Facility Director of Nursing

Facility Director of Nursing | Summit Healthcare Mgmt | Nashville, Tennessee

Purpose Statement:
The Director of Nursing is responsible and accountable for providing professional nursing care to clients, directing, planning, coordinating, monitoring, and supervising nursing operations to ensure safe delivery of behavioral health/nursing services. The role includes development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, programs, and services consistent with the facility’s strategic goals.

This position is onsite at the facility and is not a remote position. Must be willing to relocate to a Summit BHC Facility. The role is 100% onsite.

• Sets the vision for nursing practice in the delivery of safe, timely, efficient, equitable, and client-centered care, and manages daily nursing operations.
• Identifies and prioritizes key issues, collaborating with department and corporate leaders as needed.
• Communicates instructions, expectations, and timelines clearly and concisely.
• Develops and implements nursing services, policies, and procedures that conform to current standards, accrediting agencies, facility philosophy, and regulatory requirements.
• Anticipates census and acuity changes, adjusting staffing and resource allocation accordingly.
• Leads a highly qualified nursing team through hiring, orientation, performance assessment, coaching, scheduling, and training to achieve department and facility goals.
• Maintains productivity aligned with client census, curtailing unnecessary overtime.
• Manages staff scheduling and maintains an updated contingency staffing plan.
• Ensures accountability for self and staff in all performance areas.
• Engages staff in quality and safety practices to sustain measurable compliance.
• Identifies staff educational needs and provides appropriate training programs.
• Hold staff accountable for non-compliance, safety concerns, and adherence to policies and conduct code.
• Oversees medication management, orders inventory, ensures compliance, and implements corrective actions based on inspections.
• Audits medication rooms to maintain regulatory compliance and reduce medication errors.
• Diagnoses medical and emotional status of clients, recommends treatment options, and consults with psychiatrists and behavioral health staff.
• Coordinates nursing services with other departments and participates in management team meetings to discuss client status, census changes, and concerns.
• Establishes, implements, and monitors infection control program and safety, reviewing surveillance reports to identify trends.
• Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and administration to meet clients’ physical, biopsychosocial, developmental, and cultural needs.
• Develops and delivers health‑care related training for optimal support services.
• Assists the CEO in budget preparation and administration, managing within approved budget and participating in strategic planning.
• Maintains inventory of supplies and equipment for client services.
• Oversees maintenance of clinical records, statistics, and reports for evaluation and reporting.
• Stays informed about changes in nursing and behavioral health to enhance compliance and performance.
• Prepares staff for inspection surveys, participates in Plan of Correction responses.
• Monitors units through frequent rounds, intervenes in crises, investigates incidents, and follows up on safety reports with Risk Management.
• May provide onsite coverage for other programs, develop new programs per market needs, and provide training and on‑call coverage.
• Performs Leadership Rounds to identify environmental, safety, and infection control concerns and provide real‑time education.
• Assists with direct care as needed.

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited school (required). Master’s degree in psychiatric or mental health nursing preferred.
• If not MSN, must enter into a nursing consultation agreement with a master’s level nurse for supervision per state requirement.
• Three or more years of nursing practice experience; at least one year of psychiatric or behavioral health experience.
• Skills in assessment, nursing principles, staffing,…