Registered Nurse (RN) –Patient Command Center

Advocate Health Care; Villa Park (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health Care seeks an experienced bed management professional to oversee admissions, discharges and transfers, ensuring optimal bed utilization and patient flow across units. You will partner with ED, ICU, PACU, surgery and nursing to coordinate placements and minimize delays.

Role requires BSN or equivalent logistics experience, plus 2–3 years of clinical background. The team emphasizes safety, efficiency, and proactive problem solving in a fast-paced hospital environment.

Qualifications

• Strong critical thinking and decision-making under pressure.
• Excellent communication with patients, families and care teams.
• Ability to prioritize admissions, bed assignments and throughput work.

Responsibilities

• Provide ongoing assessment and planning for admissions, discharges, and transfers.
• Collaborate with ED, ICU, surgical teams and bed management to optimize bed placement.
• Maintain bed management data for trending and planning; support patient safety initiatives.
• Educate care teams on admission criteria and patient placement guidelines.
• Lead and participate in performance-improvement activities related to patient throughput.

Skills

Critical thinking

Interpersonal communication

Prioritization

Healthcare operations

Education

BSN or 2 years logistics experience

2-3 years clinical experience

Job description

• Provides ongoing assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of customer needs to enable proactive planning of admissions, discharges and transfers.
• 1)Performs review of potential admissions (ED, Direct, Procedural, or Transfers between facilities) to match the health care needs of the individual patient with the most appropriate level of care or services.
• 2)Collaborates with members of the health care team, including the Attending Physician and transferring facility, regarding medical criteria for admission and the most appropriate level of care to meet the health care needs of the patient based on accepted medical necessity criteria, standards, evidenced based practice, and current research.
• 3)Assists the Physician in identifying alternatives to admission and appropriate referrals for patients that do not require acute care services, as appropriate. Refers to a Physician Advisor for denials and cases that do not meet medical necessity criteria. Utilization of Chain of Command
• 4)Patient and bed management data is accurately maintained, used for trending, and used to guide planning.
• 5)Participates in efforts to reduce risk and improve patient safety.
• 6)Able to critically /analytically think and process information in high pressure environment. Demonstrates adaptive communication styles based upon needs of individual situation.
• 7)Establishes and maintains positive customer relationships with all internal and external clients. Responds to and resolves customer complaints in a timely fashion utilizing service recovery strategies. Addresses problems and conflicts, which arise between patients, families and health care providers.
• Facilitates and coordinates assignment of the patient to the most appropriate bed.
• 1)Maintains an overview of capacity within Advocate Health Care at all times, matching bed requests with available resources, based on unit specific criteria, to maximize appropriate utilization of resources.
• 2)Anticipates the bed needs and creates a plan for assignment of patients to appropriate beds by comparing available beds with the surgery and cath lab schedules, and anticipated admission from the ED, Physician Offices, and other facilities.
• 3)Works collaboratively with multiple departments (i.e., ED, surgery, PACU, cath lab, and Nursing) in facilitating patient throughput.
• 4)Utilizes available resources to make informed decisions regarding bed placement (ie. Leadership, Infection Control) and incorporates infection control guidelines in bed assignment decisions. Remains in constant communication with the bed management support staff providing oversight and guidance regarding bed assignment decisions and other functions.
• 5)Oversees and drives the bed management process though actively and regularly rounding on units, collaborating with the Unit Staff regarding discharges, admissions, and placement of patients to the most appropriate bed in a timely manner.
