In 2020, united in a fierce commitment to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional patient experience, Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan Health came together as natural partners to build a new health system centered around the patient: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Our combined system builds upon the scale and expertise of our nearly 300 sites of care, including 11 hospitals and nearly 5,000 physicians and providers. Together, we are empowered to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

CHI Franciscan and Virginia Mason are now united to build the future of patient-centered care across the Pacific Northwest. That means a seamlessly connected system offering quality care close to home. From basic health needs to the most complex, highly specialized care, our patients can count on us to meet their needs with convenient access to the region’s most prestigious experts and innovative treatments and technologies.

While you’re busy impacting the healthcare industry, we’ll take care of you with benefits that may include health/dental/vision, FSA, matching retirement plans, paid vacation, adoption assistance, annual bonus eligibility, and more!

Job Summary

Serves as the designated liaison/point-person for emergency departments, healthcare facilities, and community-based physicians/providers to schedule hospital beds for incoming patients to all CHI Franciscan Health (CHI-FH) hospitals, and for coordinating a seamless Transfer/Access Center model for ensuring the timely, efficient and cost-effective utilization of bed resources on a regional basis. Work also involves responsibility for:  1) tracking/communicating key patient throughput metrics on a regional basis; 2) developing/overseeing a regional length-of-stay multi-disciplinary team (e.g. care management, utilization review, finance, etc.); and 3) working with site-specific patient placement staff to facilitate transfers to other CHI-FH facilities.  If no beds are available at any CHI-FH facilities, an incumbent works directly with other hospitals to coordinate external bed placement. 

A complex level of knowledge of patient placement/throughput standards, tools and methodologies is required.  Excellent customer service relationships with key contacts (patient/families, physicians, and nurses) are important in ensuring continued referral of patients to CHI-FH facilities.

Job duties require the services of a Registered Nurse who, based on training and work experience, uses professional knowledge and judgment in understanding and interpreting the clinical acuity/diagnoses of patients and integrating that data with real-time and predictive regional bed availability information to ensure that patients are matched with the appropriate facility, level of care and unit.

Essential Job Functions:

• Coordinates, facilitates, and continually monitors regional patient placement/bed assignments, by servingas regional point-person for CHI-FH emergency departments and community-based physicians/ providers/health care facilities requesting in-patient hospital beds through the Transfer/Access Center.
• Coordinates with and provides training to site-specific patient placement staff on patient placements, transfers, and to facilitate bed assignments to maximize patient flow.
• Facilitates ongoing communications across enterprise and with community-based providers/health systems to maintain effective relationships with regard to patient flow/bed placement issues.
• Monitors, tracks, and analyzes patient placement systems and other electronic systems continuously to ensure that the system contains current and accurate data.
• Develops, coordinates, and collaborates on systems/processes to implement best practices and performance improvement for enhancing and standardizing bed management practices on a regional basis.
• Cultural Sensitivity and Competence:  Demonstrates proper use of communication tools/materials for effective communication and understands how the culture(s) of patient populations can affect communication, collaboration and the provision of care, treatment and services. 
• Patient Population Served:  Demonstrates knowledge and proper skills associated with the department’s defined specific populations served.

Education/Work Experience Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in nursing or related discipline, graduation from an accredited school of nursing and five years of progressively responsible related work experience, that demonstrates the attainment of the requisite job knowledge, skills and abilities preferably in a multi-hospital system.  Critical Care or Emergency Room nursing experience required.  Charge Nurse experience is strongly preferred.

Equivalent related work experience may be substituted for the Bachelor’s degree requirement. 

Licensure/Certification

• Current licensure by the Washington State Board of Nursing is required.