Mental Health Team Lead - General Adult Unit - Full Time Days

Our team members are the heart of what makes us better. At Hackensack Meridian Health we help our patients live better, healthier lives — and we help one another to succeed. With a culture rooted in connection and collaboration, our employees are team members. Here, competitive benefits are just the beginning. It’s also about how we support one another and how we show up for our community. Together, we keep getting better - advancing our mission to transform healthcare and serve as a leader of positive change.

The Mental Health Team Lead provides leadership, mentoring, and training to Mental Health Technicians in the care and well-being of behavioral health patients. Conducts patient care and therapeutic activities. Supports the multidisciplinary team in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients. This position is a workflow leader and reports to the unit Nurse Manager.

• Provides leadership and serves as a resource person for the Mental Health Technicians for the shift.
• Completes the daily MHT schedule under the supervision of the Charge Nurse and makes adjustments throughout the shift, as appropriate.
• Provides break relief to MHTs during 1:1 assignments, as needed.
• Audits MHT paperwork and assigns MHT tasks each shift to ensure completeness: i.e.: status sheets, completion of vital signs, and other unit-specific forms.
• Collaborates with staff education and the staffing coordinator to ensure new hire training is thorough and ensures that the new hires complete all OCVA training requirements and unit-specific training needs.
• Escalates team member performance and behavior concerns to the Nurse Manager or Assistant Nurse Manager.
• Participates in the morning treatment team meeting and positively supports plans for continuing patient care.
• Plans and conducts patient discussions, activities, and psycho-educational groups.
• Provides educational materials that consider patient age, educational level, culture, language, and identified learning needs.
• Complies with patient care decisions made by the professional staff and accepts responsibility for following instructions, fulfilling assignments, and learning from feedback. Observes and reports patient conditions, behavior, reaction to treatment, and complaints to the nurse.
• Transfers, escorts, transports, and ambulates patients. Collects laboratory specimens. Assists patients with daily living activities (i.e.; feeding and dressing patients), as needed.
• Conducts patient search at admission, upon return from pass, or as clinically indicated, under the direction of a Registered Nurse.
• Inspects the belongings and valuables of patients to ensure that prohibited material is not brought into the hospital. Deposits valuables in a safe per hospital policy.
• Obtains and documents vital signs, including temperature, pulse, respiration, intake and output, and blood pressure as directed by the nurse.
• Appropriately responds to emergencies. De-escalates patients and assists in seclusion and restraint of patients in crisis
• Completes 5/15 minute headcount checks. Ensures patients have wristbands.
• Documents patient information within the medical record accurately and within procedural time limits. Documents patient's response to care provided in progress notes.
• Documents data on seclusion, restraint, precaution, and 5/15 minutes on check sheets and in EMR.
• Enters safety, risk, and injury-related Incident Reports (IRs) into the OneLink system.
• Ensures that paperwork is completed accurately and within procedural time limits.
• Serves as a member of PI teams, Pillars, and committees. Identifies and documents performance improvement opportunities, participates in the unit's ongoing performance improvement data collection, and provides input to the Nurse Manager regarding unit PI measures based on concerns, high-risk, high-volume issues, and trends.
• Functions as a role model of healthy interpersonal relationships and demonstrates appropriate behavior for both patients, family, and staff.
• Other duties and/or projects as assigned.
• Adheres to HMH Organizational competencies and standards of behavior.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience in behavioral health or other related healthcare field (Note, this applies to team members hired after July 7, 2024).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient computer skills that may include but are not limited to Microsoft Office and/or Google Suite platforms.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

• Enrollment in a nursing or social work degree program.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• AHA Basic Health Care Life Support HCP Certification within 90 days of entering position.