• 6)Maintain authority to compel nursing units to accept new patients and explain clinical reasoning and operational constraints behind placement decisions while demonstrating diverse clinical knowledge regarding patient care needs and the knowledge of the scope of services offered on each patient care unit.
• 7)Assess, in collaboration with physicians and charge nurses, level of care for patients in ICU, telemetry and step-down who can be moved to medical/surgical units if patients with higher acuity are admitted. Establish and identify a code bed.
• 8)Communicates bed flow status and census to leadership. Follows protocol for initiating bed management protocol and mobilizing resources to resolve disruptions in patient throughput. Collaborates with ED charge nurses and leadership to facilitate throughput and minimize boarding of patients.
• 9)Responsible for the management of an electronic bed board and reservation process that includes scheduled and unscheduled admissions, discharges and transfers.
• Performs review of potential admissions (ED, Procedural, Direct, Transfers between facilities) to match the health care needs of the individual patient with the most appropriate level of care and services
• 3)Provides education to the members of the health care team relating to admission criteria and patient placement guidelines
• 1)Applies admission criteria, to all potential admitted patients, to access the appropriateness of the requested admission for severity of illness in relation to the intensity of services to evaluate for proper admission status.
• 2)Ensures appropriate hospital utilization in accordance with Health and Human Service regulations, payment class requirements and accreditation standards of Accrediting Organizations
• Participates in performance improvement activities.
• 1)Documents activities of the bed management program, including entering admissions, internal and external transfers, pre-arrival and consult call data in designated computer software systems.
• 2)Utilizes evidence based practice to drive improvement strategies.
• 3)Collaborates with other leaders and team members to ensure operational efficiency of patient throughput and positive patient outcomes.
• 4)Understands departmental and organizational productivity measures; assesses productivity and recommend resource adjustments as appropriate.
• 5)Utilizes admission, transfer and discharge data to work collaboratively with staff in making proactive decisions with consideration to workflow, churn considering staffing, patient needs and budgeted census.
• 6)Leads initiatives to develop, implement and track quality improvement activities, particularly related to nursing sensitive indicators.
• Responsible for professional behavior and growth.
• 10)Acts as a professional role model. Holds self and peers accountable for exhibiting Advocate Service and Patient Safety behaviors and expectations with a zero tolerance for deviation from standards.
• 3)Reviews all available resources to maintain knowledge of department and hospital activities.
• 4)Collaborates with other associates to facilitate teamwork and demonstrate pride in achieving targeted outcomes.
• 5)Demonstrates effective and courteous interdepartmental communication to facilitate house-wide movement of patients.
• 6)Consistently projects positive professional image through appearance and behavior and exhibits appropriate communication skills that foster collaborative problem solving and planning. Able to leverage interdepartmental relationships to remove obstacles.
• 7)Behavior supports a positive environment conducive to the professional development of coworkers is demonstrated on an ongoing basis including but not limited to precepting, mentoring, teaching, orienting, role modeling, peer coaching and team participation.
• 8)Able to work independently and make responsible decisions, demonstrating and modeling time management and organizational skills on a routine basis.
• 9)Maintains contact hours required for licensure and knowledge of current standards of care via literature review and participation in educational offerings. Achieves professional certification in accordance with hospital guidelines.
• 1)Attends staff meetings on a regular basis.
• 2)Completes required hours based upon FTE status, within time frame.

