Patient Engagement Coordinator - Part Time

Role Overview

We are seeking a dynamic, strategic, and community-minded Lead Patient Engagement Coordinator to guide our Behavioral Health Department’s patient access, provider administrative support, and community outreach efforts. This dual-purpose lead role bridges clinical administration with proactive community integration, ensuring low-barrier access to mental health and substance use services.

In addition to overseeing behavioral health intake and outreach strategy, you will act as an administrative subject matter expert—owning provider credentialing workflows, managing behavioral health payer contracting maintenance, mentoring team members, and optimizing operational processes to improve patient access and maintain departmental compliance.

SECTION II: KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Credentialing, Insurance Contracting & Attestations

• Behavioral Health Credentialing: Manage the full credentialing and re-credentialing lifecycle for behavioral health providers (LCSWs, LMFTs, PsyDs, Psychiatrists, PMHNPs), tracking primary source verification, state licensing boards, and CAQH profiles.
• Payer Network Enrollment: Act as the liaison with commercial insurance, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), and Medicaid/Medicare networks to panel behavioral health providers; track enrollment statuses to minimize billing delays for therapy and psychiatric services.
• Payer Portals & Attestations: Perform routine attestation updates across payer portals (CAQH, Availity, NPPES, state databases) to ensure accurate directory listings and maintain network adequacy standards.
• Roster & Panel Maintenance: Maintain internal rosters tracking provider panel status (open/closed to new patients, insurance accepted, age group specializations) to direct front-desk routing accurately.

Operational Leadership & Process Management

• Team Guidance & Mentorship: Serve as the first point of contact for Patient Engagement Coordinators; provide daily operational support, troubleshoot schedule density, and ensure smooth front-desk/intake operations.
• Training & Onboarding: Onboard new administrative staff on behavioral health EHR systems, intake workflows, HIPAA privacy standards, and de-escalation protocols.
• Process Improvement: Evaluate patient intake and scheduling workflows to reduce wait times for initial assessments and improve overall appointment show rates.

Advanced Patient Intake & Care Coordination

• Trauma-Informed Triage: Oversee complex inbound/outbound calls using a trauma-informed, compassionate approach; conduct preliminary screenings for mental health services and route emergent/crisis cases per department protocols.
• Pre-Admission & Benefits Verification: Ensure accurate pre-admission data collection, including referral sources, clinical history, insurance eligibility, and behavioral health benefit verification (e.g., prior authorizations, session limits).
• Escalation & Care Navigation: Handle patient feedback and resolve barriers to care with high empathy and de-escalation expertise.

Strategic Community Outreach & Departmental Growth

• Targeted Outreach Strategy: Lead the strategy, scheduling, and execution for community mental health events, stigma-reduction campaigns, and wellness fairs.
• Behavioral Health Networking: Establish relationships with local community partners, crisis centers, schools, social service agencies, and hospitals to build sustainable referral pathways.
• Impact Tracking: Track outreach metrics, conversion rates from community events to completed intakes, and departmental growth indicators.

SECTION III: KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Educational and Technical Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required; Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Healthcare Administration, or a related field preferred.

Language Skills

• Fluent in written and spoken English; Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred.

Experience Requirements

• Years of Experience: Minimum 4+ years of administrative or coordination experience in a behavioral health, mental health, or human services setting.
• Specialized Experience: 1–2 years of direct experience with behavioral health provider credentialing, payer portal attestations, or health plan paneling.
• Leadership Experience: Prior experience in a senior, lead, or supervisory role (or demonstrated experience training and mentoring peers).

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Behavioral Health Systems Knowledge: Familiarity with behavioral health intake processes, CPT Code basics, and mental health payer requirements.
• Credentialing Systems: Hands-on experience with CAQH ProView, NPPES (NPI), PECOS, and commercial/M