Director of Nursing

THE ORGANIZATION

North Shore Community Health (NSCH) is a highly accomplished community health organization that prides itself on its compassionate approach to serving the surrounding communities with comprehensive and culturally sensitive care. With a strong commitment to excellence, NSCH provides:

• Comprehensive primary care.
• Dental services.
• Behavioral health care.
• Care management.
• Pharmacy services.
• Substance abuse disorder treatment.
• Nurse care management.
• Insurance enrollment assistance.

NSCH operates service sites at Gloucester, Peabody, and Salem Family Health Centers, ensuring convenient access to care. Additionally, NSCH extends its reach through school-based health centers within the Salem and Peabody School Districts. NSCH collaborates with Bentley Academy, Collins Middle School, Horace Mann School, Bates Elementary School, and the Peabody Learning Academy for behavioral health services.

As a community-based safety net healthcare provider, NSCH actively encourages diversity and welcomes staff members who reflect the rich tapestry of our communities. We highly value the contributions of our team members and offer a wide range of perks and comprehensive benefits. These include health and wellness benefits, tuition reimbursement, loan forgiveness opportunities, and other appealing benefits.

We believe in supporting our employees from day one, and all eligible staff members can take advantage of these benefits right from the start of their employment at NSCH. We aim to foster a supportive and rewarding environment that empowers our team members to provide exceptional care to our communities.

Primary Purpose of Position:

North Shore Community Health (NSCH) is an industry leader in the exceptional delivery of community healthcare. We have an opening for a Director of Nursing, reporting to the Chief Medical Officer. The Director of Nursing (DON) is responsible for the overall functioning of the nursing department and staff at NSCH. The Director of Nursing works closely with all levels of leadership and management to envision, build, and sustain the nursing model of care at NSCH, this includes creating a vision for how the nurses will work in Team-Based Care and also creating systems of accountability around nursing revenue and standard of care. The DON also provides leadership in vaccine management and regulatory compliance. This is an exciting opportunity to create your vision for the nursing department at a community health center.

Essential Functions:

Clinical Leadership and Management

• Create a Vision for Primary Care Nursing at NSCH that focuses on developing team-based care keeping in mind the value-based care payment model
• In collaboration with clinical leadership, envision, develop, implement, and sustain the model of nursing at NSCH focusing on the Team-Based Care
• In collaboration with the Population Health Department review and develop the key quality measures that nurses can manage and then implement workflows to achieve those measures.
• Ensure adequate professional development for Site Nurse Managers to foster a healthy nursing culture at NSCH.
• Oversee and implement changes to nursing best practices, such as clinical guidelines, quality of care, and quality of documentation.
• Assess, develop, and execute strategies to improve the performance of the registered nurse workforce to utilize the nurses’ full scope of practice in line with the Value-Based Care model. This will include creating standing orders, note templates in the EHR, and others.
• In collaboration with clinical leadership, develop, refine, and implement nursing workflows to enhance the quality and efficiency of care with a focus on standardization of all nursing practices and appropriate support staff.
• Oversees the job duties of the Medical Assistants (MAs) and supports the Site Nurse Managers in creating workflows to meet our quality measures and value-based care needs.
• Ensures clinical workflows for the nurses and Medical Assistants (MAs) are standardized across all of the clinical sites at NSCH.
• Monitor the efficacy of the nursing care model by setting standards of nursing quality and productivity metrics, including but not limited to, nursing visit productivity, clinical quality measures, and staff satisfaction.
• Manage the Triage RNs and the Per Diem Nurses in a fiscally responsible manner while meeting the staffing needs of the clinical sites
• In collaboration with HR, participate and/ or delegate to nurse managers the interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and orientation of new nursing department staff.
• Directly supervises and is responsible for the performance management of all nursing managers and program managers in the nursing department.
• Participate in regular NSCH cross-departmental meetings such as medical director team meetings, medical & operations team meetings, and senior management team meetings.
• At the discretion of the CMO represents NSCH at meetings with ACOs, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, government agencies, and other organizations as needed.
• Will practice nursing care for a few hours a week as needed to understand the clinical workflows and the standard of care at NSCH.
• Utilize data and analytics to inform decision-making processes within nursing services, including monitoring healthcare outcomes, identifying areas for improvement, and evaluating the impact of interventions.
• Address health disparities and social determinants of health within the community through targeted interventions and programs aimed at improving access to healthcare services and addressing underlying social and economic factors.
• Advocate for policies and initiatives that promote health equity and social justice, both within the health center and in the broader community.

