Peer Support Specialist

Peer Support Specialist Opportunity:

Full Time, Daytime Hours, Inpatient

Mental Illness is more prevalent than ever after all we have endured in 2020. As the only free-standing psychiatric hospital in the Central Kentucky area, we are here to help. Please join our team as we expand our services to meet the needs of our community.

Under the supervision of the Director of Clinical Services, the Peer Support Specialist engages patients in a wide range of activities, including advocacy, linkage to resources, sharing of experience, community and relationship building, group facilitation, skill building, mentoring, goal setting, and more. They also plan and develop educational groups, services or activities, and gather and provide information on resources. The Peer Support Specialist coordinates their activities with and attends treatment team. Provides milieu management and routine non-acute physical care for the patient.

The Ridge Behavioral Health System is a 110-bed hospital located in the heart of the Bluegrass, Lexington, KY. The Ridge provides psychiatric and substance use disorder treatment for children, adolescents, and adults. The Ridge offers Partial Hospitalization, Intensive Outpatient Programs, Individual Counseling, as well as Medication Management for all ages. We have provided behavioral health services to over 92 Kentucky counties for more than 39 years.

What We Offer You:

• Challenging and rewarding work environment with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others
• Career development opportunities within UHS and its 300+ Subsidiaries
• Competitive Compensation & Generous Paid Time Off
• Excellent Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
• 401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan
• Tuition Reimbursement Program, and Referral Bonus Program
• Close to Hamburg & I-75
• Free parking on premises
• Free meal with each shift

Attributes of a successful employee:

• An understanding of mental illness and its effects on an individual
• Ability to interact with individuals of all cognitive levels and various histories of trauma
• Being able to maintain healthy boundaries - we are here to help, not to befriend
• Patience and understanding
• Ability to verbally de-escalate agitated patients
• Supportive of teamwork - it takes a village
• A strong understanding of the importance of following rules and policies

We train you to be the best, but there are a few minimum requirements for this position:

Education

• High School Diploma/equivalent

Experience

• Prior experience in leading recovery groups
• Prior experience as a Peer Support Specialist

Certifications/Licensure

• Active Peer Support Specialist Certification, required.
• NARCAN training
• Valid Driver's License

Other Skills

• Minimum of two (2) years of sobriety, required.
• Familiarity with follow-up resource services available to patients
• Skills in maintaining information as highly confidential
• Must demonstrate basic knowledge of emotional and mental health and disease concepts including the disease of addiction
• Must have clear communication / interaction skills and demonstrate competency in facilitating psycho-education groups

We encourage you to apply to become a part of our team as we set out to be the provider of choice for psychiatric care!

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success.

Notice

At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skillset and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. We take pride in creating a highly efficient and best in class candidate experience. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. The recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you are suspicious of a job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, let us know by contacting us at: https://uhs.alertline.com or 1-800-852-3449.