance with good time management. Avoids duplication of effort.

Safety and Housekeeping: Adheres to all safety and housekeeping standards established within the facility and the various regulatory agencies. Maintains a clean and orderly workplace.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED

TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Physical Requirements: Must be able to operate office equipment, office machines to include computers, calculators, copier and facsimile. Must be able to operate and manipulate a variety of behavioral therapy resources, materials and supplies. Must be able to exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 20 pound of force frequently and /or negligible amount of force constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. As needed, must be able to physically assist in crisis interventions which involve physically managing a patient in order to prevent patient from hurting self or another.

Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural or compositional characteristics (whether similar to or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.

Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability of speaking and/or signaling people to convey or exchange information. Includes receiving instructions from immediate supervisor.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to read policy manuals, behavioral assessments and therapeutic reference materials; IEP goals and objectives; student reports and other program related documents. Requires the ability to prepare cognitive and behavioral assessments, goals and objectives, therapy plans, consequence records and communication logs, student progress reports, incident reports, memorandums, correspondence and other program related documents using proper format.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic or schedule form.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively using therapeutic and behavioral terminology.

Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract totals; to multiply and divide; to determine percentages and decimals; and to compute interest and ratios.

Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width and shape.

Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately.

Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items, therapeutic instruments and supplies, office and classroom equipment, control knobs, switches, etc. Must have minimal levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.

Color Discrimination: Requires the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of colors.

Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instruction. Must be adaptable to performing under considerable levels of stress.

Physical Communication: Requires the ability to talk and/or hear: (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken works. Hearing: perceiving nature of sounds by ear.) Must be able to communicate via telephone.

This job description is not intended to be a complete list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for the job and is subject to review and revision in accordance with the needs of Pomegranate Health Systems.

I have read and understand the responsibilities of the Mental Health Associate position. I agree to perform these duties and responsibilities and understand this job description will be the formal basis for my performance evaluation. I also understand that failure to meet the duties and responsibilities of this position will result in correction action up to and including termination from Pomegranate Health Systems.

Signature Print Name Date

12/2015