Census-Driven Admissions Director

Community Wellness Partners; City of Oswego (NY); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Community Wellness Partners is seeking an Admissions Director to manage referrals, admissions, and bed utilization in a skilled nursing and rehabilitation setting. You will drive census growth through rapid referral response, hospital and payer collaboration, and efficient admission conversion.

The role requires coordinating with hospital discharge planners, physicians, families, therapy, nursing, and admin to ensure clinically appropriate admissions and smooth transitions into the facility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; healthcare experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in skilled nursing admissions, case management, healthcare marketing, hospital discharge planning, or related field preferred.
• Strong understanding of Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and post-acute reimbursement.

Responsibilities

• Maintain target census levels for long-term care and short-term rehabilitation units.
• Manage daily referral activity, 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 with nursing, therapy, and administration regarding acceptance decisions.
• 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 strong working relationships with hospital case managers, discharge planners, insurance representatives, and referral sources.
• Communicate clearly and professionally regarding bed availability, specialty services, and admission criteria.
• Ensure rapid turnaround on referral reviews and admission decisions.
• Collaborate with leadership to optimize payer mix and strategically 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 regarding services, insurance coverage, facility policies, and admission requirements.
• Assist with completion of admission paperwork and coordination of move-in logistics.
• Address concerns professionally and elevate 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 successful admissions and transitions.
• Communicate anticipated admissions and discharge activity to operational departments.
• Ensure admissions practices comply with all federal, state, and facility regulations.
• Maintain confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA requirements.
• Ensure accurate and timely documentation related to admissions, referrals, and payer communications.
• Support community relationship efforts in coordination with the community engagement/sales representative.
• Participate in occasional networking events, hospital meetings, and professional outreach activities.
• Represent the organization professionally within the healthcare community.

Skills

Admissions coordination

Healthcare communication

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

EMR systems

Referral management systems

Job description

Community Wellness Partners is seeking an Admissions Director to manage referrals, admissions, and bed utilization in a skilled nursing and rehabilitation setting. You will drive census growth through rapid referral response, hospital and payer collaboration, and efficient admission conversion.

The role requires coordinating with hospital discharge planners, physicians, families, therapy, nursing, and admin to ensure clinically appropriate admissions and smooth transitions into the facility.