Milieu Counselor - Adolescent Psychiatry, Full time, D/E

Requisition Number: 12024

Pay Range: $20.78 - $34.61 per hour

Location: CHA Somerville Campus 

Work Days: 8 hour shifts, w/ E/O wknd rotation and holidays as assigned

Category: Human and Social Services

Department: 5 West Adolescent Psychiatry

Job Type: Full time

Work Shift: Day / Evening, from 7am-3:30pm and 3pm-11:30pm, with E/O weekend rotation

Hours/Week: 40.00 

Union Name: SH Laborers 

CHA is offering a $5,000 sign on bonus for all Milieu Counselor positions that are 32-40 hours per week.

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a vibrant, innovative health system dedicated to providing essential services to all members of the community. With almost 140,000 patients in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston’s Metro North region, CHA is a local provider of choice for primary care, specialty care, emergency services, hospital care, maternity care and behavioral health.

CHA opened an inpatient center for youth with acute behavioral health needs. Located in Somerville, the beautiful facility offers care for children, adolescents, and children with acute neurodevelopmental challenges. The Center for Inpatient Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Somerville provides a transformative continuum of patient and family-centered care for diverse youth with mental health needs.

Our units offer private rooms, communal eating and living areas, an outdoor activity space, an active sensory room, quiet ‘calming’ spaces for both individual and group play and learning.

The 5 West Adolescent Unitis a secured psychiatric unit that provides care for children between the ages of 12 and 18. The unit is located in Somerville Hospital. This is an acute care unit, working on assessment, stabilization and after care treatment planning. We have a multidisciplinary team focused on teaching self-regulation, de-escalation and restraint reduction. This approach is used to provide patient and family centered care.

Job Purpose

The Milieu Counselor is a member of the multidisciplinary team who, under the supervision of a registered nurse, is responsible for a safe and structured service as well as attending to the individual needs of patients in crisis in an inpatient psychiatric setting.

The role of a Milieu Counselor will assist with ADL's (Activities of Daily Living) lead or co-lead groups, perform regular safety protocols, 1:1 meetings with patients, and will accurately chart patients B/P, TPR & weight, while notifying the RN of any changes in vital signs. The Milieu Counselor accurately measures and documents a patient's intake and output, while maintaining their nutritional and hydration needs, as well as any additional tasks assigned by the charge RN.

Qualifications/Experience: 

High school diploma required; B.A, B.S., or M.A. preferred or equivalent years of human service experience.

Current American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

Prior human services, inpatient behavioral or psychiatric experience is strongly preferred. 

All newly hired candidates must successfully complete a job specific physical test. 

Please note that the final offer may vary within the listed Pay Range, based on a candidate's experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity considerations.

In keeping with federal, state and local laws, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) policy forbids employees and associates to discriminate against anyone based on race, religion, color, gender, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. We are committed to establishing and maintaining a workplace free of discrimination. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not tolerate unlawful discrimination in the recruitment, hiring, termination, promotion, salary treatment or any other condition of employment or career development. Furthermore, we will not tolerate the use of discriminatory slurs, or other remarks, jokes or conduct, that in the judgment of CHA, encourage or permit an offensive or hostile work environment. 

Cambridge Health Alliance brings Care to the People - including your neighbors, friends and family. Our local hospitals and care centers serve our vibrant, diverse communities, and play an integral role in improving health. As passionate advocates for the underserved, we actively partner with our communities to take on challenging public health issues, and conduct important research to help reduce barriers to care. We believe that everyone deserves access to high quality, convenient health care. This is why our employees believe in where they work and why many build long, rewarding careers at CHA.

Healthcare is changing rapidly. CHA has a strategic plan that charts a proactive course for our future. It is built on a vision of equity and excellence for everyone, every time. It also recognizes that our workforce is our most valuable asset and prioritizes competitive salaries, benefits and professional development opportunities for employees. The strategic plan is changing the way we provide care and improving the health and experience of our patients; we are looking for smart, committed, compassionate people who want to be part of making our vision of better health and equity a reality.

At CHA, you can believe in where you work and go home every day knowing you made a difference. Join our team and help us bring Care to the People.