ORGANIZATION SUMMARY
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual / developmental disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to support people of all abilities reach their full potential and thrive in their communities. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing; recovery services; transition to work; employment; day, community and family services; respite; crisis services; education and after school support; specialty health services; and advocacy.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Director of Nursing is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the highest quality of health care to the individuals we support. Under the supervision of the Sr. Vice President of Nursing, the Director oversees all nursing practices and procedures related to an individual’s plan of care in accordance with regulatory requirements and agency policy. The Director ensures that all nursing services in assigned residences/programs are carried out to meet the individual needs of the men and women we support, including providing such nursing services directly when needed. The Director supervises the Nursing Managers and Registered Nurses in assigned programs. The Director provides support and coverage to residences/programs as needed and is on call 24/7 for clinical assessment and consultation.

DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
• Ensures that the individuals supported receive quality medical services based on individual needs and in accordance with OPWDD, DOH, OMH and other New York State and Federal regulations.
• Ensures that appropriate nursing support is available to respective residences/programs and that nursing hours are allocated based on program/individual needs.
• Ensures that medical emergencies are addressed in accordance with regulations and agency policies and procedures, and ensures timely notification and communication to appropriate team members, family members, administration, and other providers.
• Advocates on the individuals’ behalf as necessary.
• Reports possible violations of individuals’ rights promptly, completes and submits incident reports in accordance with New York State OPWDD regulations and Agency policy.
• Ensures that appropriate protective and preventive measures for both staff and individuals are utilized by nursing staff to control communicable and infectious diseases and conditions in the
environment which might cause physical harm including identification, assessment and reporting of same.
• Identifies complex problems and reviews related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Considers the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Manages change in integrated health care delivery systems, such as work restructuring, technological innovations, and shifts in the focus of care.
• Possesses and uses general business operations knowledge to guide the team and the program and ensures successful servicing of people we support.
• Manages personnel by supervising, training, evaluating, and observing assigned team members. Conducts monthly support meetings.
• Interviews, hires, develops and retains high quality staff.
• Ensures all team members in the programs are fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of their positions. Provides supervision and guidance to all assigned team members on an ongoing basis. Addresses performance issues through performance improvement or corrective action measures.
• Communicates information to nursing staff on an ongoing basis including agency updates, new or revised policies, and OPWDD, DOH, and OMH directives.
• Ensures that all nursing staff communicates relevant information to program supervisors in a timely manner.
• Ensures all nursing team members receive all required training; provides training to employees across the agency on health care related topics as requested.
• Ensures nursing team members provide necessary in-service training to employees and management on individuals’ specific medical conditions/health care needs and other topics.
• Ensures that changes in the health needs of individuals are addressed in a timely manner by providing or identifying resources for condition-specific staff training and/or medical care.
• Reviews individuals’ records, incident reports, medication occurrences, in-service training records, infection control reports etc. and all other documentation required to validate nursing services. Counsels and/or re-trains staff as needed to ensure accurate reports.
• Ensures training for all employees in OSHA regulations diagnostic protocols. Be available to consult/counsel and refer employees for medical treatment when they have had a possible exposure in consultation with Human Resources and the Medical Director.
• Attends and participates in workshops and seminars and encourages staff participation in continuing education, lifelong learning, and professional organization membership.
• Participates in internal/external surveys/audits as needed; reviews plans of action regarding these surveys and follows through on all recommendations in a corrective manner.
• Assists with completing POCA reports as requested, and submits within stated time frame.
• Develops and implements policies and procedures, training curricula and more as requested.
• Assists in planning new programs and screens program participants for new and existing programs as needed.
• Participates in formulating, updating, reviewing and directing the implementation of written clinical policies and procedures.
• Oversees, recommends and evaluates the nursing services in each residential program.
• Schedules regular visits to individuals in need of acute and long-term rehabilitative services.
• Communicates agency, program, staff and individuals’ needs/concerns to the Nursing Admin.
• Partners with other teams and the administration to implement policy that promotes nursing best practices in the residences/programs.
• Creates and maintains a high-performance environment characterized by positive leadership, strong teamwork, and a focus on outcomes.
