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Healthfirst Bluegrass
Lexington, Kentucky

Manager Behavioral Health Services

Registered NurseFull-Time

Listed compensation

$84k-$88k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

HealthFirst Bluegrass is looking for a mission-focused RN leader who wants to make behavioral health care easier to access, more connected, and more compassionate for the people we serve. As Behavioral Health Services Manager, you will help expand access to care, support patients with complex behavioral health and medical needs, and strengthen the teamwork that makes whole-person care possible.

This role is a great fit for an RN who brings both clinical confidence and a heart for behavioral health. You will provide RN clinical coordination for high-risk patients, support care planning, triage, medication management, and patient education, and partner with clinical, operational, quality, finance, IT, patient access, and case management teams to improve workflows, outcomes, and the patient and staff experience.

How You’ll Make a Mission-Focused Impact

  • Help more patients connect with timely, compassionate behavioral health care.
  • Support integrated, patient-centered care across teams and service locations.
  • Use your RN skills to support assessment, triage, care planning, medication management, patient education, and coordination for high-risk and complex patients.
  • Build strong partnerships with community organizations, referral sources, and internal teams.
  • Keep grant-funded programs moving forward by tracking deliverables, outcomes, and compliance.
  • Use data and continuous improvement to remove barriers, improve outcomes, and strengthen service delivery.
  • Lead with HealthFirst’s CARES values—compassion, accountability, respect, empathy, continuous improvement, and service excellence—while strengthening behavioral health services for our community.

What You’ll Bring

  • Current Kentucky RN license and CPR certification required.
  • Nursing degree required; bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
  • Three to five years of behavioral health and healthcare operations experience preferred.
  • Experience in integrated care, community health, FQHC operations, outreach, grants, project management, program development, or quality improvement preferred.
  • Strong communication, collaboration, leadership, organization, and problem-solving skills.
  • A positive, service-focused mindset and a commitment to making care easier to access.

If you are energized by teamwork, behavioral health, community impact, and helping remove barriers to care, we would love to meet you. Bring your RN expertise, leadership, and heart to HealthFirst Bluegrass—and help create stronger pathways to care for patients and families in our community.

Key Responsibilities

The Behavioral Health Services Manager will provide clinical coordination for high-risk patients and support integrated, patient-centered care across various teams. They will also manage grant-funded programs, track outcomes, and lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service delivery.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a current Kentucky RN license, CPR certification, and a nursing degree, with a bachelor's degree preferred. Three to five years of experience in behavioral health and healthcare operations is also preferred.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Grant management

Behavioral Health — Registered Nurse Career Context

Of the 50 active Behavioral Health listings this role was benchmarked against, 20% are remote, 58% have no call, 66% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Kentucky is 90.2 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$86k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $95k in an average-cost state. 61.6% of Kentucky clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Registered Nurse Jobs

25 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution25 jobs · 16 employers

12
<$95k
3
$95k-110k
4
$110k-125k
4
$125k-140k
2
$140k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks23 jobs · 16 employers

401k / retirement match
100%
Sign-on bonus
22%
Loan repayment
4%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Director of Nursing

VitalCore Health Strategies · Gardner, Massachusetts

$128k-$146k
#2

Assistant Director of Nursing

Wellpath · Valhalla, New York

$128k-$142k
#3

Nurse Case Manager Lead

$90k-$134k
#4

Director of Nursing

up to $131,000
+ 23 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 1.5this job 1.5
Below most Behavioral Health (RN) listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 148 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Lexington

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$314k≈ 3.7× annual pay
Typical market rent
$1,553/mo≈ 22% of gross pay
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
92.9
State income tax
Up to 4.5%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026).

BEA 2024 · Lexington-Fayette, KY metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

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About Healthfirst Bluegrass

Wellness and Fitness Services
Lexington, Kentucky
51-200 employees