Director of Admissions

St Luke Health Services•City of Oswego, NY

About The Position

The Admissions Director manages the referral, admission, and bed management process for a nursing home and skilled rehabilitation unit. The role focuses on maintaining and growing census through effective intake coordination, rapid referral response, communication with hospitals and payers, and conversion of referrals into admissions. The position works closely with hospital discharge planners, physicians, families, therapy, nursing, finance, and the interdisciplinary team to ensure clinically appropriate admissions and smooth transitions. It supports community visibility and relationships in coordination with the community engagement/sales representative; dedicated external sales and outreach activities are handled by that representative. The role is expected to maintain or exceed census targets, meet referral response expectations, achieve strong admission conversion, support payer mix goals, reduce avoidable lost referrals, provide a positive experience for referral sources and families, and maintain accurate admission and census reporting.

Requirements

At least 2 years of experience in skilled nursing admissions, case management, healthcare marketing, hospital discharge planning, or a related healthcare field is preferred.
Strong understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and post-acute reimbursement.
Excellent communication, organization, and relationship-building skills.
Ability to multitask and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent healthcare experience may be considered.
Knowledge of skilled nursing regulations and admission requirements preferred.
Experience with electronic medical records and referral management systems preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintain target census levels for long-term care and short-term rehabilitation units.
Manage daily referral activity, the admissions pipeline, pending referrals, and bed availability.
Respond rapidly to referrals from hospitals, physicians, ACOs, managed care organizations, and community sources.
Review referrals for clinical appropriateness, financial viability, payer authorization requirements, and operational fit.
Coordinate acceptance decisions with nursing, therapy, and administration.
Facilitate timely admissions, including evenings, weekends, or holidays as needed for census management.
Track admissions, denials, lost referrals, payer mix, and conversion rates.
Serve as the primary point of contact for incoming referrals and admission inquiries.
Build working relationships with hospital case managers, discharge planners, insurance representatives, and referral sources.
Communicate bed availability, specialty services, and admission criteria, and ensure rapid turnaround on referral reviews and decisions.
Collaborate with leadership to optimize payer mix and manage bed utilization.
Monitor Medicare, managed care, Medicaid, private pay, and other payer sources.
Verify insurance benefits and coordinate authorization processes with clinical and billing teams.
Work with finance and case management to minimize avoidable denials and admission delays.
Conduct tours and admission discussions with prospective residents and families.
Educate residents and families about services, insurance coverage, facility policies, and admission requirements.
Assist with admission paperwork and move-in logistics; address concerns and escalate issues appropriately.
Participate in morning meetings, census review meetings, and utilization discussions.
Collaborate with nursing leadership, therapy, social work, dietary, housekeeping, and medical providers to support admissions and transitions.
Communicate anticipated admissions and discharge activity to operational departments.
Ensure admissions practices comply with federal, state, and facility regulations; maintain HIPAA confidentiality and accurate, timely documentation.
Support community relationship efforts with the community engagement/sales representative and participate in occasional networking events, hospital meetings, and professional outreach activities.
Represent the organization professionally within the healthcare community.