Fiscal and budget

• In collaboration with the CFO or designee, develop and oversee the nursing department’s annual departmental budget to ensure maximum accountability for productivity, cost containment, and sustainability of the nursing workforce.
• Collaborate with clinical, operational, and fiscal leadership to improve cost-effectiveness of care

Regulatory Compliance and Infection Control

• In collaboration with the Director of Compliance and the Operations Department, ensure NSCH’s nursing department adheres to professional organizations’ standards of care and regulatory guidelines of all government or accrediting/certifying agencies.
• Lead, Develop, and execute policies, procedures, and protocols that provide oversight for the vaccine including standard vaccine operating procedures, reporting of adverse events, near misses, and potentially unsafe conditions.
• Provide direct supervision and performance management of the Program Manager for Vaccines
• Participates in the investigation, reporting of findings of adverse events and works to mitigate further risk by implementing education strategies.
• Continuously improve patient safety and minimize and/or prevent the occurrence of errors, events, and system breakdowns leading to harm to patients, staff, visitors, and others through proactive risk management and patient safety activities.
• In collaboration with the Operations staff, participate in the development and implementation of infection control policies and procedures across all NSCH sites.
• Provide assistance to the HR department in maintaining records related to employee’s health.
• Attend Compliance Committee, Safety Committee and Quality Committee meetings.

Non-Essential Functions:

• Attends periodic staff meetings
• Adheres to NSCH policies
• Adheres to NSCH values and principles:

Mission

North Shore Community Health’s mission is to build healthy communities by providing exceptional care to all.

Vision

Healthy People | Vibrant Communities

Values

Accountability

We take our responsibility to ourselves, each other, and the NSCH Community very seriously. We understand our individual roles, and positions of power with respect to how others perceive our roles and actions. We hold ourselves accountable when we make mistakes–acknowledging the error, owning it, taking corrective actions, and moving forward. We follow through on what we commit or resolve to do.

Integrity

Integrity is the foundation of healthy relationships. We are committed to the highest ethical standards: honesty, fairness, respectfulness, and trustworthiness. We are honorable and respectful in dealings with others, and we strive to deal honestly, fairly and in a respectful, ethical, and trustworthy manner when in agreement or disagreement.

Empathy

Empathy is a deep appreciation for another’s situation and point of view, which is the basis for the golden rule and our intrinsic sense of justice. We strive to bring empathy into our interactions with each other and with our patients.

Courage

We see courage as the strength of character to stand up for our convictions and belief system. To have courage is to have the fortitude to take risks and to extend one’s behaviors, actions, and thoughts beyond one’s comfort zone. We appreciate that courage is often required to compromise. Courage is a state of mind to face adverse, difficult, and challenging situations with confidence and positive energy.

Respect

NSCH holds its patients in the highest regard. We provide care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient needs and values. We take the time to listen to concerns, understand what is important, and provide appropriate solutions and care. We do this through coordination and integration of care, collaboration, and teamwork.

Commitment

NSCH is committed to the health and well-being of its community, patients, and staff. We demonstrate this commitment by constantly striving to align our actions with our mission, vision, and values.

EEO Statement:

We, North Shore Community Health (NSCH), are an equal employment opportunity employer. Our goal is to have a diverse workforce representative of all people, at all job levels, in the organization. We do not and will not make any personnel decisions (like recruiting, hiring, job assignments, and promotions) based on age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Registered Nurse with a current nursing license, BSN required, Advanced Degree preferred.
• 3 years of clinical work in primary care, community health care experience preferred.
• 3 – 5 years of management and supervisory experience required, community health center experience preferred.
• Ability to be flexible and creative to be able to create workflows and design.
• Some experience in a value-based care system but willing to learn the value based care model of care.
• Demonstrated ability in policy and procedure development and implementation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of local, state, and federal ambulatory health care regulations.
• Working knowledge of Risk policies, procedures and protocols that provide oversight for the reporting of adverse events, near misses, and potentially unsafe conditions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of collection and analysis of data to monitor identified areas of risk or practices that may result in serious adverse events (e.g., preventive screening, diagnostic testing, medication use processes).
• Innovative in approach to problem-solving mindset.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and initiate tasks and follow through independently.
• Flexible and adapts to a fast-paced environment.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills; commitment to team-based care and establishing a safe and respectful environment for team members.
• Ability to work in a culturally diverse environment.
• Commitment to continuous improvement in the quest for comprehensive and quality health care.
• Strong skills in prioritizing and attention to detail of work.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite and electronic medical records to perform duties associated with this role.
• Reliable transportation and the ability to travel between sites as needed.
• Availability on nights and weekends may be required.
• Participation in the organization’s administrator on call rotation may be required.

As a health center, NSCH ensures that all employees comply with the annual requirements for vaccinations and health screenings. All employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of their employment unless they have been granted a religious or medical exception. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination must be provided, and prospective employees must be vaccinated before their first day of employment, submitting their vaccination record and prehire paperwork. If you need to request an exemption from the vaccine requirement or have any inquiries regarding this policy, please get in touch with the Human Resources Department at hr@nschi.org.

At North Shore Community Health, our commitment lies in fostering a diverse workforce. If you're enthusiastic about this position but feel that your previous experience aligns differently with every requirement in the job description, we still encourage you to apply Your skills could be a great fit for this role or other opportunities within North Shore Community Health.

Physical Requirements:

This job is inherently sedentary, necessitating the ability to remain seated or standing for extended durations, while also utilizing computers and phones. There may be a requirement to travel to multiple locations throughout the day.