Registered Nurse - Patient Progression - P/T with Benefits Evenings

About the Role

At Hackensack Meridian Health, our team members are the heart of what makes us better. We help our patients live better, healthier lives and support one another to succeed. The Patient Progression RN is responsible for all activities related to Capacity Management, including coordinating patient placement and patient flow to provide appropriate, effective, and efficient patient care. This role empowers the RN to remove barriers and bottlenecks related to patient placement and flow.

Responsibilities

• Uses clinical expertise to coordinate the placement of elective and emergent admissions as well as transfers from other facilities, ensuring patients are admitted or transferred to the most appropriate available bed in accordance with clinical standards and guidelines.
• Applies clinical knowledge of disease entities, epidemiological issues, and circumstances that impact patient placement.
• Communicates and implements the Patient Progression plan for the day, as defined at the daily bed meeting, to patient placement staff, patient care areas, physicians, senior leadership, and operations departments.
• Ensures the daily Patient Progression plan is communicated to evening staff and Nursing Supervisors for continued implementation.
• Reviews patients' conditions independently or with case management staff, ED, Nursing Supervisor, or charge nurse to ensure appropriate placement for required services.
• Tracks bed availability and maintains appropriate logs/records.
• Works directly with Plant Operations and Environmental Services on room renovation or repairs.
• Provides direct oversight of the Daily Census Bed Reports (three times a day).
• Conducts walking rounds on all nursing units to identify and discuss barriers to discharge, build relationships with staff, and educate staff on the role of the Patient Progression RN.
• Monitors bed availability on all nursing units and pending discharges to assess the ability to meet the needs of the cath lab, ED, PACU, and direct admissions.
• Acts as a resource to patient placement staff regarding the type of patient each unit can accept and the type of equipment or medications available on each unit, using policies and procedures as a guide.
• Makes recommendations to the Manager of Patient Progression for closing or downsizing units and manages patient transfers from the ED/PACU or direct admits when an overflow unit is opened.
• Regularly communicates with and provides status reports to the Manager of Patient Progression regarding impending need for divert, operating room holds, or cath lab delays.
• Calls additional bed meetings as needed.
• Monitors ED volume and patient types, and communicates with the infection control department.
• Assesses patients for hall or discharge lounge appropriateness.
• Assists with telemetry transports out of the ED and/or inter-unit as needed.
• Plans inter-unit transfers predictively to improve throughput (including weekend participation in Ocean View).
• Tracks potential discharges and escalates barriers to discharge or transfer.
• Performs other duties and/or projects as assigned.
• Adheres to HMH organizational competencies and standards of behavior.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Nursing from an accredited nursing program.
• Three years of professional nursing experience.
• Knowledge of nursing principles, practices, and techniques.
• Knowledge of state and agency laws and regulations governing general professional nursing practices.
• Skill in both verbal and written communication.
• Skill in applying professional nursing methods and techniques.
• Skill in maintaining effective working relationships.

Preferred Qualifications

• National Certification.
• Previous experience in Capacity Management/Patient Progression.
• Telemetry Certification.

Pay

Minimum annual rate of $64,771.20. The posted rate of pay is a reasonable good faith estimate of the minimum base pay for this role at the time of posting. The starting rate of pay may vary based on labor market data, experience, education, certifications, skills, geographic location, internal equity, budget, and grant funding. Full-time and part-time (20+ hours/week) positions may be eligible for a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, paid leave, tuition reimbursement, retirement benefits, shift differentials, and performance-based incentives.