Mental Health Assistant Unit Chief, Correctional Health Services

Summary of position:

New York City Health + Hospitals

NYC H+H is the largest public health care system in the world. We are a network of 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, and post-acute care centers. Our health system provides essential services to 1.4 million New Yorkers ever yearin more than 70 locations across the city’s five boroughs. Our workforce of more than 42,000 employees are uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible.

Correctional Health Services

The New York City jail system is the second largest in the nation. A significant number of individuals in the NYC jail system will receive care on the mental health service. The service strives to provide safe, holistic and evidence-based therapeutic interventions for the diverse range of mental health issues that face the population, from serious mental illness to the natural struggles that accompany incarceration. The service provides some of the most comprehensive and unique treatment modalities in the country, including specialty housing units for individuals with serious mental illness, a 24-hour on-call psychiatric service, robust creative arts programming, clinics in each of the facilities, substance use treatment, medication assisted treatment (MAT), integrated re-entry services that includes alternatives to incarceration, and relationships with multiple training institutions throughout the city. Furthermore, CHS has been engaged in an effort to better identify people with neurodevelopmental/neurocognitive disorders and to utilize psychological testing to connect people to services in the community (e.g., with OPWDD).

This full-time position reports to the Mental Health Unit Chief and provides clinical- administrative support with the coordination and management of mental healthcare delivery in buildings with a high concentration of mental health therapeutic housing units. This includes ensuring provision of mental health services within the timeframes and quality benchmarks outlined by CHS MH policies, ensuring timely documentation in patient electronic health records, and providing clinical-administrative support to staff. The Assistant MH Unit Chief will collaborate closely with the Department of Correction (DOC) leadership and CHS Operations in order to ensure service delivery and meet patient needs.

1. Under the direction of the Mental Health Unit Chief and in close collaboration with the building MH leadership, assist in the daily management of the facility operations and MH programming
2. Responsible for patient location tracking. Includes working with DOC to reconcile pending transfers to ensure that patients are appropriately housed and working with central leadership to manage PACE bed-board locally.
3. Oversee tracking and reporting of THU suicide watches and census, including maintenance of the TNF tracker.
4. Review self-injury report and ensure all uniform notifications and targeted evaluations are completed within the designated time frame.
5. Support operational scheduling by conducting a clinical review on all transfers in order to identify priority patients to be seen and flag for scheduling as needed.
6. Support implementation and completion of mental health programs and suicide watch rounds on all THUs in coordination with the Senior MHTA Supervisor.
7. Complete state summaries for assigned facilities.
8. Facilitate proper completion of incident reports in coordination Heath Services Administrator (HSA) and mental health staff.
9. Cover for Mental Health Unit Chief when out of the office
10. Direct clinical care when necessary, as assigned by the MH Unit Chief
11. Other duties as assigned by the Mental Health Unit Chief or her/his designee.

Department Preferences

Education

1. LMHC, LMSW, LCSW, Ph.D or Psy.D in Psychology
2. New York State license in good standing

Experience

1. Two years clinical experience working with individuals with mental illness
2. At least 1year of supervisory experience with mental health personnel
3. An equivalent and satisfactory combination of education and experience may be considered
4. Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with other disciplines
5. Strong organizational skills, including working knowledge of database and spreadsheet design and maintenance

Minimum Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in Arts or Science with a specialization in hospital administration, health care administration, administrative medicine or in public health when conferred for a program in hospital administration, from an approved college or university; or a Baccalaureate degree; and,
• One (1) year of administrative experience and background; or,
• An equivalent combination of training, education and experience in related fields and educational disciplines; and,
• General knowledge of policies and programs utilized in the operation of a health care facility, ability to assimilate and analyze data, to recommend action based on analytical findings, and to assist in the solution of complex problems in health care administration and management.

Qualification Requirements:

1. Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Public Health, Health Care Specialization, Social Work, Psychology or related field; and
2. Three (3) years of increasingly responsible experience in hospital or regulatory agency administration, with particular emphasis on development and evaluation of mental health delivery services; or
3. Possession of a valid license and current registration to practice in a mental health field issued by the New York State Education Department (NYSED).