Nurse Director - EmPATH - Full Time

Company: Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital
Location: Pico Rivera
Posted on: July 2, 2025

Job Description:

If you are interested please apply online and send your resume to anjimenez@mlkch.org POSITION SUMMARY The Nurse Director is a skilled and experienced professional Registered Nurse (RN) responsible for excellence in the clinical practice of nursing and the management of patient care. Reporting to the Sr. Director Critical Care Services, the EmPATH Manager has 24 hour accountability for the clinical practice of nursing and the delivery of patient's experiencing acute behavioral health issues in the EmPATH Unit, Emergency Department, and the Acute care setting. The Director will be competent in the identification and demonstration of abilities to meet special needs and considerations of Age and Population Specific awareness. This role encompasses the development of staff competency through assessment and education, compliance with regulatory and professional standards, improvement of quality, service levels, safety, customer satisfaction and of collaborative relationships. This position requires full understanding and active participation in fulfilling the Mission of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital. It is expected that the employee will demonstrate behavior consistent with the Core Values. The employee shall support Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital's strategic plan and the goals and direction of the quality and performance improvement process activities. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Demonstrates positive interpersonal relationships in dealing with peers, physicians, and other customers to promote an efficient teamwork and quality patient care: interpersonal complaints are remedied in a mature fashion; works at establishing good rapport and professional working relationships with all department staff; maintains appropriate interdepartmental communications; able to identify interdepartmental problems and resolve them promptly at the manager level. Participates in hospital committees and unit specific multidisciplinary conferences, as well as unit staff meetings: distributes staff meeting minutes in a timely manner. Implementation of unit specific Quality and Performance Improvement Plan, completes monitoring forms and reports findings to the Sr. Director Critical Care Services. Models leadership and promotes professionalism to assist staff in developing the following: priority setting; team work; flexibility; coordination of activities; organizational skills; delegation; and behaviors consistent with MLKCH Mission & Values. Facilitates patient progress through the health care system: assists staff in identifying patient's specialized needs and finding the appropriate resources to meet patient's needs; intervenes in interdepartmental patient care issues which impact the patient's movement through the system; advises staff in development of patient plan of care; communicates frequently with the House Supervisor for the coordination of room assignments and staffing. Completes schedule for unit, assuring adequate coverage at all times to meet regulatory requirements. Maintains standard of care by monitoring staff activity and adjusting assignments as needed: monitors orientee's activities and assists preceptors in enhancing orientee's experience; assist with difficult orientation situations and/or assignment needs; delegates patient care activities to ensure they are completed by the end of the shift; assigns patient admissions and transfers; monitors patient care and provides feedback to staff members on patient care practices. Holds staff accountable for the care of assigned patients; ensures staff education; confers with staff and makes rounds on patients during the shift and as needed; audits patient charts/records for compliance; assesses the patient and family responses to nursing care; performs specialized technical skills related to specific clinical patient population. Participates in hiring process, which may include: review applications; interviews applicants after initial screening; includes shift staff, as appropriate; completes appropriate interview documentation; makes recommendations regarding staffing needs / skill mix. Counsels staff members as indicated by performance or behavior: utilizes steps in progressive discipline in collaboration with Sr. Director; documents according to prescribed procedures and maintains an objective relationship with staff; issues are promptly identified and staff counseled during same shift or next working shift; Sr. Director is appraised of all staff counseling. Conducts evaluations: completes evaluations within the month of the due date; works with staff to determine their realistic goals; meets regularly with assigned staff throughout the year, providing constructive feedback and direction; maintains documentation of progress of employees. Develops and uses a system to continuously evaluate and respond to customer concerns. Assures that the Watson Model of Care is implemented in the EmPATH setting. Collaborates with Social Work in planning for discharge and/or transfer of patients. Promotes staff compliance with hospital safety and emergency procedures on a daily basis. Guides staff in investigation and completion of incident reports and forwards completed reports to Sr. Director Critical Care Services. Reviews Payroll: monitors overtime; monitors usage of agency personnel; monitors tardiness and absenteeism. Responsible for budget and monitoring variances and reports to Sr Director Maintains intimate knowledge of EmPATH policies and procedures and acts as a resource for the RN's in the ED and throughout the acute care patient units. Collaborates with the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatry team on coordination of care for patients experiencing acute behavioral care issues in the Emergency Department and EmPATH unit. Responsible for creation and management of Code Grey team. Responsible for collaborating with the Acute Care Team Leaders to discuss patients with challenging behavioral health circumstances. Ensures that the EmPATH unit complies with regulatory requirements from the Department of Mental Health and other regulatory agencies. POSITION REQUIREMENTS A. Education Bachelor of Science degree in nursing required; Master's in Nursing preferred (individuals without a Master's will be required to complete the degree within 5 years of their hire date). B. Qualifications/Experience Minimum of four (4) years of clinical nursing experience in behavioral health nursing with regard to regulatory guidelines and standard of practice; minimum three (3) years management experience. Internal candidates will be considered at management's discretion. Current California Nursing license C. Special Skills/Knowledge Bilingual skills preferred (Spanish) Basic computer skills Current Basic Life Support (BLS) Must complete annual Workplace Violence Prevention Program/Certificate, per hospital policy, during initial training/orientation but not to exceed 30 days from hire/transfer Experience with an Electronic Medical Record Preferred LI-AJ1 MLKCH Video

Keywords: Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, San Marcos , Nurse Director - EmPATH - Full Time, Healthcare , Pico Rivera, California