Mental Health Technician

Responsibilities

At Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services, we are helping to create brighter, healthier futures for our patients and their families. We are the Piedmont Triad's only private psychiatric hospital meeting the chemical dependency illnesses and behavioral healthcare needs of those in our community. Our 164‑bed inpatient services for adolescents through senior adulthood offer comprehensive and individual assessments, psychiatric evaluation and medication stabilization, daily group therapy, and personalized aftercare planning.

We also offer a Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program to ensure the continuum of care for our patients. Old Vineyard is accredited by The Joint Commission and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We are passionate about our work and are looking for individuals who share in this passion.

This opportunity is for full‑time (36 hours per week) Mental Health Technician (MHT). The position offers full benefits and a schedule of two weekdays and every other Saturday and Sunday 7 am‑7 pm.

• MHT/Patient Relationship:
  Develops and maintains a therapeutic relationship throughout the healthcare continuum.
• Patient Safety:
  Monitors patients at all times, performs patient observation rounds, conducts unit safety checks and patient belonging inventory to ensure no contraband enters the patient care area, and monitors or controls availability of hazards and contraband, performs verbal de‑escalation or other approved interventions in crisis situations.
• Patient Care:
  Performs patient vital signs and reports unusual outcomes to unit nurse, recognizes changes in condition and takes immediate action to assist, including reporting to the unit nurse. Assists patients with basic needs, including daily living activities. Facilitates structured groups. Assists in the admission and discharge process.
• Infection Prevention:
  Follows infection control policies and procedures including appropriate hand hygiene, blood pressure cuff cleaning, and high‑touch surface cleaning.
• Patient/Staff
  
  Education:
  
  Demonstrates a commitment to meeting the learning needs of patients and families. Utilizes appropriate resources to meet those needs and achieve positive patient outcomes. Assists in creating an environment that promotes educational growth opportunities for peers and colleagues.
• Collaboration/Professional Development:
  Demonstrates respect and understanding for peers and other clinical disciplines and participates as an effective member of the patient care team to formulate an integrated approach to care.

All candidates for this role must be able to provide contact information for two (2) current/previous supervisors/managers AND two (2) current/previous peer professionals to respond to a professional reference survey. Survey results must be received and fall within hiring guidelines prior to job offer.

Job Requirements:

• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Bachelor's degree in health or human services. If no degree (or degreed in another area), must have three (3) years of prior work experience in a behavioral health/social services field.
• Knowledge of human behavior or principles of psychology preferred including therapeutic relationships & processes, age‑specific growth & development, limit setting, crisis & behavior management.
• Requires sufficient body mobility to accomplish essential functions. Must be able to sit and stand for extended periods of time. Must be able to bend, stoop, and kneel with ease. Requires walking and standing often. Requires frequently speaking face‑to‑face as well as on the telephone. Able to write legibly and grammatically to convey patient behavior and information in the patient chart.
  
  Requires normal or corrected vision and hearing to normal range. Must be able to express and exchange ideas by means of the spoken word. Communicating fluently and effectively both verbally and in writing in English. Ability to perform Non‑Violent Crisis Intervention (physical, verbal and non‑verbal techniques). Ability to appropriately and professionally interact with all program staff, patients, visitors, attending…