Chief Nursing Officer - Behavioral Health

Summit BHC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Nursing Officer is responsible and accountable for providing professional nursing care to patients and for directing, planning, coordinating, monitoring, and supervising nursing operations and the safe delivery of behavioral health and nursing services. The role ensures the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, programs, and services consistent with the facility’s strategic goals and objectives. This onsite leadership role sets the vision for nursing practice and manages daily nursing operations. It oversees staffing, budgets, quality and safety, regulatory compliance, patient assessments and care plans, infection control, clinical records, and coordination with other departments and interdisciplinary teams. The Chief Nursing Officer may also provide coverage or training for other programs, participate in on-call coverage, and assume a patient care assignment in emergencies.

Requirements

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.
Five or more years of nursing experience.
Three or more years of psychiatric or behavioral health experience.
Five or more years of progressive management experience.
Valid current RN license from the state or a compact state, where applicable.
CPR certification and de-escalation and restraint certification; training is available upon hire and offered by the facility.
Skills in assessment and considerable knowledge of nursing principles and practice, staffing, budgeting, employee management, regulatory requirements, and documentation of care; ability to meet regulatory requirements.

Nice To Haves

Certification in Psychiatric Nursing preferred.
First aid may be required depending on state or facility.

Responsibilities

Set the vision for safe, timely, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered nursing practice and manage daily nursing operations.
Identify and prioritize important issues and collaborate with department and corporate leaders as needed.
Communicate instructions, expectations, and timelines clearly and concisely.
Develop, maintain, and implement nursing services, policies, and procedures consistent with nursing standards, accrediting agencies, facility policies, and applicable laws and regulations.
Use operational indicators to identify census, acuity, volume, staffing, revenue, or expense trends; take corrective action and allocate nursing resources based on patient acuity and care needs.
Lead nursing staff through hiring, orientation, performance assessment and management, motivation, training, scheduling, and coaching; ensure adequate staffing.
Maintain productivity aligned with census, limit unnecessary overtime and excessive work hours, and maintain contingency staffing plans.
Maintain accountability expectations for self and staff.
Engage staff in quality and safety practices and ensure measurable compliance.
Identify staff education needs and ensure staff attend relevant education programs.
Hold staff accountable for compliance, patient safety, attendance, policy adherence, behavior, and the code of conduct.
Make nursing diagnoses of patients’ medical and emotional status and recommend treatment options; consult with psychiatrists and behavioral health staff on treatment plans; supervise patient assessments and care plans.
Coordinate nursing services with other departments and participate in management team meetings to discuss patient status, reassessment needs, census changes, complaints, and concerns.
Establish, implement, and monitor infection control and safety programs; prepare or review surveillance reports and develop actions to control and prevent infections.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams, departments, and administration to meet patients’ physical, biopsychosocial, age, developmental, and cultural needs.
Develop and implement health care-related training to support delivery of health-related services.
Assist the CEO with organizational budget preparation and administration; manage operations within the approved budget and participate in strategic planning and budget development.
Maintain adequate and appropriate supplies and equipment inventory for patient services.
Oversee maintenance of patient clinical records, statistics, reports, and activity records.
Assist the CEO in preparing staff for inspection surveys and participate in preparing and implementing Plans of Correction.
Monitor unit and floor operations through frequent rounds; intervene in crises, investigate incidents, and review and follow up on nursing and patient-safety incident reports with Risk Management.
Provide onsite coverage for other programs when needed; develop and execute programs according to market needs; provide training, case consultation, and Administrator On Call coverage during or after program hours as needed.
Conduct assigned Leadership Rounds, identify environment-of-care, safety, and infection-control concerns, and provide real-time education on new facility processes.
Assume a patient care assignment in emergency situations as needed.