PATIENT RESOURCE SPECIALIST

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Description

Who We Are

Pawnee Mental Health is proud of the high-quality services we offer and the positive outcomes our clients achieve. Our employees are the heart of our organization, and each person contributes to our mission. We're looking for motivated, passionate individuals who want to use their skills to support others. We believe people facing mental health or substance use challenges deserve the chance to live meaningful, productive lives. If that mission resonates with you, we encourage you to explore this role and join us in making an impact.

What We Offer at Pawnee Mental Health, we are committed to supporting our employees' well-being by offering a comprehensive and competitive benefits package, including:

• HRSA- Health Workforce: Loan Repayment Program for Health Careers
• Continuing Education: Pawnee provides up to 5 days of additional paid leave for continuing education and a fund of up to $1,000 annually.
• Medical & Vision Insurance: Accessible plans to support your health needs offered through BCBS or Aetna.
• Dental Insurance: 100% covered by Pawnee for employees.
• Kansas Public Employee Retirement System (KPERS): Secure your future with KPERS retirement benefits, a lifetime pension program.
• Life Insurance: coverage up to 150% of your annual income and long-term disability insurance at no cost.
• Paid Holidays: Enjoy 8 paid holidays throughout the year.
• Generous PTO: Start earning 10 hours of PTO per month-equivalent to 15 days per year-with an increase to 24 days per year after your first anniversary.
• Paid Medical Leave: Receive a 40-hour bank of paid medical leave.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Access support resources for your personal and professional life.
• Supplemental Benefits: Additional life insurance coverage, ambulance transportation, short term disability, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and more.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

Essential Responsibilities:

• Meet with the client during the comprehensive assessment process to complete vitals and complete initial testing
• Meet with the client to complete any Release of Information forms as deemed necessary by the treatment team and assist the client in getting registered for Pawnee's portal
• Complete a check-in phone call with the client, three business days following their assessment, to answer questions and serve as a connection to the agency.
• Stay connected with a client for the duration of their treatment and perform the role of care coordinator for internal and external treatment.
• May need to travel to provide services to meet the needs of clients in all ten counties.
• Assists clients in accessing/maintaining payment mechanisms including insurance benefits.
• Collaborate with Pawnee staff and community partners in the areas of benefit acquisition and maintenance.
• Provides assistance to clients to obtain and/or maintain Medicaid/Medicare benefits.
• Provides coordination and communication of Medicaid and Medicare insurance with clients and assigned staff and collaborates with the State of Kansas Department of Health and Environment/KANCARE Clearinghouse. This includes clients with lost or lapsed coverage. Files grievances as needed, based on eligibility, to reinstate benefits. Assists with coverage issues for Medically Needy benefits, including coordination of Spenddown amounts.
• Assists in coordinating benefits for clients using the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) program, maintaining proper certifications.
• Assists eligible clients with the SSI/SSDI application process using the SOAR Model (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery).
• Interviews and follows up with the client, coordinating the application process with Case Manager, Social Security Administration, Disability Determination Services and others involved in the process.
• Schedules meetings and follow up meetings with clients to identify needs and barriers to obtaining benefits. Translate information from these meetings into an action/treatment plan with specific goals and objectives.
• Assists clients in completing the SSI/SSDI application according to established policies and procedures of the program. Compiles and submits supporting documentation on a timely basis. Serves as a liaison between the client and SSA to coordinate information and requested documents between SSA and DDS.
• Identifies and collects existing medical documentation including outside treating source records.
• Complete an assessment and written medical summary report for clients.
• Coordinates with representative payee services as needed.
• Coordinates and communicates regularly with the primary Case Manager and other support service providers to assist the client. Meets with the Case Manager to review application information, discuss pending application status and attend various meetings to review caseload and coordinate SOAR referrals.
• Fosters a trusting relationship with clients, meets clients in a mutually convenient setting, develops creative outreach methods to engage difficult-to-reach clients and provides outreach at various community locations to facilitate client participation. Assists the Case Manager by serving as an additional point-of contact for the client in crisis situations.
• Works closely with related homeless services.
• Collects data and runs various reports to measure SOAR outcomes.
• Coordinates with the billing department to ensure appropriate insurance billing.
• Assists Case Managers with special projects as directed by the Program Director.
• Attend meetings and training as necessary to keep up with current State regulations, as well as attend meetings that support their job functions as requested by their supervisor. This could include but not limited to team meetings, agency meetings, group/ individual/ peer/ committee meetings or community meetings.
• Meet and comply with all documentation requirements as directed by policy and their supervisor. This would include but not limited to requirements for documentation and assessments.
• Meet client care expectations as outlined in agency policy.
• Complete required agency trainings.
• Perform all other reasonably related duties assigned by immediate supervisor or other management personnel.

