Director of Emergency Services and Behavioral Health, St. Vincent

Highmark Health • Erie, PA

7d

About The Position

The Director of Emergency Services and Behavioral Health provides leadership and direction for nursing programs across the continuum, aligned with AHN’s focus areas of quality and safety, customer service, growth and access, financial stability, and people. The position is accountable to the CNO for leading and executing nursing strategies and collaborates with offices and physicians across the continuum.

The role promotes an inclusive, transparent, interdisciplinary nursing environment and supports staff engagement, professional development, evidence-based practice, research, and quality improvement. It oversees operational effectiveness, care standards, patient satisfaction initiatives, shared governance, and departmental financial stewardship. The director also works with internal and external partners to ensure patient needs are met and nursing practice aligns with professional standards.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Nursing.
• Current Pennsylvania RN licensure or current multi-state licensure through the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC).
• CPR certification through the American Heart Association.
• Act 34 Criminal Background Clearance Certificate.
• Act 33 Child Abuse Clearance Certificate.
• Act 73 FBI Fingerprinting Criminal Background Clearance Certificate.
• Compliance with the company’s code of business conduct, applicable laws and regulations, HIPAA, privacy policies, information security policies, and training requirements.

Nice To Haves

• BSN degree.
• Certifications by ANCC.

Responsibilities

• Promote cultural diversity and an interdisciplinary team environment.
• Promote transparency through visual management boards on nursing units.
• Encourage staff participation in the annual NDNQI nurse satisfaction survey and coach managers on opportunities identified in survey results.
• Review NDNQI nurse quality indicators at the department level with nurse managers and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Benchmark AHN-SVH performance against national best practices and share best practices through publications, conference presentations, and networking with AHN leaders.
• Independently manage large-scale projects.
• Implement and monitor initiatives to recognize, reward, and incentivize staff.
• Participate in developing and communicating nursing’s shared vision.
• Pursue professional learning and development, maintain an annual development plan, meet continuing education requirements, and identify opportunities for journal publications.
• Participate in research projects and support evidence-based projects and nursing research, including identifying opportunities to apply the scientific method to nursing practice.
• Monitor, control, and maintain departmental costs within budgeted allocations.
• Build collaborative relationships with hospital departments, patient care units, ambulance services, medical staff, patients and families, law enforcement, clergy, morticians, media, and other health facilities.
• Use transformational leadership and change-management principles to drive improvements.
• Review Press Ganey patient satisfaction data and help managers develop improvement plans.
• Analyze clinical service areas for operational effectiveness using dashboards and other data sources.
• Oversee and ensure standards of care related to quality management, utilization review, and discharge planning.
• Ensure the ongoing development and operation of the Shared Governance model in all departments.
• Consult with nurse managers and medical staff on patient-care and nursing issues, including interpreting Health Center policies to ensure patient needs are met.
• Use research and planning to ensure patient care follows professional nursing standards and evidence-based practice.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director