• Ensures TB screening dates are available to all employees. Be available to consult with and refer employees who have a PPD conversion.
• Reports and identifies problems and suggests solutions to improve working/environment conditions.
• Remains on-call defined as 24/7 days per week for medical emergencies, and provides supervision, guidance or coverage as needed.
• Maintains ongoing communication with day/residential/work programs, families, providers of the individuals, and others involved with the program as well as the individual.
• Participates in investigations into incidents occurring within the assigned programs as requested and maintains confidentiality in regard to such investigations.
• Ensures that all guidelines, regulations, and standards are followed.
• Provides accurate and concise information regarding individual functioning and/or difficulties to team members and providers.
• Ensures that all required documentation (paper and electronic) is completed /processed appropriately, in a timely manner, and meets quality and compliance thresholds.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
Responsibilities of All FREE Employees
• Always communicates in a respectful manner with all people including the people we support, supervisors, other valued team members, and members of the community.
• Complies fully with FREE’s confidentiality policies by holding in strictest confidence all information pertaining to members, residents, the people we support and their families, clients, providers, contractors, and employees.
• Meets all safety training requirements; adheres to all safety policies and reports any and all unsafe conditions; takes measures to prevent accidents and/or eliminate conditions that pose a safety or health risk.
• Coordinates, supports, attends and participates in all required events/ meetings/ reviews/ committees, including ones outside of standard working hours.
• Meets all job requirements and stays in compliance.
• Adheres to FREE’s standard of ethical behavior as outlined in the Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct as well as applicable laws and regulations.
Responsibilities of FREE Employees in Leadership/Management Positions:
• Ensures compliance with FREE policies, procedures, and operating standards.
• Implements a continuous quality improvement process for department services and administrative functions.
• Assists in the development, implementation and administration of Human Resources policies and programs including compliance with Equal Employment Opportunities and Affirmative Action Programs.
Please note the above duties, responsibilities, and essential functions are a non-exhaustive list, and may be changed by FREE at any time, with or without notice to the employee.

QUALIFICATIONS
• Education:
o Associate Degree in Nursing required, Bachler’s Degree preferred
• Experience:
o Minimum of five years of experience as a nurse
o At least three years of supervisory experience
o Previous OPWDD nursing experience preferred
• Specialized Training, Licenses, Certifications:
o Current Registered Professional Nurse License
• Knowledge, Skills, Competencies, and Abilities:
o Strong familiarity with federal, state & local regulations governing health care o Must be knowledgeable of nursing and medical practices and procedures
o Computer literacy required; familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite
o Decision-making and problem-solving skills a must
o Must be efficient, well organized, and have excellent communication skills
o Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment with flexibility, keeping others informed and anticipating needs is essential
• Other Requirements: o Must be personable, enthusiastic and resourceful o Flexible hours required
o Valid NYS Driver’s License and satisfy criteria to be a driver for the organization
WORK ENVIRONMENT
This role is performed in-person, some travel between FREE Network locations.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
• Employee is required to sit, walk and stand for prolonged period of time (at least 8 hours).
• Employee is required to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing.
• Employee is required to operate standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, fax and filing cabinets.
• Employee is required to reach with hands and arms.
• Employee is required to bend, stoop, kneel, crouch or stand on a stool as needed.
• Employee is required to be able to lift 50 pounds at a time.
Notwithstanding the above listed physical requirements of this position, FREE will provide reasonable accommodations to allow employees to perform the essential functions of the position, provided such reasonable accommodations do not cause undue hardship on FREE.
***************************** The Pay Range for this job is $110,000 - $115,000. This range is based on what FREE reasonably believes it will pay an employee as for said position at the time of the posting. Individual compensation will ultimately be determined based on a variety of relevant factors, including, but not limited to, an individual’s experience, qualifications, longevity at FREE, geographic location, relevant skills, and other factors permitted under federal, state, and local laws.
FREE is an equal opportunity employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender,
gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other protected characteristic. In addition to federal law requirements, FREE complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in all of its locations. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
This job description has been approved by all levels of management.