DISCHARGE PLANNER bei Beacon Behavioral Hospital

Beacon Behavioral  is one of the largest and most established behavioral health programs in Louisiana. For 25 years, Beacon employs caring staff at locations across southeast Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Metairie, Slidell, Hammond, Bogalusa, Bunkie, Opelousas, and Lutcher. We currently provide inpatient programs and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) that provide therapy to those struggling with emotional disorders, substance abuse, and mental disorders. Over the past 2 years, Beacon has expanded its service line to partner with Psychiatric Private Practices in TX, AR, MS, FL.  

Beacon’s mission, “to provide unsurpassed patient care in a compassionate, cost-effective, and ethical manner,” has been, and will always be, the cornerstone of Beacon’s success. To fulfill this mission, Beacon Behavioral Hospital seeks dedicated, compassionate, and professional staff in a variety of roles within behavioral health services.

What makes Beacon Behavioral Health a great choice?

At Beacon, we are a growing family and we understand the importance of striking a balance between family and professional life.  It is our goal to provide full-time employees with:

• Competitive salary 
• Professional development training available
• Comprehensive benefits package: health, dental, vision, disability, life insurance and 401k
• Work-life balance.
• Organizational growth opportunities
• Rewards and Employee Recognition programs

Job Summary    

Provides,  coordinates,   and  facilitates  patient discharge  planning   in  collaboration  with   other  health  care   professionals  during hospitalization,  ED  visits   and/or  clinic  visits.   Assist with  organizing  services   across  provider  lines,   between  people,  and   systems  to affect optimal patient outcomes,  achieve  continuity   of  care and  reduce costs.   

Responsibilities 

•  Promote the   mission,  vision,  and   values  of  the organization. 

•  Identifies   patients for discharge, and  extended   care facility  needs. 

•  Collaborates   with  physicians,  caregivers,   patient,  family,  other   departmental  team  members,   and payor  to proactively  develop and   implement  a safe and  appropriate discharge                  plan. 

•  Participates  in  team  meetings   that foster  interdepartmental collaboration  with  the   patient and  their  family   as  deemed necessary,  this   includes  multidisciplinary  meetings   and                 Utilization  Review/Case Management  meetings.   Provides  input  in such meetings  regarding utilization management  and   discharge  planning. 

•  Applies   utilization  review  criteria   to  assess  and   document the  appropriateness  of   admission,  continued  stay,   level  of  care,   and readiness  for  discharge;   refers  cases  that   do                not  meet   criteria to  Case Management  Director   and/or  Medical  Staff. 

•  Maintains  working  knowledge of  Medicare,   Medicaid  and  private insurance company  coverage for   referred  products  and services.   

•  Communicate   daily  with  admissions   personnel regarding   admissions  and  discharges   to  various  facilities. 

•  Ensures that   a quality  of  care is   maintained  or  surpassed   by  collecting  quality   indicators  and  variance data and  reporting   the data  to the  appropriate department;  reports   and        identifies  data that   indicates  potential  areas   for  improvement  of   care and services  provided  within   the  system. 

•  Knowledgeable of  patient’s   financial status,  diagnosis  and   discharge  needs  and   documents  these  as  an ongoing review. 

•  Assist   as  needed  with   obtaining  referrals,  prior   authorization  for  Home Health   Care,  DME,  SNF,   acute rehab  and appointments. 

•  Maintains a current list of resources for referrals and refers to the appropriate inpatient, outpatient and community resources. 

•  Participate in and complete discharge assessments, complete follow up phone calls in a timely manner and provide referrals/ data according to the patient’s needs. 

•  Participate and communicate with the care team in management of the patient through the program. 

Experience & Skills Needed:

•  Ability to maintain patient confidentiality at all times.  

•  Knowledge of  Utilization management principles,  HCFA   guidelines, Swing Bed, home  health care, skilled  nursing facilities/long  term   care  and  durable  medical equipment is  highly                desirable. 

•  Knowledge of nursing services and insurance coverage preferred 

•  Strong organizational and interpersonal skills 

•  Ability to determine appropriate course of action in more complex situations 

•  Ability to work independently, exercise creativity, be attentive to detail, and maintain a positive attitude 

•  Ability to manage multiple and simultaneous responsibilities and to prioritize scheduling of work 

•  Ability to maintain confidentiality of all medical, financial, and legal information 

•  Ability to complete work assignments accurately and in a timely manner 

•  Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing 

•  Ability to handle difficult situations involving patients, physicians, or others in a professional manner.

The above statements are only meant to be a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job.  The incumbents may be requested to perform job related tasks other than those stated in this description.