RN, Emergency Communications Center

Mission Control Overview

Mission control serves as the central point for managing inpatient capacity for the OHSU Health system in real time. Mission Control team members monitor patient throughput and balance utilization across OHSU and its partners. The departments of patient placement, emergency communications, transfer center, administrator on duty and decedent affairs encompass OHSU Mission Control.

This position also comes with great benefits! Some highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care plans. Covered at 100% of the cost for full-time employees and 88% for dependents.
• $50K of term life insurance provided at no cost to the employee
• Two separate above market pension plans to choose from
• Vacation - 192 to 288 hours per year depending on length of service, prorated for part-time
• Holidays - up to 64 holiday hours per calendar year (employees accrue.0308 holiday hours for each hour paid included in vacation accruals)
• Sick Leave - 96 hours per year, prorated for part-time
• Substantial public transportation discounts (Tri-met and C-Tran)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Innovative Employee Assistance Program (EAP) including extensive wellness resources

Function/Duties of Position

The TCRNs provide patient-centric care through the triage of admission requests and the placement of patients into the OHSU Health System (Adventist Health, Hillsboro Medical Center, and OHSU main campus) to the right location at the right time with the right services. The TCRNs are responsible for triaging many different admission types into the OHSU system such as interhospital patient transfers, direct admissions, emergency department transfers, STEMI activations to OHSU partners, and placement of complex quaternary patients at OHSU's main campus. The TCRNs are also responsible for monitoring the list of patients awaiting transfer into the OHSU system and escalate patient clinical conditions to the appropriate Mission Control and attending provider team members. TCRNs perform case management review of patients awaiting admission from the OHSU emergency department at varying hours. The TCRNs also answer and triage the internal rapid response team (RRT) dispatch line and the public Oregon POLST (Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Registry Request (OPR) line.

The TCRN works collaboratively with the Emergency Transport Coordinator (ETC) role to manage and coordinate interhospital transfer requests. Geographic knowledge of the state of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Region is valued to support accurate triage to the correct location with the right services. This position requires strong knowledge of medical diagnoses and the treatment and course of these conditions. Intense focus and concentration are required for multiple requests that necessitate timely action. Previous experience in high-flow patient areas is strongly preferred. Hospital system-level knowledge of patient throughput, hospital functions, and communication is recommended.

The TCRN will also staff the Oregon Medical Coordination Center (OMCC). OMCC duties include but are not limited to; monitoring statewide capacity using the Oregon Capacity System Tile, receiving calls from other hospitals requesting assistance in placing patients at hospitals that fall outside of their primary referral patterns, locating hospitals within the state that can accommodate the patient, and connect the referring and receiving hospitals to complete the transfer.

A specialty role within the TCRN daily work will also include interfacing with patients and their families within OHSU. These patients are eligible to transfer to another hospital within the OHSU system and to other hospitals that can meet the patient's medical needs and may be closer to home.

• Interface with various Mission Control team members, management, and administration to assess facility occupancy and capabilities including service line availability across the OHSU Health System
• Interface with various roles in other hospitals to coordinate the transfer patients
• Interface with patients and their families in the hospital and in the Emergency Department to communicate plans to transfer out of OHSU to another hospital within our expanding system
• Act as a liaison for referring entities (e.g. physicians, hospitals, other care providers) seeking to refer, consult, and/or transfer into the OHSU Health System
• Must be able to deal with competing needs and priorities of internal and external customers, including making correct judgments regarding ensuring safe conditions for patients, families, and other personnel
• Use their independent scope of practice to triage calls for all types of adult interhospital patient transfer requests
• Assess and triage patient clinical information as shared by the referring provider and utilize process flows, emergent and/or specialty algorithms and admission guidelines to assign a patient at the right facility, at the right level of care with the right admitting service(s).
• Must have excellent communication and reflection skills, the ability to work collaboratively in a team, and the flexibility to prioritize and adapt in stressful situations
• Facilitate and coordinate communications between referring and accepting providers
• Utilize multi-line telephones, integrated transfer center electronic health record (EHR) software, and web paging systems to facilitate conference calls with referring entities/providers and OHSU providers.

• Prolonged periods of sitting and standing in a stationary position
• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• Must be able to use all senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and speaking. Reasonable accommodations include corrective lenses and/or hearing aides
• Maintain and update knowledge of and responsiveness to the state and federal laws/regulations to ensure compliance with EMTALA and regulatory standards which affect their practice.
• Complete and accurately timed documentation of interhospital transfer and patient admission communications.

Required Qualifications

• 6 months experience as an RN
• BSN Graduates: Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from a program accredited by Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) 30 days before start date.
• ADN Graduates: Associate Degree in Nursing from an accredited program 30 days before the start date.
• Associate degree Nurses required to enroll in BSN program within 3 years of hire and complete within 5 years of hire
• Current, unencumbered Oregon State Registered Nurse License
• BLS from AHA required. New hires will be enrolled and required to complete during orientation.
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation

Preferred Qualifications

• 3 years minimum experience as a clinical RN
• Previous Transfer Center RN Experience
• Experience in nursing leadership positions that require patient accurate assessment and triage of a patient's clinical condition and level of acuity (e.g. charge nurse, lead, case manager, or house supervisor)
• Clinical RN experience in high-flow patient areas such as the emergency department (ED), step-down units, or Intensive Care Units (ICUs)

Additional Details

Length of Orientation Experienced Nurse

• External candidates: OHSU & Nursing New Employee Orientation (NEO) for about a week.
• Either Transition to Practice (TTP) Program Specialty Fellowship/Fellowship Learning Pathway or Orientation experience for 3 days-26 weeks depending on the care area. An employment service agreement may apply.

Why Apply To OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact View email address on click.appcast.io

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)