Patient Access Team Lead

CommonSpirit Health; Morrilton, Northern (AR, KY); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

CommonSpirit Health—CHI St. Vincent Morrilton in Arkansas is seeking a Patient Access Team Lead to provide daily operational leadership across hospital access areas, resolving complex registration, insurance, and financial issues while guiding staff to maintain high service standards.

You will coordinate assignments, support patient flow, and ensure policy adherence with a focus on accountability and relationship-based care within our health network.

Qualifications

• Experience leading patient access or registration teams in a hospital setting.
• Ability to resolve complex registration, insurance and financial questions.
• Knowledge of patient flow and service standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day operational leadership and workflow coordination for hospital patient access across assigned areas.
• Coordinate daily work assignments and area coverage to support patient flow and operational continuity.
• Serve as the first escalation point for complex registration, insurance verification, and financial issues.
• Perform complex patient registration and financial clearance activities as needed to support operations.
• Coach and guide Patient Access Representatives and Eligibility staff to uphold accuracy and service standards.

Skills

Staff coaching

Leadership

Problem solving

Communication

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Associates Degree

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Epic EMR

Meditech

Job description

Job Summary and Responsibilities

As our Patient Access Team Lead, you will provide day-to-day operational leadership and workflow coordination for hospital patient access across assigned areas, which may include the Emergency Department, main registration, admitting, and payer notification.

Every day you will serve as subject matter expert and first point of escalation for complex registration, insurance, authorization, and patient account issues, give staff real-time guidance and issue resolution so access work is timely and accurate, and partner with supervisors and managers on operational continuity, service quality, and policy adherence.

To be successful in this role, you will bring deep patient access expertise, strong problem-solving and coaching skills, and accountability for relationship-based care, our mission, and core values.

• Provide real‑time operational oversight and workflow coordination for patient access activities across assigned hospital access areas.
• Coordinate daily work assignments, task distribution, and area coverage to support patient flow, service standards, and operational continuity.
• Serve as the first point of escalation for complex registration, insurance verification, authorization, and patient financial issues, ensuring timely and appropriate resolution.
• Perform complex patient registration, insurance verification, authorization, and financial clearance activities as needed to support operations.
• Communicate patient financial responsibility, payment options, and available financial assistance resources, as appropriate, to support patient understanding.
• Provide guidance, coaching, and real‑time support to Patient Access Representatives, Financial Counselors, and Eligibility staff to reinforce accuracy, service standards, and best practices.

Job Requirements

Required

• High School Graduate General Studies, upon hire or
• High School GED General Studies, upon hire and
• Associates Other, upon hire and
• 3–5 years of experience in patient access, healthcare registration, admitting, or a related hospital‑based access role required., upon hire and
• Prior experience functioning in a senior, advanced, or lead capacity within patient access or registration., upon hire and
• Demonstrated experience supporting hospital-based access areas, including Emergency Department, main registration, admitting, or related workflows., upon hire and
• None, upon hire

Preferred

• Bachelors Other Bachelor's degree in business management, healthcare administration or similar, preferred, upon hire and
• Experience using electronic health record systems such as Epic and/or Meditech required or strongly preferred., upon hire

Where You'll Work

CHI St. Vincent, a regional health network serving Arkansas, is part of CommonSpirit Health. We have served Arkansas since 1888 with a history of many firsts. Together with more than 4,500 coworkers, 1,000 medical staff, and 500 volunteers, we consistently receive praise for care advancements. CHI St. Vincent Morrilton has provided quality care to its community for decades. Being part of CHI St. Vincent means the community has access to many centers of excellence, including our Heart Institute and Neuroscience Institute.

CommonSpirit Health was formed by the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health in 2019. With our combined resources, CommonSpirit is committed to building healthy communities, advocating for those who are poor and vulnerable, and innovating how and where healing can happen, both inside our hospitals and out in the community.

CHI St. Vincent provides you with the same level of care you provide to others. We care about our team member well-being and offer benefits that complement and support your work/life balance.