Case Manager duties will be expected when necessary and appropriate

• Complete the SDoH with the client to assess their needs. The SDoH will be documented as a service within the client's electric medical record.
• Care coordination with outside agencies will include helping the client schedule an appointment, explore barriers, if any, to attending the appointment and verify the appointment was attended.
• Care coordination will be offered for those Pawnee clients who have been discharged from the emergency department, inpatient psychiatric program, or residential and/or inpatient facility due to a mental health or substance use concern.
• Familiarize clients with community resources for educational, cultural, recreational, and social activities.
• Perform care coordination as needed to provide clients with access to physical health care, social services, housing resources, and employment resources as necessary to facilitate wellness and recovery of the whole person.
• Complete releases of information as necessary to help with care coordination.
• When a client is referred to an external provider or resource, perform follow-up to see if client attended the appointment and/or followed through with connection to the provider or resource. Patient Resource Specialist will contact the external referral and close the loop.
• Works with client's treatment team members to help coordinate care.
• Completes timely and accurate documentation of services in PMHS electronic medical record as well as any other relevant databases as required within the same day.
• Confirm that the client has all required information and appointments as necessary to complete the next steps in their treatment after their intake.
• Other duties as developed and assigned as an ongoing part of the program.
• Will discuss the customer satisfaction survey, giving the client the opportunity to complete the survey that day or complete it at their convenience. At the 72 hour follow up call, specialist will ask if the survey has been completed/if the client would like to complete it and document accordingly.
• Send appropriate referrals when necessary or if asked.
• Maintain knowledge and skills related to field of work through regular review of written materials and attendance at training events.
• Adhere to the standards, policies and instructions established by PMHS Policy and Procedure and any applicable ethical codes within field of employment.
• Demonstrate sensitivity to all cultural and ethnic differences.
• Work cooperatively with the Management Team and other members of the staff in sharing resources and expertise in pursuit of the agency's mission.
• Care coordination at minimum will be 75% in the office and 25% in the community with the goal of 50% in the office and 50% in the community.
• Engage the client in a purposeful, supportive, and helping relationship.
• Elicit the client's choices concerning their basic needs.
• Goal development and treatment planning services and activities.
• Individual therapeutic intervention. Examples include the development of interpersonal self-care skills, assisting the individual to gain control over psychiatric or emotional symptoms, assisting the individual to adapt to his/her life situation and community settings in which he/she lives and functions, etc.
• Provide ongoing education to the adult clients, family, and support systems about mental illness.
• Complete a state approved Case Management Training specific to the focus of the position. This is required at the first available opportunity.
• Meet clients where they are at including in their home, transporting clients to appointments (medical, dental, vision etc.), to the pharmacy, grocery store, going to local jails, hospitals, nursing homes, food banks, etc.
• Help the client complete applications for services.
• Respectful written/verbal communication between staff and clients.
• Maintain healthy boundaries with the client/family.
• Assist the client in ultimately achieving the targeted outcome(s) in a measurable manner.
• Advocate for the client if there is such a need.
• Document the condition of the home (interior and exterior) the yard, odors, unusual marks, if the client has bathed etc.
• Use critical thinking/problem solving skills.
• Complete mandated reports and/or welfare checks if needed.
• Drive to community settings for the delivery of services throughout Pawnee's 10 counties

Requirements

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in a human service field or equivalent work experience, or a combination of work experience in the human services field and education with one year of experience substituting for one year of education.
• Strong oral and written communication skills using the English language.
• Basic personal computer skills which enable the entry, retrieval, and use of electronic data.
• A valid driver's license and automobile liability insurance maintained in accordance with Pawnee policy and procedure.
• Ability to work with a wide variety of individuals with behavioral health needs served by the Community Mental Health Center.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to effectively multi-task.
• Strong ability to manage time and prioritize tasks.
• Ability to effectively utilize Microsoft Office Applications (i.e. Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, Microsoft Outlook)
• Requires an extensive knowledge of SSI/SSDI and other public entitlement programs.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the needs and challenges of adults who experience severe and persistent mental illness and/or children with a severe emotional disturbance.
• Experience working with the BIPOC or Veteran community.

Salary Description

$24.04 an hour