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.

Lewis 2 is an inpatient 16 bed secured adult behavioral health unit of which we see various types of psychiatric illnesses such as bi-polar, personality disorders, dual diagnosis, adjustment disorder, and psychosis. According to DMH we have a lower than average restraint rate, and use a sensory approach to de-escalate patients as well as DBT/CBT group therapy. All staff are educated in trauma-informed care, which provides each patient a plan of care that is based on their individual needs. Patients are cared for by a dynamic interdisciplinary psychiatry team of nurses, milieu counselors, providers and social workers. 

Job Purpose
Providing quality care according to Cambridge Health Alliance standards of nursing practice and the role expectations of the Adult Psychiatric Inpatient Unit. 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 unit milieu as well as attending to the individual needs of patients in crisis in an inpatient psychiatric setting.

The Milieu Counselor/ Nursing Assistant assists with ADL's, lead or co-lead groups, perform safety checks, 1:1 meetings with patients, and charts patients B/P, TPR & weight, as well as helping maintain their nutritional and hydration needs.

The Milieu Counselor communicates with the nurses of any changes in vital signs and accurately measures and documents patients’ intake and output.

Qualifications/Experience:

• A minimum of a High School diploma or GED required.

• Current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers by the American Heart Association 

• At least one year of inpatient clinical mental health experience in a behavioral health unit is strongly preferred

• Experience with adult psych is highly preferred. 

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