RN, Patient Navigator - Perinatal - Full-Time

Erlanger Health System•Chattanooga, TN

17h•Onsite

About The Position

The Registered Nurse (RN) Patient Navigator serves as a patient advocate and care coordinator, guiding patients through the healthcare continuum to ensure timely access to quality care, improved health outcomes, and a positive patient experience. The RN Patient Navigator collaborates with physicians, multidisciplinary teams, patients, families, and community resources to facilitate care planning, remove barriers to treatment, provide education, and support patients throughout diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and follow-up care. This role promotes continuity of care, enhances patient engagement, and helps patients navigate complex healthcare systems while ensuring compliance with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based practices. The RN Patient Navigator is a registered professional nurse responsible for coordinating comprehensive care, education, and support services for patients and families experiencing high-risk pregnancies complicated by fetal, neonatal, or infant diagnoses associated with life-limiting conditions, comfort care, or anticipated loss. Serving as a primary point of contact throughout the antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and bereavement journey, this role provides care navigation, advocacy, emotional support, and continuity of care while guiding families through complex medical decisions and treatment plans. Working collaboratively with the Bereavement Coordinator and interdisciplinary teams, the RN, Patient Navigator facilitates communication among Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists, obstetric providers, neonatologists, palliative care teams, genetics, nursing staff, community organizations, and regional healthcare providers to ensure coordinated, family-centered care. This position develops individualized care and comfort plans, coordinates referrals and follow-up services, maintains communication with referring providers, and serves as a liaison to improve care transitions and close the communication loop between patients, specialists, and community providers. The RN Patient Navigator also leads and supports the Never Forgotten Program, providing grief support and bereavement follow-up care to families experiencing pregnancy loss, neonatal death, or infant death. Responsibilities include facilitating support groups such as Moments to Share, coordinating remembrance and community awareness events, managing bereavement resources and donor-supported programs, and expanding access to perinatal and neonatal loss services throughout the region. Additionally, this role serves as an educator, consultant, and community advocate by promoting bereavement awareness, providing staff and community education, participating in local and regional committees, and supporting initiatives that improve outcomes and compassionate care for women, infants, and families experiencing loss.

Requirements

Graduate from an accredited School of Nursing
Two (2) years of nursing experience in care coordination, case management, patient navigation, or a related clinical specialty; equivalent healthcare experience may be considered.
Current licensure to practice nursing in the state of Tennessee.
BLS completed prior to going to the unit/ department and maintained going forward
BLS completed prior to going to unit/department and to maintain ongoing thereafter.
ACLS required prior to completion of departmental orientation and maintain ongoing thereafter
De-escalation training/certification (example: MOAB) within 6 months and maintain ongoing yearly thereafter.
Tennessee licensure or multistate licensure from a compact state must be obtained within three months of hire for non-Tennessee residents.

Nice To Haves

BSN
Previous experience in patient education, patient navigation, care coordination, case management, or a related clinical leadership role.
NRP certification within 6 months of hire

Responsibilities

Serves as a patient advocate and care coordinator, guiding patients through the healthcare continuum to ensure timely access to quality care, improved health outcomes, and a positive patient experience.
Collaborates with physicians, multidisciplinary teams, patients, families, and community resources to facilitate care planning, remove barriers to treatment, provide education, and support patients throughout diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and follow-up care.
Promotes continuity of care, enhances patient engagement, and helps patients navigate complex healthcare systems while ensuring compliance with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based practices.
Coordinates comprehensive care, education, and support services for patients and families experiencing high-risk pregnancies complicated by fetal, neonatal, or infant diagnoses associated with life-limiting conditions, comfort care, or anticipated loss.
Serves as a primary point of contact throughout the antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and bereavement journey, providing care navigation, advocacy, emotional support, and continuity of care.
Guides families through complex medical decisions and treatment plans.
Facilitates communication among Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists, obstetric providers, neonatologists, palliative care teams, genetics, nursing staff, community organizations, and regional healthcare providers to ensure coordinated, family-centered care.
Develops individualized care and comfort plans.
Coordinates referrals and follow-up services.
Maintains communication with referring providers.
Serves as a liaison to improve care transitions and close the communication loop between patients, specialists, and community providers.
Leads and supports the Never Forgotten Program, providing grief support and bereavement follow-up care to families experiencing pregnancy loss, neonatal death, or infant death.
Facilitates support groups such as Moments to Share.
Coordinates remembrance and community awareness events.
Manages bereavement resources and donor-supported programs.
Expands access to perinatal and neonatal loss services throughout the region.
Serves as an educator, consultant, and community advocate by promoting bereavement awareness.
Provides staff and community education.
Participates in local and regional committees.
Supports initiatives that improve outcomes and compassionate care for women, infants, and families experiencing loss.