Peer Support Specialist

SUMMARY:

As a Peer Support Specialist within our organization, you will play a vital role in providing support, guidance, and advocacy to individuals receiving behavioral health services. Drawing from your own lived experience with mental health or substance use challenges, you will empower and inspire others on their path to recovery. Your compassion, empathy, and ability to establish rapport will foster a supportive environment conducive to healing and growth.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide peer support and mentorship to individuals receiving behavioral health services, promoting self-determination and recovery-oriented goals.
• Utilize your own lived experience to empathize, validate, and connect with individuals navigating mental health or substance use challenges.
• Foster a supportive and non-judgmental environment where individuals feel safe to share their experiences and explore their recovery journey.
• Assist individuals in developing coping skills, problem-solving techniques, and strategies for managing symptoms and achieving personal goals.
• Advocate for the rights and preferences of individuals receiving services, ensuring their voices are heard and respected within the treatment process.
• Collaborate with clinical staff and other members of the treatment team to coordinate care and support the overall well-being of individuals served.
• Facilitate peer-led support groups, workshops, and educational sessions to enhance community engagement and promote recovery-oriented practices.
• Maintain appropriate documentation of peer support activities and interactions, including assessments, treatment plans, and progressive notes adhering to confidentiality and privacy regulations.
• Ensure compliance with all state, federal, and local regulations governing peer support services.
• Adhere to all applicable company policies, practices, and procedures to maintain compliance with organizational standards.
• Stay up-to-date with any required training, certifications, or continuing education requirements relevant to the role, compliance requirements, and regulatory standards.
• Adhere to mandatory reporting standards, and company compliance requirements including but not limited to actively participating in investigations, audits, and monitoring activities as required.
• Performing additional tasks, duties, and assignments as specified by your supervisor.

COMPETENCIES:

To excel in this role, you should possess the following competencies:

• Empathy and Compassion: Ability to empathize with others' experiences, demonstrate compassion, and offer support without judgment.
• Active Listening: Skill in actively listening to individuals' concerns, validating their experiences, and offering constructive feedback and encouragement.
• Peer Support Skills: Proficiency in providing peer support services, including mentoring, advocacy, and facilitating mutual aid.
• Boundaries and Ethics: Understanding of professional boundaries, ethical guidelines, and confidentiality principles in peer support practice.
• Communication Skills: Effective verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to articulate ideas clearly and engage individuals in meaningful dialogue.
• Cultural Competence: Sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, and diversity issues, with a commitment to providing culturally responsive and inclusive support.
• Collaboration: Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams at contracted facilities and community partners to optimize patient outcomes.
• Use of Technology: Proficient in the use of a PC; in a Windows environment; in the use of the Internet; and in the use of MS Office Applications such as Outlook, Word, and Excel. Proficient in the use of EHR software systems, preferably AthenaOne.

TRAVEL:

• Travel to the assigned nursing facility is required for this position.

REQUIREMENTS:

• An individual must be able to perform the essential functions satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations.
• Must have personal experience with mental health and/or substance use challenges and be willing to disclose this experience as part of the job application process.
• Adherence to applicable policies and procedures at contracted facilities, including infection control protocols and safety guidelines.
• Tuberculosis (TB) screening with documented results, completed within the last (12) months.
• Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination, if required by contracted nursing facility.
• Must have reliable transportation to travel to and from assigned nursing facilities.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Completion of a peer support specialist training program.
• Minimum of 1 year of experience providing peer support services in a behavioral health or related setting preferred.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES:

• Certification as a Peer Support Specialist is required.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

• This position requires BHS-branded scrubs to be worn at all times when working in or visiting a nursing facility.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

This job operates primarily within the nursing facility setting at contracted facilities, with occasional administrative duties performed in an office or home office environment. As such, the noise level may vary from quiet to high and may include ambient noise, including sounds commonly found in a healthcare setting. Employees interact with and work near co-workers, residents, families, and healthcare professionals on a frequent basis. Individuals in this role must be able to remain stationary for long periods of time while providing care, completing required documentation, and attending to residents' needs. This position relies heavily on the ability to navigate electronic health records systems and utilize technology for patient care and documentation.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position more than 50% of the time during times of focus or working on administrative tasks associated with the role.
• Walk and move frequently inside the office and throughout the skilled nursing facility to access files, office machinery, facility contacts, and patients.
• Use of hands/fingers as the position requires constant operation of a computer, laptop or tablet and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, or copy machine.
• Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force infrequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
• Perform stooping or bending of the body downward and forward by bending the spine at the waist, often while interacting with residents, or exiting and entering a vehicle.
• Talking and expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to residents, clients or other employees accurately, loudly, clearly, and compassionately.
• Hearing and perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication or via the phone, and to discern various auditory cues in a healthcare environment.
• Ability to detect, determine, perceive, and identify information shown on a computer screen or within specific online software required for the completion of job tasks for the position.
• Recognize, judge, inspect, and assess details and information either online, on a screen or physically printed based on the method required to access such information necessary to follow through with the required functions of the position.
• Adhere to infection control and safety protocols specific to a healthcare setting, including the use of personal protective equipment, proper hand hygiene, and maintaining a clean and sanitary environment for residents and staff.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

Please note this job description is not intended to cover or contain a complete listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits

• Competitive Earnings.
• Avoid “no-shows” when working in Skilled Nursing Facilities.
• Hands-on and Virtual Training and Supervision.
• Work-Life Balance / Flexible Work Schedule.
• A comprehensive benefits package (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, and more).
• 401k with company match.

• $22 -$25/hr DOE