Peer Counselor - Project Engage, Newark

Are you interested in working at one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation?

ChristianaCare's Project Engage Program is looking for a Full-Time Peer Counselor to join our medical inpatient stay unit at the Christiana Hospital, Newark DE.

How YOU Make an Impact

The Project Engage Peer Counselor, also known as an Engagement Specialist, is a peer with lived experience recovering from a substance use disorder (SUD). S/he is responsible for engaging individuals who present at Christiana Care and who, through screening, are determined to need additional assessment and intervention for their substance use disorder. The Peer Engagement Specialist works with other Peer Engagement Specialists, Social Workers, Project Engage administrative staff, Addiction Medicine providers, hospital clinical team caring for the patient, community-based SUD treatment provides, to identify SUD treatment resources, make linkages, and provide coaching to ensure that patients are linked to appropriate services upon discharge from the hospital. Peer Engagement Specialists provide support that is trauma-informed and will work on an interdisciplinary team and provide advocacy, insight, and support to other team members and service recipients about the resources available and the successes and challenges faced by individuals who are recovering from SUDs. Provision of direct patient care comprises more than 75% of the job.

Schedule

Monday - Friday 8:00am -4:30pm, no weekends.

What We Offer

• Student Loan Forgiveness
• 403b match and more...
• Work & Life Balance
• Comprehensive Benefits Package
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Wellness Programs
• Generous PTO Package

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Utilizes open beds platform to identify available, appropriate treatment for all interested patients and submitting referrals in a timely manner. Follows up to see if patient is accepted and/or received treatment after discharge.
• Uses lived experience with a SUD to engage and direct individuals who are in the hospital to acknowledge need for treatment and agree to service linkages and assists in supporting individuals to move ahead on their recovery paths.
• Works with Project Engage, Addiction Medicine and hospital caregivers to identify individuals who have signs and symptoms of substance use and conduct brief interventions to screen, assess patient stage of change and, as necessary, link those individuals to SUD treatment in the community following discharge.
• Engages patients at the bedside and conducts motivational interviewing to understand patient barriers and direct patient to get the appropriate level of care.
• Provides education on the dangers of drug and alcohol use for all patients not ready to receive SUD treatment. This includes educating patients, friends and/or family members on Narcan safety and use and providing Narcan to them.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• One year experience working in the mental health field in voluntary or paid position.
• High school diploma or equivalent
• The Peer Counselor is an individual who has a unique perspective because of his/her own experience with a substance use disorder. S/he must be willing to self-disclose as appropriate and to attend training leading to certification as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist within one year of hire.

At ChristianaCare, we are guided by our values of Love and Excellence and are passionate about delivering health, not just health care.

Feel free to apply and come join us at ChristianaCare! All interested applicants should attach a copy of their updated resume to in their application to be considered.

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EEO Statement: Christiana Care Health System is an equal opportunity employer, firmly committed to prohibiting discrimination, whose staff is reflective of its community, and considers qualified applicants for open positions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

UPDATE: ChristianaCare is committed to prioritizing the health and safety of our patients and caregivers. As we continue to meet the needs of our caregivers and our community through the COVID-19 pandemic, our commitment to health and safety requires that we take new steps to ensure a safe environment for medical care for our patients and a workplace that avoids preventable harm for our caregivers. For this reason, vaccination for COVID-19 is required for all caregivers at ChristianaCare and is considered a safety standard that is job-related and consistent with business necessity for all caregivers.