CNO, VP Patient Care Services

UPMC West Shore is seeking a Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services. This individual provides executive nursing management, direction, and leadership for UPMC West Shore. This position is responsible for driving, supporting and modeling a caring service-oriented professional culture focused on employee engagement, quality, patient safety, service excellence, fiscal responsibility, and the overall patient experience. Serves as a member of the executive leadership team at the facility and system levels, building and supporting effective collegial relationships with applicable internal and external constituents and stakeholders and ensuring optimal operating effectiveness and strategic positioning. Participates with leaders from the Board of Directors, Senior Management, Medical Staff and other clinical areas in planning, promoting, and conducting organization-wide performance improvement activities

Responsibilities:

• Assures that nursing practice and the developed patient plan care is complaint to the mission / vision of the hospital, the regulatory and other premier healthcare agency standards (e.g. PA DOH, CMS, and the Joint Commission), and the policies of UPMC. 
• Participates in community initiatives and fosters an environment in which the nurses are encouraged and given opportunities for community involvement. 
• Develops relationships and integrates all team members including physicians into the work of the organization.
• Create and communicate UPMC nursing’s shared vision.
• Analyzes areas of responsibility to identify strengths and opportunities and to proactively identify innovations that will support redesign of healthcare processes.
• Appraises and evaluates the results of clinical and financial operations within scope of responsibility regularly and systematically and reports these results to the President & CEO.
• Contributes to the development and maintenance of a professional practice environment to achieve positive patient care outcomes and staff satisfaction.
• Oversees implementation of initiatives to recognize, reward and incentivize staff. 
• Creates a patient-centered environment in which collegiality, negotiation and interdisciplinary communication are accepted as core behaviors/expectations.
• Pursues sharing through publication, presentation and exchange of best practices to increase exposure to innovative solutions and positive change. 
• Collaborates and integrates evidence-based practice and research opportunities related to changes in practice into the operational infra-structure of the organization
• Effectively represents UPMC in a positive image of the institution. 
• Participates in development of clinical programs, policies and procedures to guide delivery of care and services. 
• Extends trust by acknowledging the contributions of others; listens first, creates transparency in communications, confronts reality, and clarifies expectations.
• Identifies and takes action to possible changes in process improvement based on, risk/liabilities, clinical findings, team recommendations and research literature to promote cost efficient quality outcomes.
• Engages in activities to develop and achieve strategic goals of Hospital or Business Unit and UPMC Health System.
• Coaches staff on cultural diversity as well as cultural competency and addresses workplace horizontal violence and impairment. 
• Creates an environment which recognizes and values differences in staff, physicians, patients, and communities. 
• Oversees the Professional Practice Council supporting a shared governance model. 
• Manages human resources via workforce planning including staffing pattern, skill mix, employment decisions, as well as the identification of current/future needs and skill sets. 
• Seeks opportunities to learn and transfer cutting edge knowledge and innovation while adopting best practice, eliminate duplication and maximize efficiency. 
• Utilize hospital and system database management, decision support and expert programs to access information and analyze data from disparate sources for use in planning for patient care processes and systems. 
• Assumes a leadership role in the establishment of liaisons, networks and/or acquisition of resources to facilitate the growth and development of the Patient Care division within the system and the community.

• Translates the organization’s strategic plan to management and staff to engage support and solicit feedback.

• Along with other members of the team, promotes financial stewardship and clinical excellence for the facility in both operational and capital acquisition and budgeting processes. 
• Allocates financial, information, and human capital for improvement activities, ensuring the efficient delivery of cost-effective services to patients, physicians, and hospital departments. 
• Establishes performance measures, assesses and evaluates operations, and works with department management to assure efficient and effective delivery of services.
• Displays an understanding of the hospital’s insurance payor mix, CMI, and the corresponding impact on LOS, readmission rates and individual/global treatment course for patients. 
• Explain and utilize metrics for any process and links metrics with goals as well as national quality initiatives/metrics. 
• Conducts organizational assessments to identify succession planning issues and establish action plans. 
• Serves as a professional role model and mentor to future nursing leaders while establishing mechanisms that provide for early identification of staff with leadership potential. 
• Demonstrates an Interactive Leadership style that influences thinking and reshapes the culture and environment. 
• Exercises final authority and scope of nursing practice for nursing care, treatment and services2. 
• Demonstrates initiative to address complex, high-risk problems and translate them into opportunities and challenges- resolve and manage conflict. 
• Assures compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations.
• Maintains and develops relationships with universities, colleges and schools of nursing to assist with: the education of new nurses, ongoing education of professional nurses, development and implementation of new nursing knowledge. 
• Oversees the various data submission for public reporting. 
• Engages medical staff as partners in achieving mutual goals of clinical quality and organizational/programmatic success while providing timely follow-up on patient/physician complaints. 
• Directs the implementation of nursing policies and procedures, nursing standards and a nursing staffing plan(s) across the organization. 
• Demonstrates an active commitment to a culture of safety through activities such as actively encouraging participation in measurement surveys and developing action plans to continuously improve the culture.
• Builds trusting collaborative relationships with staff, peers, other disciplines and ancillary services, physicians, vendors, community leaders, legislators, nursing and other educational programs.
• If relevant to scope of department care, demonstrates active commitment to ongoing improvement or maintenance of hand hygiene performance through monitoring of compliance in meeting unit-specific target number of monthly observations. 
• As the leader of a clinical area, responsible for identification and mitigation of safety risks and hazards that could impact patient and/or staff safety and escalates risks and hazards to leadership as appropriate. 
• Sets clinical, financial, and human resources priorities for improvement in concert with organizational goals. 
• Demonstrates sound fiscal responsibility in the development and management of the department budget and holds staff accountable for the efficient use of resources including but not limited to managing flexible staffing patterns to meet patient care needs
• *Performs in accordance with system-wide competencies/behaviors.
• *Performs other duties as assigned.
• Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned this job. They are not exhaustive lists of all duties, responsibilities, knowledge, skills, abilities and working conditions associated with the job.