Director of Admissions Skilled Nursing Facility

LongTerm Healthcare; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Career growth

Professional development

Collaborative leadership

Job summary

LongTerm Healthcare is seeking a Director of Admissions for our skilled nursing facility in Chicago to lead the admissions process from referral through admission and ensure a smooth transition for residents and families.

The ideal candidate will drive census growth, manage referrals from hospitals and clinicians, and coordinate with nursing, social services, and therapy teams to secure appropriate admissions while upholding clinical standards.

Qualifications

• Experience in skilled nursing, long-term care, post-acute care, or healthcare admissions preferred.
• Strong understanding of hospital-to-SNF referral and admissions processes.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage admissions from referral through admission.
• Coordinate with hospitals, physicians, case managers, and discharge planners.
• Educate referral sources about the facility's capabilities and admission criteria.
• Monitor census and strategic referral development.
• Maintain records of referrals, admissions, denials, and conversions.

Skills

Relationship-building

Communication

Organizational skills

Time management

Sales/Business development

Job description

Director of Admissions – Skilled Nursing Facility

Job Type: Full-time
Industry: Skilled Nursing / Long-Term Care / Healthcare

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and results-driven Director of Admissions to join our skilled nursing facility leadership team.

The Director of Admissions is responsible for managing the facility's admissions process from initial referral through admission and ensuring a smooth transition for residents and their families. This position works closely with hospitals, health systems, physicians, case managers, discharge planners, social workers, residents, families, and facility leadership to identify appropriate admissions and support census growth.

The ideal candidate is an organized, relationship-driven healthcare professional who understands the hospital-to-SNF referral process, can evaluate referral opportunities, and can effectively communicate the facility's clinical capabilities and services to referral partners.

This is a highly visible role with a direct impact on census, referral relationships, admission conversion, and the overall resident experience.

Key Responsibilities

Admissions Management

• Manage the facility's admissions process from referral through admission.

• Receive, review, and coordinate incoming referrals from hospitals, physicians, healthcare providers, and other referral sources.

• Review clinical and demographic information to determine whether potential admissions are appropriate for the facility.

• Coordinate with nursing and clinical leadership regarding referral acceptance and clinical capabilities.

• Ensure timely communication with referral sources regarding admissions decisions.

• Coordinate admissions with nursing, social services, therapy, dietary, pharmacy, and other departments.

• Ensure all necessary information is obtained prior to admission.

• Help ensure admissions are scheduled and coordinated efficiently.

• Communicate with residents and families regarding the admission process, services, expectations, and facility resources.

• Facilitate a smooth transition from hospital or community setting to the skilled nursing facility.

• Follow up on referrals that does not immediately convert to admissions.

• Maintain accurate records of referrals, admissions, denials, pending referrals, and conversion activity.

Census Development

• Develop and execute strategies to maintain and grow facility census.

• Monitor daily census, pending admissions, referrals, discharges, and available beds.

• Identify opportunities to increase admissions while maintaining appropriate clinical standards.

• Work with facility leadership to identify barriers to admissions and develop solutions.

• Track referral volume, admission conversion rates, payer mix, and other key census metrics.

• Participate in regular census and admissions meetings.

• Communicate census opportunities and challenges to the Administrator and clinical leadership.

• Develop strategies to increase referrals from high-value referral sources.

Hospital & Referral Relationships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with hospitals, health systems, case managers, discharge planners, social workers, physicians, and other referral partners.

• Maintain consistent communication and visibility with key referral sources.

• Visit hospitals and referral partners as needed to strengthen relationships and identify new opportunities.

• Educate referral sources about the facility's clinical capabilities, programs, services, and admission criteria.

• Respond quickly and professionally to referral inquiries.

• Identify changes in hospital referral patterns and market opportunities.

• Maintain strong relationships with existing referral partners while developing new sources of business.

Clinical & Interdisciplinary Collaboration

• Work closely with the Director of Nursing and clinical team to evaluate potential admissions.

• Ensure referrals are appropriate based on the facility's ability to safely meet the resident's clinical needs.

• Communicate relevant clinical information to the appropriate members of the care team.

• Coordinate with the interdisciplinary team to prepare for new admissions.

• Help identify opportunities to expand admissions through specialized clinical programs and capabilities.

• Maintain a strong understanding of the facility's clinical services, specialties, staffing capabilities, and admission criteria.

Insurance & Financial Coordination

• Work closely with business office and insurance personnel to ensure appropriate authorization and financial information is obtained.

• Assist with insurance verification and authorization processes as appropriate.

• Understand Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, commercial insurance, and other payer requirements.

• Communicate financial and coverage requirements to residents and families as appropriate.

• Help identify potential reimbursement or authorization barriers before admission.

• Coordinate with appropriate departments to minimize delays in admission.

Customer Service & Resident Experience

• Serve as a primary point of contact for prospective residents and families during the admissions process.

• Provide professional, compassionate, and timely communication.

• Conduct facility tours and respond to questions regarding services, care, amenities, and policies.

• Help residents and families understand what to expect before and during admission.

• Address concerns promptly and elevate issues when appropriate.

• Create a positive first impression of the facility and organization.

Performance Metrics

The Director of Admissions will be accountable for key admissions and census metrics, including:

• Daily and average census

• Referral volume

• Admission conversion rate

• Hospital referral volume

• Referral response time

• Pending admissions

• Denial rate

• Payer mix

• Referral source development

• Hospital relationship activity

• Admissions by referral source

• Length of stay and discharge trends as appropriate

Qualifications

• Previous experience in skilled nursing, long-term care, post-acute care, hospital case management, healthcare sales, admissions, or healthcare business development preferred.

• Strong understanding of the hospital-to-SNF referral and admissions process.

• Experience working with hospitals, health systems, case managers, discharge planners, physicians, or other healthcare referral sources.

• Strong knowledge of Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and other healthcare payer processes preferred.

• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and customer service skills.

• Strong organizational and time-management abilities.

• Ability to manage multiple referrals and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to work effectively with clinical, administrative, and interdisciplinary teams.

• Strong computer and documentation skills.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive resident information appropriately.

• Previous admissions or business development experience in skilled nursing is strongly preferred.

Ideal Candidate

We are especially interested in candidates with experience as:

• Director of Admissions

• Admissions Director

• Admissions Coordinator

• Healthcare Admissions Director

• SNF Admissions Director

• Hospital Liaison

• Healthcare Liaison

• Clinical Liaison

• Business Development Representative

• Healthcare Business Development Manager

• Skilled Nursing Marketing Director

• Hospital Case Manager

• Discharge Planner

• Post-Acute Care Liaison

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation and benefits.

• Opportunity to directly influence facility census and growth.

• Strong partnership with facility and clinical leadership.

• Professional development and career advancement opportunities.

• Collaborative and supportive leadership environment.

• Opportunity to build lasting relationships within the local healthcare community.