Director of Nursing

Director Of Nursing

The Director of Nursing (DON) provides strategic and operational leadership for nursing services at Catalina Island Health (CIH), including the Emergency Department, Acute Care Unit, Long-Term Care, Swing Bed Program, and other nursing departments as assigned. The DON is responsible for ensuring the delivery of safe, evidence-based, patient-centered nursing care while promoting excellence in clinical quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance, workforce development, and professional nursing practice.

As the organization's senior nursing leader, the Director of Nursing establishes nursing standards, promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, supports continuous quality improvement, and ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and accreditation requirements. The DON fosters a culture of accountability, compassion, teamwork, and clinical excellence while supporting CIH's mission to provide exceptional healthcare to Catalina Island residents and visitors.

The Director of Nursing reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and collaborates closely with the Administrative Leadership Team.

The Director of Nursing is accountable for the leadership, direction, and administration of nursing services throughout Catalina Island Health. This position ensures that nursing practice reflects current standards of care, regulatory requirements, evidence-based practice, and organizational goals.

The DON serves as the organization's nursing leader, promoting quality outcomes, patient safety, employee engagement, regulatory readiness, and professional nursing excellence.

Provides leadership and oversight of all nursing services, including the Emergency Department, Acute Care, Swing Bed Program, Long-Term Care, and other nursing units as assigned.

Establishes and maintains standards of nursing practice consistent with the California Nursing Practice Act, CMS Conditions of Participation, Critical Access Hospital regulations, and evidence-based clinical guidelines.

Provides leadership for nursing workforce planning, recruitment, retention, employee engagement, succession planning, and professional development.

Directs nursing staffing plans to ensure safe staffing levels while maintaining fiscal responsibility and quality patient care.

Oversees nursing orientation, competency assessment, annual skills validation, continuing education, and leadership development programs.

Promotes a culture of patient safety by leading initiatives focused on high reliability, error prevention, just culture, and continuous quality improvement.

Oversees the Infection Prevention and Control Program, ensuring compliance with CDC, CMS, California Department of Public Health (CDPH), OSHA, and other applicable regulatory requirements.

Partners with Quality, Risk Management, and Medical Staff leadership to monitor quality indicators, patient outcomes, infection rates, falls, medication safety, readmissions, patient satisfaction, and other clinical performance measures.

Leads nursing participation in performance improvement initiatives utilizing evidence-based practice and quality improvement methodologies.

Ensures nursing compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, organizational policies, and clinical documentation standards.

Maintains survey readiness for CMS, CDPH, OSHA, and other regulatory agencies.

Collaborates with physicians and interdisciplinary leaders to improve clinical outcomes, patient experience, care coordination, and operational effectiveness.

Participates in emergency preparedness planning and serves in an Incident Command leadership role during disasters, mass casualty incidents, wildfires, or community emergencies.

Oversees nursing budget development, labor management, productivity, supply utilization, and resource allocation.

Supports implementation of new clinical programs, nursing technology, evidence-based practices, and patient care initiatives.

Investigate patient safety events, clinical concerns, and nursing-related incidents, ensuring timely follow-up, corrective action, and organizational learning.

Ensures compliance with California labor laws, nursing regulations, wage and hour requirements, and healthcare workforce standards while maintaining compliance with CMS, CDPH, OSHA, HIPAA, and all applicable regulatory and accrediting agencies.

Represents nursing services on leadership committees, quality committees, medical staff committees, and community initiatives.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

The Director of Nursing must demonstrate the ability to:

Exercise sound clinical judgment and independent decision-making in complex, rapidly changing healthcare environments.

Inspire, coach, and develop leaders while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Analyze operational, financial, and clinical data to identify trends, evaluate performance, and develop strategies that improve organizational…