Hybrid, Patient Placement RN

Overview

Full time, Schedule: 7:00am - 7:00pm, every 3rd weekend (Friday & Saturday)

Position Summary: 

This position is responsible for the coordination of all patient placement activities throughout the facility.  The Patient Placement RN utilizes their clinical triage expertise and negotiation skills to facilitate the intake and placement of all patients, verifying appropriate patient admission status and orders received from physicians. He/she is responsible for data collection, analysis, and reporting to accomplish corporate and division goals. Partners with physicians and nursing staff to move patients along the continuum of care to optimize quality patient outcomes and customer satisfaction. Understands regulatory compliance and payer requirements, as well as efficiency in patient throughput processes. Facilitates timely transfers from outlying facilities by coordinating an appropriate admitting physician and accepting the condition report, following approved MemorialAccess program guidelines.  

Responsibilities

Principal Duties & Responsibilities: 

• Coordinator of patient admission and transfer processes, including in-house transfers. Monitors and accurately records all patient movement throughout the hospital and provides up-to-date information of census status and bed availability via electronic bed board/teletracking system.
• Places patients on care units considering diagnosis, clinical criteria for admission, acuity, bed availability, and staffing. Prioritizes patient placement from all sources – Emergency Department, PACU, direct admits, etc. Works directly with admitting physicians and nursing units to meet patient needs while matching patient needs with appropriate unit for placement.
• Works with nurse managers, charge nurses and physician leaders to facilitate patient placement according to applicable SAFECON census criteria. Collaborates and negotiates with other regional health care providers to facilitate safe and timely patient transfers/patient admissions from outlying facilities, especially during peak census periods.
• Receives physician orders and determines proper unit placement in conjunction with nursing policies and clinical criteria.
• Verifies the correct admission status (inpatient, general bed, IMC or ICU) based on established criteria, and applies appropriate intervention when orders/diagnosis fail to meet criteria.
• Works directly with Medical Directors, Emergency Room physicians, and other appropriate physicians as needed to facilitate patient triage.
• With the Director, Nursing Business Operations & MemorialAccess develops annual personal goals that support those of the Patient Placement Office, MemorialAccess program and the nursing division.
• Assists with the maintenance of patient placement training manuals and staff competencies. Stays apprised of regulatory requirements (Medicare, Medicaid, HIPAA, etc.) and insures compliance.
• Improves and maintains patient intake and flow processes. Identifies quality improvement opportunities and uses appropriate tools to evaluate potential solutions. Monitors admission, discharge, transfer and delay of notification data. Offers recommendations to address undesirable data trends.
• Works collaboratively with Nursing, Environmental Services, Infection Control, Emergency Department, Surgical Services and Admissions & Testing to facilitate and optimize patient throughput.
• Maintains collaborative working relationships with Patient Access Services, Health Information Management, Patient Financial Services and Case Management at Memorial Health System.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Licensure/Certification/Registry:

Current license as an RN in the State of Illinois. BSN preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years recent acute care clinical experience.
• Supervisory experience desirable.

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, multi-tasking, negotiation and customer service skills required.
• Demonstrated problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking and physician relations’ expertise required.
• Knowledge of insurance requirements and admission status criteria.
• Knowledge of federal healthcare regulations, including Medicare and other compliance requirements.
• Proficient with basic computer skills.