Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Program Coordinator – Suicide Prevention

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Duties

• Provides consultative services to other clinical/administrative staff and to VA programs, focused on any aspect of suicide prevention.
• Provides supportive counseling in the development and utilization of community resources.
• Maintains a patient list of those determined to be currently high-risk for suicide and monitors their care to ensure that needed services are being received.
• Consults/collaborates with providers of high-risk patients for purposes of education and facilitating best practice.
• May be required to provide direct patient care for the same purpose.
• Provides training to all staff throughout the SVAHCS and community about risk factors, warning signs, treatment options, and resources.
• Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention in the health care system.
• Participates and may co-chair with the Patient Safety Officer the RCA (Root Cause Analysis) by performing individual case reviews, assisting with the preparation of quarterly aggregate summaries, and facilitating recommended system improvements.
• Receives and processes consults from the Veteran's Crisis Line and contacts Veterans to engage them in treatment and reports back to the Hotline Staff about the results of interventions.
• Facilitates the completion of suicide assessments in the facility by training staff, updating policies, and occasionally direct provision of assessments, according to the VACO assessment guidelines.
• Facilitates the implementation of reporting high-risk patients through the use of the Suicide Behavior Report.
• Facilitates the implementation of Level II Flags per Central Office Directives.
• Provides tracking reports to the Center of Excellence for data compilation monthly.
• Works closely with the Multidisciplinary Team to ensure that all Veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider.
• Tracks any no-show appointments by these patients and follows up with the patient as soon as possible to reschedule the appointment.
• Maintains awareness of suicide treatment options and makes recommendations to the patient's provider when new options become available.
• Obtains any relevant HIPAA clearances to allow transmittal of facility data on suicide attempts and individuals at risk to the VISN 19 MIRECC for trending and quality assurance purposes, and transmitting the data following cybersecurity requirements as applicable for this sensitive data.
• Ensures that all flagged patients have a 24-hour resource number to call and ways to get assistance if an immediate crisis should occur.
• Assists in providing crisis intervention as part of the Same Day Access Team, including evaluation, assessment, triage, and disposition of patients experiencing behavioral health emergencies.
• Interviews patients, family, and significant others to obtain pertinent clinical crisis/triage information.
• Reviews and summarizes pertinent psychosocial information for the Mental Health Team.
• Provides psychiatric crisis/triage services under the supervision of a privileged Mental Health clinician.
• Provides supportive counseling in the development and utilization of community resources.
• Participates in activities that obtain feedback from clients and work to enhance services as needed.
• Assists MHSL and the facility in the design, development, and implementation of clinical programs as needed.
• Adheres to operational policies and procedures for the treatment team.
• Facilitates liaisons with other health care programs to effectively coordinate services.
• Complies with national and local performance measures and clinical reminders, including timely health care screening and completion of clinical reminders for all patients.
• Complies with all CPRS documentation procedures, including timeliness standards for documentation and proper patient check-out procedures (e.g., entering diagnostic and procedure codes).
• Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with employees, volunteers, consumers, and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.
• Attends all appropriate meetings (interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, staff meetings, departmental/section staff meetings, other committees as appropriate, etc.) Serves on Interdisciplinary Treatment Team(s).
• Conducts and/or participates in research and/or program evaluation as appropriate.
• Serves on committees, work groups, and/or task forces at the facility, VISN, and/or VA Central Office levels.
• Work Schedule: Monday – Friday; 7:30am – 4:00pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.
• Contact Amber. Guinotte@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.
• Learn more Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Functional Statement #: 61378A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May Be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English.

Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the “Required Documents” section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How You Will Be Evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully.

Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Required Documents

• To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: License Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document.
• This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
• Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
• The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position.
• Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.
• Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) Resume SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.