Central Supply Clerk

Central Supply Staff

Ballard Center is seeking an organized, dependable, and service-oriented Central Supply Clerk to support the daily supply and inventory needs of our skilled nursing facility. The Central Supply Clerk is responsible for ordering, receiving, inspecting, organizing, storing, tracking, and distributing nursing, medical, office, and facility supplies. This position ensures that nursing stations, resident-care areas, offices, and other departments have the supplies needed to provide safe, timely, and high-quality care. The successful candidate will maintain accurate inventory records, monitor supply usage and PAR levels, control expenses, prevent shortages and overstocking, rotate inventory, remove expired products, and maintain clean and secure storage areas. This position works closely with nursing, administration, purchasing, maintenance, accounts payable, vendors, and other facility departments. Previous experience in a skilled nursing facility, long-term care community, hospital, medical-supply operation, or healthcare inventory role is strongly preferred.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Monitor inventory levels for nursing, medical, personal-care, office, and other assigned facility supplies.
• Conduct routine inventory counts in the Central Supply room, nursing stations, medication and treatment areas, offices, and designated storage locations.
• Establish and maintain appropriate PAR levels based on facility census, utilization patterns, resident needs, budget expectations, and department requests.
• Identify low-stock, high-use, back-ordered, discontinued, or unavailable items and communicate concerns promptly.
• Maintain accurate electronic and manual inventory records.
• Track supply usage and investigate unusual consumption, missing inventory, repeated shortages, or excessive ordering.
• Rotate inventory using the first-in, first-out method.
• Check expiration dates routinely and remove expired, damaged, recalled, opened, contaminated, or otherwise unusable products.
• Document the removal, return, destruction, or donation of supplies according to facility policy.
• Maintain organized inventory locations so that products are clearly labeled, secure, accessible, and easy to count.

Ordering and Receiving:

• Prepare and place approved supply and vendor orders according to established schedules and procedures.
• Review department requisitions and verify that requested quantities and products are appropriate.
• Coordinate orders with the Administrator, Director of Nursing, purchasing personnel, department managers, and approved vendors.
• Monitor order confirmations, shipping information, back orders, substitutions, cancellations, and expected delivery dates.
• Receive, unpack, inspect, and verify incoming deliveries.
• Compare received products against purchase orders, packing slips, invoices, and department requests.
• Report missing, damaged, incorrect, expired, duplicated, or delayed items promptly.
• Maintain supporting documentation for purchase orders, packing slips, returns, credits, and vendor discrepancies.
• Prepare supplies for authorized return or shipment and confirm that return labels and documentation are accurate.
• Work with vendors and accounts payable to resolve invoice discrepancies, missing credits, duplicate charges, or delivery problems.

Supply Distribution:

• Retrieve and process approved supply requisitions.
• Fill department orders accurately and deliver supplies in a timely manner.
• Stock nursing stations, resident-care areas, supply rooms, offices, and other designated locations.
• Confirm that frequently used and emergency supplies remain available.
• Respond promptly and professionally to urgent supply requests.
• Communicate shortages and approved substitutions to the requesting department.
• Protect clean supplies from contamination during receiving, storage, handling, and distribution.
• Avoid storing supplies directly on the floor or in areas exposed to moisture, pests, chemicals, or unauthorized access.

Budget and Expense Control:

• Support the facility's supply budget and expense-control goals.
• Order according to approved contracts, formularies, vendor arrangements, and purchasing procedures.
• Compare products, quantities, prices, and usage when requested.
• Help prevent rush shipping, unnecessary duplication, overstocking, waste, and expired inventory.
• Provide inventory, purchasing, and utilization information to leadership upon request.
• Report significant price changes, supply-chain disruptions, or anticipated shortages.
• Assist leadership with identifying cost-saving opportunities that do not compromise resident safety or quality of care.

Department Organization and Safety:

• Keep the Central Supply office, storage rooms, shelves, carts, and work areas clean, secure, orderly, and functional.
• Maintain clear aisles and keep exits, electrical panels, sprinkler heads, fire equipment, and emergency equipment unobstructed.
• Store supplies according to manufacturer instructions and applicable safety requirements.
• Maintain separation between clean supplies, chemicals, hazardous materials, food products, resident belongings, and contaminated items.
• Use appropriate personal protective equipment and safe lifting practices.
• Report unsafe conditions, damaged equipment, spills, pest activity, leaks, temperature concerns, and other environmental hazards immediately.
• Follow facility fire-safety, life-safety, infection-prevention, and emergency-preparedness policies.
• Participate in required emergency drills, exercises, training, and emergency-response assignments.
• Assist with room changes, supply relocation, equipment movement, and other operational needs as assigned.

Resident Transportation Support, If Assigned:

• Assist with coordinating or completing approved resident transportation assignments when properly trained and authorized.
• Confirm appointment information, required documents, mobility needs, equipment, and departure and return times.
• Follow all resident-identification, transfer, wheelchair-securement, vehicle-safety, confidentiality, and communication procedures.
• Complete required transportation logs and immediately report delays, incidents, safety concerns, or changes in a resident's condition.
• Maintain a valid driver's license and acceptable driving record when driving is an assigned responsibility.

Resident Rights and Compliance:

• Treat every resident with dignity, respect, patience, and professionalism.
• Protect resident privacy and maintain the confidentiality of health, financial, personnel, and facility information.
• Follow the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and all facility confidentiality policies.
• Report suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment, misappropriation of property, unsafe practices, or policy violations immediately, as required by facility policy and applicable law.
• Follow all infection-prevention and control practices.
• Comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations and facility policies.
• Support quality-assurance and performance-improvement activities.
• Complete all assigned orientation, annual education, competency validation, and safety training.
• Perform other duties reasonably related to the position as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Basic reading, writing, communication, and mathematical skills.
• Ability to read purchase orders, invoices, packing slips, product labels, safety information, and inventory reports.
• Basic computer skills, including email, data entry, spreadsheets, and electronic inventory or purchasing systems.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and complete assignments accurately and on time.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining effective communication with facility departments.
• Ability to provide professional and responsive internal customer service.
• Ability to maintain confidential information.
• Ability to pass all employment screening requirements applicable to the position.
• Valid driver's license and acceptable driving record if resident transportation or facility driving is assigned.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous SNF or Healthcare Central Supply, medical-supply, purchasing, warehouse, stocking, or inventory-control experience.
• Previous experience in a skilled nursing facility, long-term care facility, assisted-living community, hospital, clinic, pharmacy, or other healthcare setting.
• Knowledge of nursing and medical supplies.
• Experience working with electronic purchasing or inventory-management systems.
• Experience maintaining PAR levels and processing purchase orders, returns, credits, and invoices.
• CNA, nursing-assistant, healthcare, or resident-