Director of Nursing at Benchmark Young Adult School PMB K-286 – Montclair, California

The Director of Nursing (DON) is a key leader responsible for the overall direction, management, and clinical excellence of the nursing department. The DON will lead the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered nursing care that fulfills the Company’s mission. The DON oversees the nursing staff (nurses and medical assistants), Behavioral Health Technicians and reports to the Executive Director. Additionally, the DON recruits, retains, organizes, and leads the Nurse Managers. This role requires a strong clinical background, exceptional leadership skills, and a deep commitment to improving the health outcomes of underserved mental health communities.

Key Accountabilities

• Ensure standards of efficiency of intake, service provision and discharge are met to maximize and achieve program goals
• Collaborate with medical providers and other clinical staff to ensure seamless and coordinated patient care
• In collaboration with Finance, develop and manage program budget
• Ensure that systems are developed and maintained so the program meets relevant licensing and accreditation standards, DPH, CARF, The Joint Commission, etc.
• Develop and foster collaborative relationships with hospital, community and statewide agencies
• Provide leadership and management for direct reports, including staff training and development, allocation of staffing resources, work flow management, performance monitoring and pro-active problem resolution.
• Protect the privacy of all patient information in accordance with the organization's privacy policies, procedures, and practices, as required by federal and state law, and in accordance with general principles of professionalism as a health care provider.
• Provide crisis support to other nurses and patients, as needed and in emergency situations.
• Develop and implement innovative nursing models of care that support the delivery of high quality, patient-centered care
• Manage nurse-led Health Education and Promotion
• Oversee order protocols for health maintenance, vaccines, and prescription refill requests
• Foster a culture of continuous quality improvement within the nursing department, utilizing data and feedback to identify areas for improvement and implement effective solutions
• Promote a culture of evidence-based practice and ensure that nursing staff have access to the resources and training needed to stay current with the latest clinical guidelines and best practices
• Provide nursing care services as needed, including but not limited to, administering medications and assessing patient’s response to treatment and generalized nursing care
• Oversee workflow and training for point-of-care laboratory testing and ensure the overall technical operation to ensure quality services
• Organize and facilitate regular meetings of nursing department
• Other related activities as needed

Required Qualifications

• Current CA Licensure as a registered nurse required
• Three plus years of experience working with a behavioral health population
• Five plus years of progressive nursing leadership experience; prior Nurse Manager experience and leadership skills including the ability to motivate and supervise others
• Visible leader with excellent interpersonal communication skills who relates well with all levels of the organization
• The ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all staff, patients, outside agencies, families, visitors and the community
• Familiarity with all relevant healthcare standards: ASAM, JCAHO, etc.
• Knowledge and experience of ASAM Levels of care 3, 2 & 1.
• Familiarity experience with clinical audit implementation and oversight

Preferred Qualifications

· BSN or MSN highly preferred