Major Responsibilities

• Provides ongoing assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of customer needs to enable proactive planning of admissions, discharges and transfers.
• 1)Performs review of potential admissions (ED, Direct, Procedural, or Transfers between facilities) to match the health care needs of the individual patient with the most appropriate level of care or services.
• 2)Collaborates with members of the health care team, including the Attending Physician and transferring facility, regarding medical criteria for admission and the most appropriate level of care to meet the health care needs of the patient based on accepted medical necessity criteria, standards, evidenced based practice, and current research.
• 3)Assists the Physician in identifying alternatives to admission and appropriate referrals for patients that do not require acute care services, as appropriate. Refers to a Physician Advisor for denials and cases that do not meet medical necessity criteria. Utilization of Chain of Command
• 4)Patient and bed management data is accurately maintained, used for trending, and used to guide planning.
• 5)Participates in efforts to reduce risk and improve patient safety.
• 6)Able to critically /analytically think and process information in high pressure environment. Demonstrates adaptive communication styles based upon needs of individual situation.
• 7)Establishes and maintains positive customer relationships with all internal and external clients. Responds to and resolves customer complaints in a timely fashion utilizing service recovery strategies. Addresses problems and conflicts, which arise between patients, families and health care providers.
• Facilitates and coordinates assignment of the patient to the most appropriate bed.
• 1)Maintains an overview of capacity within Advocate Health Care at all times, matching bed requests with available resources, based on unit specific criteria, to maximize appropriate utilization of resources.
• 2)Anticipates the bed needs and creates a plan for assignment of patients to appropriate beds by comparing available beds with the surgery and cath lab schedules, and anticipated admission from the ED, Physician Offices, and other facilities.
• 3)Works collaboratively with multiple departments (i.e., ED, surgery, PACU, cath lab, and Nursing) in facilitating patient throughput.
• 4)Utilizes available resources to make informed decisions regarding bed placement (ie. Leadership, Infection Control) and incorporates infection control guidelines in bed assignment decisions. Remains in constant communication with the bed management support staff providing oversight and guidance regarding bed assignment decisions and other functions.
• 5)Oversees and drives the bed management process though actively and regularly rounding on units, collaborating with the Unit Staff regarding discharges, admissions, and placement of patients to the most appropriate bed in a timely manner.
• 6)Maintain authority to compel nursing units to accept new patients and explain clinical reasoning and operational constraints behind placement decisions while demonstrating diverse clinical knowledge regarding patient care needs and the knowledge of the scope of services offered on each patient care unit.
• 7)Assess, in collaboration with physicians and charge nurses, level of care for patients in ICU, telemetry and step-down who can be moved to medical/surgical units if patients with higher acuity are admitted. Establish and identify a code bed.
• 8)Communicates bed flow status and census to leadership. Follows protocol for initiating bed management protocol and mobilizing resources to resolve disruptions in patient throughput. Collaborates with ED charge nurses and leadership to facilitate throughput and minimize boarding of patients.
• 9)Responsible for the management of an electronic bed board and reservation process that includes scheduled and unscheduled admissions, discharges and transfers.
• Performs review of potential admissions (ED, Procedural, Direct, Transfers between facilities) to match the health care needs of the individual patient with the most appropriate level of care and services
• 3)Provides education to the members of the health care team relating to admission criteria and patient placement guidelines
• 1)Applies admission criteria, to all potential admitted patients, to access the appropriateness of the requested admission for severity of illness in relation to the intensity of services to evaluate for proper admission status.
• 2)Ensures appropriate hospital utilization in accordance with Health and Human Service regulations, payment class requirements and accreditation standards of Accrediting Organizations
• Participates in performance improvement activities.
• 1)Documents activities of the bed management program, including entering admissions, internal and external transfers, pre-arrival and consult call data in designated computer software systems.
• 2)Utilizes evidence based practice to drive improvement strategies.
• 3)Collaborates with other leaders and team members to ensure operational efficiency of patient throughput and positive patient outcomes.
• 4)Understands departmental and organizational productivity measures; assesses productivity and recommend resource adjustments as appropriate.
• 5)Utilizes admission, transfer and discharge data to work collaboratively with staff in making proactive decisions with consideration to workflow, churn considering staffing, patient needs and budgeted census.
• 6)Leads initiatives to develop, implement and track quality improvement activities, particularly related to nursing sensitive indicators.
• Responsible for professional behavior and growth.
• 10)Acts as a professional role model. Holds self and peers accountable for exhibiting Advocate Service and Patient Safety behaviors and expectations with a zero tolerance for deviation from standards.
• 3)Reviews all available resources to maintain knowledge of department and hospital activities.
• 4)Collaborates with other associates to facilitate teamwork and demonstrate pride in achieving targeted outcomes.
• 5)Demonstrates effective and courteous interdepartmental communication to facilitate house-wide movement of patients.
• 6)Consistently projects positive professional image through appearance and behavior and exhibits appropriate communication skills that foster collaborative problem solving and planning. Able to leverage interdepartmental relationships to remove obstacles.
• 7)Behavior supports a positive environment conducive to the professional development of coworkers is demonstrated on an ongoing basis including but not limited to precepting, mentoring, teaching, orienting, role modeling, peer coaching and team participation.
• 8)Able to work independently and make responsible decisions, demonstrating and modeling time management and organizational skills on a routine basis.
• 9)Maintains contact hours required for licensure and knowledge of current standards of care via literature review and participation in educational offerings. Achieves professional certification in accordance with hospital guidelines.
• 1)Attends staff meetings on a regular basis.
• 2)Completes required hours based upon FTE status, within time frame.

Licensure

• Nurse, Registered (RN)

Education/Experience Required

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or 1-2 years of previous logistics (patient placement/bed management) experience. 2-3 years of clinical experience

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

• Ability to prioritize work Effective interpersonal communication skills Ability to problem solve and make timely decisions Strong Critical thinking skills Competent in computer applications with ability to multitask between software systems Knowledge of MS office
• Current nursing license in the State of Illinois CPR certification

Physicial Requirements And Working Conditions

• Ability to prioritize independently and respond to multiple simultaneous requests. Ability to work in a fast paced environment with established time constraints and difficult situations. Ability to work flexible hours to provide staffing for the department. The Patient Command Center is a twenty-four (24) hour per day, 7 days a week department. Ability to communicate with site leadership during critical high census surges to ensure and facilitate discharges and admissions
• This requirement supersedes any previous lifting requirement effective 04/20/2014. Ability to lift up to 35 pounds without assistance.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.