Behavioral Health Technician BHT
Listed compensation
$20.56-$27.75/hr
The week · per this posting
Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations and weekend coverage.
Job Description
Behavioral Health Tech - Inpatient Unit
Job Type: FT Evenings
Wage scale: 20.56-27.75
Your Experience Matters
At Rainier Springs, we are driven by a profound commitment to prioritize your well-being so you can provide exceptional care to others. Here, you’re not just valued as an employee, but as a person. As a Behavioral Health Technician joining our team, you’re embracing a vital mission dedicated to making communities healthier. Join us on this meaningful journey where your skills, compassion, and dedication will make a remarkable difference in the lives of those we serve.
Department/Unit Summary
- 72 Bed Facility
- 3 Units, 24 Patients per Unit
- 2 Nurses and 3 PCAs per Unit
- 12 Hour Shifts
Behavioral Health Technician Position Summary
Provides support to the therapeutic milieu under the direction of the registered nurse by ensuring scheduled programs are delivered, supervising patients, maintaining safety, and treating patients and guests with dignity.
How You'll Contribute
- Observe and maintain a safe environment through regular patient checks, safety monitoring, contraband searches, and one‑on‑one supervision as needed.
- Perform delegated tasks such as taking vital signs, collecting specimens, documenting care, assisting with group education, and monitoring patients.
- Promote a positive therapeutic milieu and accompany patients to meals, breaks, off‑unit visits, and appointments.
- Report all medical or psychiatric changes to the RN and assist with admissions, including belongings inventory and vital signs.
- Document patient property at admission and discharge and conduct unit safety checks each shift to ensure a clean, therapeutic environment.
- Encourage or assist patients with activities of daily living and facilitate or co‑facilitate psychoeducational and therapeutic groups using established guidelines.
- Apply crisis intervention and de‑escalation techniques as needed and maintain knowledge of program protocols.
- Orient new staff members to the unit, document in the medical record according to policy, provide feedback to the interdisciplinary team, comply with OSHA and CDC specimen guidelines, and perform other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Education: High School Diploma or GED preferred.
- Experience: Minimum of one year of experience in a psychiatric health‑care facility working with chemical dependency, dual diagnosis, psychiatric, or geriatric patients preferred.
- Certifications: CPR and de‑escalation certification required within 30 days of hire.
Schedule: 12 hour shifts - Evenings 7p-7a
Why Join Us
We believe that investing in our employees is the first step to providing excellent patient care. In addition to your base compensation, this position
also offers:
- Comprehensive Benefits: Multiple levels of medical, dental, and vision coverage for full-time and part-time employees.
- Financial Protection & PTO: Life, accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity insurance, short- and long-term disability, paid family leave, and a minimum of 10 days of paid time off per year (for full-time employees) as well as 8 paid holidays per year.
- Financial & Career Growth: Higher education and certification tuition assistance, loan assistance and 401(k) retirement package and company match.
- Employee Well-being: Mental, physical, and financial wellness programs (free gym memberships, virtual care appointments, mental health services, and discount programs).
- Professional Development: Ongoing learning and career advancement opportunities.
About Our Health System
Rainier Springs is a 72-bed facility located in Vancouver, WA, and is part of Lifepoint Health [https://lifepointhealth.net/locations], a diversified healthcare delivery network committed to making communities healthier® with acute care, rehabilitation, and behavioral health facilities from coast to coast. From your first day to your next career milestone—your experience matters.
EEOC Statement
Rainier Springs is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Rainier Springs is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity for all applicants and employees and complies with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment in employment.
Lifepoint Health is a leader in community-based care and driven by a mission of Making Communities Healthier.
Our diversified healthcare delivery network spans 29 states and includes 63 community hospital campuses, 32 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals, and more than 170 additional sites of care across the healthcare continuum, such as acute rehabilitation units, outpatient centers and post-acute care facilities.
We believe that success is achieved through talented people. We want to create places where employees want to work, with opportunities to pursue meaningful and satisfying careers that truly make a difference in communities across the country.
We employ and provide care to people from all walks of life. We are committed to promoting healing, providing hope, preserving dignity and producing value with an inclusive workforce in which diversity is leveraged, respected, and reflective of the patients, family members, customers and team members we serve.
Key Responsibilities
The Behavioral Health Technician provides support to the therapeutic milieu under the direction of the registered nurse by ensuring scheduled programs are delivered, supervising patients, maintaining safety, and treating all individuals with dignity. Key duties include observing patients, performing delegated tasks like taking vital signs, promoting a positive environment, and assisting with group facilitation.
Requirements
A High School Diploma or GED is preferred for this role, and a minimum of one year of experience in a psychiatric health-care facility working with chemical dependency, dual diagnosis, psychiatric, or geriatric patients is preferred. CPR and de-escalation certification are required within 30 days of hire.
Qualifications
- Education
- Professional certificate or licensure
Key Skills
Work-Life Balance Analysis
WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Behavioral Health Technician BHT at Lifepoint Health a 6.6 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the top 10% in General Medicine (Behavioral Health Tech) — ranked against 32 active General Medicine (Behavioral Health Tech) listings on WeekdayDoc.
General Medicine Career Context
In Washington, the General Medicine weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$58k (10 salary observations; 22 listings), vs ~$57k nationally (58 salary observations; 1,187 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-02-01 through 2026-09-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.
Of the 40 active General Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 3% are remote, 40% have no call, 45% require no weekends.
General Medicine pay on WeekdayDoc is down 3.0% vs. the prior quarter (through Aug 2026).
The cost-of-living index for Washington is 107.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$50k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $47k in an average-cost state. 59.8% of Washington clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).
Location & Logistics
Washington has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states. At the posted ~$50k midpoint, that is roughly $2k–$4k a year versus a typical 4–7% state rate.
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