Crisis Stabilization Unit; CSU Nursing & Operations Manager

About Claratel Behavioral Health

Claratel Behavioral Health is an innovative, community-based behavioral health and developmental disabilities services organization offering a full range of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance use disorder services to underserved individuals. As a public, not-for-profit organization, Claratel Behavioral Health operates in more than 20 locations in DeKalb County, Georgia, with a diverse workforce of more than 400 direct-care and support staff.

We are passionate about driving change in behavioral health and developmental services and embrace innovation and inclusivity. Join us to impact, grow, and support well-being for all.

The CSU Nursing & Operations Manager provides comprehensive leadership for all nursing services and day-to-day unit operations within the Crisis Stabilization Unit of the Dekalb Regional Crisis Center. This role is accountable for the operational performance, staffing, workflows, regulatory compliance, and readiness of a 24/7 psychiatric crisis stabilization program.

Responsible for all nursing services and supervising all Registered Nurses (RNs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) assigned to the unit, as well as the Behavioral Health and Crisis Safety Technician Teams. Works closely with the Crisis Services Director, Medical Director, Clinical Manager, and Behavioral Health Technician Supervisor to ensure quality and continuity of care.

• Provide direct administrative, operational, and professional oversight of all nursing services within the Crisis Stabilization Unit.
• Ensure adherence to nursing standards of practice, scope of practice, organizational policy, and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure safe, effective, and compliant nursing care delivery in a high-acuity psychiatric crisis environment.
• Oversee nursing workflows including shift coverage, medication administration, monitoring protocols, and nursing documentation standards.
• Ensure nursing services support timely admissions, safe observation, crisis intervention, and continuity of care.

• Collaborate with the Crisis Center Lead Psychiatrist on provider coverage models, workflows and operational processes supporting Physician and APRN services.
• Coordinate operational aspects of medical services, including direct staff scheduling responsibility, coverage continuity, and workflow alignment with nursing operations.
• Partner with the Agency Medical Director, the Compliance Team and other stakeholders to support regulatory compliance, credentialing coordination, and audit readiness related to medical services.
• Ensure medical services are operationally integrated into CSU workflows.
• Serve as an operational liaison between nursing staff, behavioral health technicians, clinical staff, medical providers, and interdisciplinary leadership, and the Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) Unit.

• Maintain appropriate and safe staffing levels for a 24/7 crisis stabilization facility, including nights, weekends, holidays, and periods of increased acuity.
• Ensure continuity of services during inclement weather, disasters, public emergencies, or other critical events, including activation of contingency staffing plans.
• Monitor census, acuity, bed utilization, admissions, transfers, and discharges from an operational and nursing services perspective.
• Respond in real time to staffing shortages, call-outs, or operational disruptions that impact safety or service delivery.
• Ensure operational readiness at all times to meet community crisis response needs.

• Oversee daily CSU operations to ensure efficient, safe, and compliant workflows across nursing and medical services.
• Evaluate and refine operational processes, staffing models, and task distribution to improve responsiveness and staff effectiveness.
• Identify operational barriers impacting patient flow, safety, or staff performance and implement corrective actions.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for unit-level operational issues.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary leadership to align nursing and medical operations with CSU program goals.

• Ensure nursing operations meet all applicable state, federal, and accreditation requirements, including DBHDD and CARF standards.
• Collaborate with the Agency Medical Director to ensure provider medical services remain compliant with regulatory and credentialing requirements.
• Maintain continuous readiness for regulatory surveys, audits, and unannounced inspections.
• Oversee nursing documentation standards within the Electronic Health Record (EHR).
• Participate in incident review, root cause analysis, and development of corrective action plans.
• Monitor trends related to safety events, medication errors, staffing concerns, and regulatory risk.
• Partner with Quality,…