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Director of Nursing -ABH-Residential Services

#ELW-20458 | Posted 03/13/2025 Elwyn, Pennsylvania Apply

Director of Nursing -ABH-Residential Services

#ELW-20458 | Posted 03/13/2025 | Elwyn, Pennsylvania Apply for this job now!  Apply

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY: The Director of Nursing (DON) leads Pennsylvania's Adult Behavioral Health residential nursing team in providing normalized, empathic, coordinated, therapeutic and preventative health care to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness within a variety of residential settings. The Director of Nursing oversees the functions associated with care coordination and the delivery of nursing services while ensuring that both regulatory and clinical practice standards are met with the focus on appropriate medical and nursing management of both acute and chronic illness--medical and psychiatric alike--as well as a collaborative approach in working with physicians, Elwyn staff, clinicians, therapists, other ancillary care providers, hospital care teams, pharmacy, and external vendors.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Provides nursing oversight for the Adult Behavioral Health residential programs to ensure that nursing practice consistently meets regulatory requirements, Elwyn policy and procedure, and clinical best practice standards Ensures that ongoing clinical assessments, coordination, and interdisciplinary collaboration are performed necessary to meet client health care needs Ensures that appropriate health care assessments are completed as directed by the treatment team, policy and procedures, and regulatory requirements; reviews and ensures that client nursing assessments and reports are accurate and complete Presents health care data collected through direct observation, interview, clinical assessment, and records review to the physician and larger treatment team Sets health care priorities in accordance with professional judgment Serves as a resource person to the staff and residents for questions related to health and wellness Ensures appropriate follow-up and documentation of all recommendations for specialized services/consultations has been completed Reviews recommendations of consulting providers and liaisons with physicians and care providers for follow-up, as necessary Functions as a lead advocate for all individuals served by the Adult Behavioral Health residential programs by monitoring the quality of the medical and behavioral health supportive care provided by staff and community-based providers Acts as the liaison between external pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) providers, laboratory services, vendors, and insurers to ensure that residents' specific needs are met in a clinically prudent and fiscally sound manner Maintains up-to-date inventory of nutritional supplements, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and medical/dietary supplies to be used for resident and staff health, safety and wellness Executes infection control practices, isolation procedures, and point of care testing related to infectious disease, particularly COVID-19, to maintain health and safety standards Provides nursing leadership, direction, and support to the extended care team to ensure that consumer health and safety needs are adequately addressed Monitors the acute and prophylactic healthcare needs of residents including regular review or having a designee review all physicians' orders related to medications, treatments, nutritional support, diagnostic testing and ancillary therapies on at least a monthly basis Provides direct clinical supervision to all nurses employed by the program, assists Managers and Directors in performance management of the same, and coordinates feedback to agency for any agency-placed personnel resources Provides supervision of assigned staff in the areas including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, leadership, coaching, training, performance management, and progressive disciplinary action when nursing practice does not meet accepted standards, promotion, and termination. Provides nursing and program staff in-service training on health-related topics, medical procedures, and infection control as needed Directs the orientation and training of assigned nursing personnel to ensure effective onboarding Ensures current nursing personnel receive adequate training and ongoing staff development to meet client specific health care needs and organizational learning needs including regulatory training requirements Utilizes quality improvement strategies to address the following: Clinical performance of nursing staff through monthly audits of nursing documentation and care delivery Use of best practice guidelines in promoting health maintenance and disease prevention strategies Compliance with regulatory standards as they relate to specific program areas, such as licensing regulations and current policy Access to high quality care consistent with consumer specific needs Health care utilization data Assigns specific quality improvement activities/functions to nursing staff as necessary As part of the therapeutic team, monitors, develops, and maintains a safe and therapeutic living environment, including but not limited to monitoring for potential threats to health and safety and take appropriate actions to eliminate such threats Facilitates communication and collaboration with community-based social service agencies, healthcare providers, insurance providers, county and state offices of behavioral health, families, and other stakeholders in order to ensure quality care for the individuals served Reviews critical incidents related to the health and safety needs of the consumers and provides timely follow-up and communication to appropriate administrative staff Reviews medically complicated, high acuity cases with psychiatrist, managers, and directors in routine meetings, recommending changes and improvements in care delivery as needed, and with the Admission Team, prior to acceptance of residents; helps determine the appropriateness for admission to the behavioral health programs Provides round the clock on--call nursing support to staff in managing emergent healthcare issues Attends both professional and organizational meetings necessary to keep abreast of changes in nursing practice. Actively participates (or has a nursing designee participate) in Treatment Team and Morning Meeting (Rounds) to ensure the continuity of care of the residents Performs other duties as assigned Policy and Procedure Development Serves as a member of the Elwyn Nursing Policy and Procedure Committee to assist in prioritizing policy and procedure review and collaborates with other committee members to ensure compliance with nursing best practice standards and consistency across Elwyn services and locations; presents policies and procedures to the Nursing Policy and Procedure Committee for review and approval Works closely with the Nurse Educator to ensure that all behavioral health nursing staff are educated in nursing operations Identifies specific clinical and operational needs and works with the program nursing leadership team to develop policies, procedures, and training guidelines as needed; reviews and revises existing nursing policies and procedure for behavioral health on at least an annual basis, as assigned by the Service Line's Quality Improvement team; participates in the development of new policies as the needs arise Assures adherence to all established healthcare and safety policies, procedures, protocols, and regulations as they apply