Site Access Coordinator-Chilliwack General Hospital (CGH)

Detailed Overview

The Site Access Coordinator is responsible for managing the effective utilization of hospital resources by coordinating the efficient and timely patient placement and bed utilization on site and at designated Fraser Health (FH) acute sites in collaboration with the Patient Transfer Network (PTN);

implements appropriate policies and procedures and provide guidance to health care teams regarding patient access and community transitions.

During afterhours, coordinates and monitors patient services by providing guidance and direction for quality patient care and effective resource management when the service / network leaders are unavailable.

Coordinates staffing requirements, supervises staff, adjusts assignments, identifies patient care issues and determines solutions.

• Represents management in dealing with issues pertaining to patients, families or community partners. Responsibilities Facilitates timely patient placement at acute site and designated FH sites;
• coordinates patient placement activities by assessing current and projected capacity, prioritizing and expediting critical issues requiring immediate action;

leads daily bed meeting with Patient Care Coordinators and site leadership. Consults with Patient Transfer Network (PTN), Community Resources as required to identify appropriate care for patients by developing and maintaining an understanding of available services at external health care facilities and agencies, determining appropriate contacts, and transfers and discusses bed availability and resources on a patient to patient basis.

Coordinates acute site transfer planning including arranging patient / resident / client (P / R / C) and / or equipment transfers, both external and internal;

identifies and reports potential discharges, associated issues and communicates to Manager. Consults and advises to FH leadership, acute and community staff on the interpretation and application of patient access and flow policies and procedures and eligibility for non-acute bed resources.

Assesses critical patient access and flow situations and makes recommendations on course of action related to best practices in bed utilization and patient placement.

• Supervises and coordinates clinical staff by providing work direction and making clinical and operational decisions after hours when the service leaders / managers are unavailable;
• coordinates the use of equipment and other resources. Acts as a clinical resource for nursing staff and provides clinical guidance in patient placement and flow and bed utilization and interpretation of administrative policies when there is difficulty in accessing resources for patient care;

assists Bed Booking staff in allocating beds, interfacing with nursing units and services and notifying the Manager of actual or potential problems and follow up.

Serves as a role model and clinical resource for nursing staff by demonstrating clinical expertise, providing clinical guidance and sharing expertise;

mentors staff and facilitates problem solving with regard to clinical practice. Develops and recommends changes to current patient access and flow policies and procedures and drafts new and / or revised procedures, standards and criteria in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team to optimize timely bed access and appropriate patient placement.

Analyzes statistics and trends (e.g. ALC, ALOS / ELOS, 10 hour rule, Acute Dashboard) at the assigned site and identifies and participates in strategies to best manage the designated patient populations;

works with clerical support staff on maintaining a database for acute bed availability to achieve optimal bed utilization and ensure patient information is efficiently managed.

Investigates incidents such as injury to patients and staff injuries in accordance with the applicable (e.g. Occupational Health & Safety) established policies and procedures and quality improvement protocols, completing documentation and forwarding to applicable Manager.

Confers with physicians, families and departments within the acute site on questions related to nursing practice and Hospital policy and refers unresolved issues to the Manager for follow-up.

Monitors the quality of nursing practice and the safety of patient environment through observation and assessment, including infection control issues;

identifies and promotes quality improvement opportunities and activities; communicates to Manager observations of a clinical or operational nature requiring follow-up.

Participates on internal committees to provide an organizational perspective regarding patient placement and bed utilization and to provide an update of issues and trends and communicate opportunities for improvement and development.

Notifies the administrator on call of any actual or potential problems which may have safety, legal or media implication.

Initiates action involving Emergency Preparedness such as Fire and Disaster Plans, Power Failure, Bomb Threats, etc. Acts as the Site Requester for human tissue and organ donation.

Performs other related duties as required. Qualifications Education and Experience Current practicing registration as a Registered Nurse with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM).

Five years' recent, related clinical experience in an acute care, multidisciplinary facility including nursing leadership experience and preference to experience in critical care areas or access and planning or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Skills and Abilities Ability to apply continuous quality improvement tools and techniques in problem solving. Ability to supervise in a multidisciplinary setting.

Ability to prepare and present educational material. Ability to operate a personal computer and applicable software applications.

Clinical competence and the ability to critically think and logically reason. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Demonstrated ability to deal with others effectively. Demonstrated ability to facilitate positive team relationships among various care providers.

Demonstrated ability to work independently and as a team member. Demonstrated ability to facilitate consensus and conflict resolve.

Demonstrated ability to apply knowledge of the theory and practice of patient access and flow.