Director of Nursing

Freedom Behavioral Hospital of Monroe is an 82-bed acute inpatient behavioral health facility serving adult and geriatric psychiatric patients in Monroe, Louisiana, with an additional satellite location in West Monroe.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Director of Nursing (DON) to provide leadership and oversight of nursing services across the facility. Previous nursing experience in an acute psychiatric setting is required, with a strong preference for candidates with geriatric behavioral health experience. The ideal candidate is a strong, hands-on nursing leader who understands that successful nursing operations require teamwork, accountability, staff development, and consistent leadership. The DON will be responsible for developing, training, supporting, and holding the nursing team accountable while maintaining high standards of patient care, regulatory compliance, and operational performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct leadership, oversight, and support to nursing and direct care staff.
• Ensure nursing services are delivered in accordance with established standards of care, policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards.
• Maintain appropriate nursing staffing levels and ensure units are staffed safely and effectively based on patient census, acuity, and organizational requirements.
• Develop and maintain nursing schedules in a timely manner while proactively addressing staffing and coverage needs.
• Provide clinical leadership and assist nursing staff with decision-making, clinical judgment, physician communication, and complex patient care situations.
• Provide direct patient care when necessary to support safe and effective facility operations.
• Participate in the nursing administrative on-call rotation as required.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, train, and retain a high-performing nursing team.
• Collaborate with Human Resources regarding nursing recruitment, hiring, employee relations, performance management, corrective action, and termination when necessary.
• Complete nursing staff performance evaluations within established timeframes and provide ongoing coaching and performance feedback.
• Establish clear performance expectations and promote accountability throughout the nursing department.
• Participate actively in the facility’s Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program, including monitoring, tracking, trending, and analyzing nursing and patient care data.
• Identify opportunities for performance improvement and implement corrective actions when nursing or quality concerns are identified.
• Maintain ongoing survey readiness and ensure nursing operations remain compliant with applicable federal, state, accreditation, and organizational requirements.
• Collaborate with Intake and Service Development to facilitate appropriate and timely patient admissions.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of facility admission criteria and ensure appropriate clinical review and documentation for new admissions.
• Participate as an active member of the Utilization Review and Treatment Teams to support communication regarding patient needs, treatment goals, interventions, progress, and discharge planning.
• Serve as a clinical and operational resource to administrative, nursing, and direct care staff.
• Participate in the development and implementation of policies, procedures, forms, workflows, and processes that impact nursing services and patient care.
• Collaborate with facility leadership on new programs, operational initiatives, and performance improvement projects to ensure safe and effective implementation.
• Monitor nursing documentation and clinical practices to ensure accuracy, timeliness, quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Work collaboratively with physicians, clinical leadership, administration, Human Resources, Quality, and other departments to support effective facility operations.
• Serve as an active member of the facility leadership team and contribute to the overall clinical, operational, and strategic goals of the hospital.

Requirements

• Current RN License in good standing with the State of Louisiana
• Associate Degree or Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing minimum, with MSN oversight; Master’s Prepared strongly preferred
• Previous psychiatric management experience is preferred
• Previous acute psychiatric nursing experience (required)
• Geriatric psychiatric experience (strongly preferred)

Skills

• Strong clinical judgment and decision-making abilities
• Knowledge of behavioral health regulatory and accreditation requirements
• Experience with survey readiness, QAPI, and performance improvement
• Strong staffing and nursing operations management skills
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, train, and retain nursing staff
• Ability to establish expectations and hold employees accountable
• Strong communication, organization, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with physicians and multidisciplinary leadership teams
• A hands-on leadership style and willingness to support the nursing team when operational or clinical needs arise
• Commitment to providing safe, high-quality, patient-centered behavioral healthcare