What Human Resources are Needed for an Outpatient Rehab Center?

Ownership Considerations for Inpatient vs Outpatient Rehab HR Needs

The success of any sizeable rehabilitation facility, whether inpatient or outpatient, weighs heavily on its human resources department. What human resources are needed for an outpatient rehab center?

Hiring the right professionals helps ensure clients receive only the highest quality care while maintaining regulatory compliance demands.

While inpatient and outpatient facilities share the same core dynamics, a distinct difference exists between the type of treatment provided.

Familiarizing yourself with these HR requirements is critical for owners and admins looking to establish and manage a substance abuse facility efficiently.

This article from the treatment marketing and operations experts at Ads Up Marketing explores the specific HR requirements of an outpatient addiction treatment center and compares them to inpatient treatment programs.

In addition, it explores the ownership considerations in human resources planning and best practices for optimizing your HR resources in an outpatient addiction treatment environment.

Core Human Resources Required for Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Programs

One of the primary contrasts between inpatient substance abuse facilities and outpatient drug and alcohol use programs is the requirement for 24/7 care in inpatient addiction facilities.

Instead, outpatient substance abuse treatment offers scheduled therapy sessions with treatment professionals and medical human services, with clients returning home after each scheduled substance abuse session. The difference between the programs significantly impacts the variety and number of personnel required.

Clinical and Medical Staff Requirements

The following section outlines the primary substance use disorder team required for functioning

outpatient addiction treatment facilities.

• Licensed Substance Use Disorder Therapists: Outpatient medical care relies significantly on Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT). These staff members treat people individually but also work on family dynamics. Their job responsibilities include acting as addiction professionals and providing relief for mental disorders.
• Psychologists and Psychiatrists: While therapists primarily act as support staff for behavioral challenges, psychologists and psychiatrists play the primary role in diagnosing mental health issues. Their primary role requires working together to provide prescription drugs for co-occurring disorders during the recovery journey.
• Addiction Counselors: Certified alcohol abuse and drug counselors (CADF) focus primarily on planning the logistics of a rehab program and formulating recovery planning. They work closely with clients to develop coping strategies and approach challenges commonly manifest as the potential for relapse increases.
• Nurses  (RN and LPN): Outpatient programs commonly require employee assistance from registered nurses (RN) or licensed practical nurses (LPN) to administer addiction medicine services. Medication management is often a critical component of outpatient treatment, and roles may also include overseeing random drug test programs for clients. They also play a significant role during the admissions process.
• Medical Doctor: Some outpatient treatment centers for drug and alcohol addiction prescribe treatment options that entail medication-assisted treatment (MAT). These prescriptions are monitored under strict federal laws, so only certain qualified medical doctors can administer them.
• Case Managers and Social Workers: A supportive work environment during outpatient mental health and illegal drug treatment also includes case managers and social workers. They provide essential functions connecting clients with community resources, ensuring their well-being after completing outpatient programs.

Administrative and Support Staff

Administrative and support staff make up the most significant part of the first point of contact, additional services and programs, and maintaining state background checks and personnel management regulations.

Federal laws protect employees and clients from certain regulatory issues. This is the group of hired staff who oversees these operations.

• HR Managers & Coordinators: This team of professionals mainly handles staff members, working to ensure recruitment, onboarding, and training run smoothly. In addition, they play a significant role in the key component of regulatory compliance.
• Billing & Insurance: Outpatient deals just as much with billing and insurance as residential care, requiring specialized staff to ensure clients have reasonable accommodation assistance for coverage inquiries. They also oversee the intricacies of healthcare reimbursement.
• Front Desk & Office Admins: The job description for front desk and office admins can vary greatly. They manage client intake and additional administrative duties to keep the facility operating smoothly. Their services are invaluable regarding the link between new clients and staff.
• IT Support & Compliance Officers: One of the main duties of IT support and compliance officers is to ensure they protect people by adhering to confidential information like HIPAA. IT support is also on hand to safeguard other digital information and maintain a secure and efficient substance abuse facility. All personal files and information regarding patients and employees solely rests on IT and Compliance performing their roles efficiently.

Operational Roles

These employees are tasked with ensuring all possible services are administered properly and that the recovery center is leveraging proper marketing and advertising.

• Quality Assurance and Risk Management: This team helps guarantee that the medical and mental health staff can approach clients with the best experience possible. They oversee treatment outcomes and ensure adherence to counseling and confidentiality responsibilities.
• Marketing & Outreach: Most outpatient centers rely heavily on referrals and digital platforms to market available services. This role is critical for raising the standards of your facility and growing at an efficient rate.

Differences in HR Needs: Inpatient vs Outpatient

These are the primary differences between HR staffing needs regarding inpatient vs. outpatient management.

24/7 Medical Coverage

Inpatient facilities require 24/7 medical staffing. This includes doctors and other on-call specialists to handle medical emergencies and client needs.

Residential and Support Staff

Since clients live at the facility for a period of at least 30 days, additional overnight staff is required. This includes overnight facility managers and other overnight staff, and most importantly, security guards to ensure the facilities are safe.

Kitchen and Housekeeping

Inpatient facilities require daily kitchen and housekeeping staff to adhere to nutrition plans and help keep facilities up to a certain degree of sanitation. This includes standard groundwork, restroom maintenance, and ensuring client rooms remain clean and attractive.

Regulatory and Compliance Differences

Licensing and Accreditation

Because inpatient facilities have a more comprehensive selection of services, they also require stricter licensing, accreditation, and compliance attention. Inpatient facilities also have much higher staff-to-patient ratios because of the higher level of care administered.

Medication Management and Detox Services

Inpatient facilities require a more robust medication management system and a full staff to administer detox services. Because most outpatient centers don’t provide medically assisted detox, there’s no need to assemble a team for this care.

Ownership Planning

Remember that the ownership structure typically dictates HR decisions, including hiring strategies, training, budget constraints, and familiarizing staff with regulatory demands.

Ultimately, the deciding factor is the revenue you’re willing to invest and legwork on marketing for clients and staff. Ads Up Marketing can help.

Ads Up Marketing and Outpatient Treatment Planning

At Ads Up Marketing, we can help with all the dynamics needed to fill your marketing and regulatory roles. We can help fill the gaps where providing effective mental health services administration for your business leaves you with more questions than answers.

Our staff can refer you to resources for training and help with direct marketing and advertising. For more information, contact us today, and we’ll help you get the ball rolling!