The Senior Nursing Administrator at Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital (CHNRH) is a key nursing leader for both CHNRH and the University of Utah Health (UHealth) Department of Nursing, translating system nursing strategy into day-to-day operational and clinical execution across CHNRH.

This role leads nursing care, outcomes, and practice at CHNRH while serving as an integral member of the Department of Nursing leadership, ensuring the two are integrated and aligned in outcomes, patient and staff experience, and practice standards.

As a senior leader, this role partners with medical staff and executive leadership to advance safe, high-quality, cost-effective care, promotes a culture of nursing excellence, and fosters system-wide relationships to ensure coordinated, high-quality patient care.

This position reports jointly to the UHealth System Chief Nursing Executive, or their designated representative, and the Chief Administrative Officer of CHNRH.

Click here to learn more about the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital here. 

Corporate Overview: University of Utah Health is an integrated academic healthcare system with five hospitals including a level 1 trauma center, eleven community health centers, over 1,600 providers, and a health plan serving over 200,000 members. University of Utah Health is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. In addition to our clinical delivery system, we have a School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and College of Health providing education and training for over 1,250 providers annually. We have over 2 million patient visits annually and research grants exceeding $350 million. University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics represents our clinical operations for the larger health system.

As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

Essential Functions

Job Specific Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Responsible for and overseeing day-to-day nursing operations, and all nursing practice at CHNRH.
• Demonstrates transformational leadership
• Maintains and fosters strong relationships and collaboration with UUHC Department of Nursing, CHNRH, and other key stakeholders to promote and advance strategic, clinical, and operational initiatives across all health system settings.
• Align and ensure nursing standards are achieved, and the competency of skills for nursing roles are maintained to safely deliver quality care.
• Ensures operational excellence and delivery of services in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, policies, procedures and professional standards.
• Ensures ongoing compliance with CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accreditation standards and other rehabilitation-specific regulatory requirements, maintaining CHNRH's specialized accreditation status.
• Promotes the principles of high reliability care to enable and sustain a culture of safety, organizational learning, and performance improvement.
• Collaborates with CHNRH, and UUHC Department of Nursing to develop a vision for operations which ensures alignment with organizational and department of nursing clinical operations, vision and strategy.
• Participates in leadership activities for the organization, contributing to the achievement of goals and objectives, and evaluates operational performance.
• Maintains operational compliance with legal, regulatory, and recommended standards of governing and accrediting bodies, including organization-wide accreditation standards
• Assigns and evaluates annual goal setting and achievement. Manages discipline and performance of direct reports, including but not limited to evaluating performance by providing mentoring, coaching, and development to leaders.
• Reviews and approves resource plans for areas of responsibility within operation.
• Develops and promotes effective working relations to facilitate achievement of goals and objectives.
• Establishes and maintains effective communications and collaboration with administrators, medical directors and physicians, and team members.
• Resolves escalated issues arising from operations requiring coordination with other departments and key stakeholders.

Collaboration

• Facilitates cooperative and collaborative community and institutional relationships, with internal and external customers.
• Proactively engages with all internal and external business partners to achieve plan goals and organization business objectives.
• Contribute as a key member of the CHNRH leadership team, nursing leadership team and other committees addressing various strategic outcomes and initiatives and work activities across the system.
• Understands complex processes and roles within an integrated care organization, with the ability to work collaboratively with different stakeholders across the organization and affiliates.

Communication

• Proactively engages with all internal and external business partners to achieve plan goals and organization business objectives.
• Builds strong relationships with colleagues and leaders to advance the organization’s mission, values, and goals.
• Ability to translate goals and missions into clear, concise and actionable initiatives and action plans, and communicate quality, safety, and patient experience outcomes transparently across nursing leadership, medical staff, and executive stakeholders.

Technical Development

• Develop and maintain strategies consistent with CHNRH’s operational plans, Department of Nursing operational and strategic priorities, and evolving national programs, methodologies and technologies.
• Collaborates and works in alignment with Nursing and System Quality partners in advancing quality or performance improvement initiatives to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Talent Management

• Hiring, training, developing, and communicating with team members.

Financial Management

• Responsible for developing, monitoring, and achieving financial goals.
• Manages labor and non-labor expenses to budget or flex budget and operational plan.

• Accountable for aligning labor expenses with benchmark standards.

EPE/Service

• Responsible for upholding PROMISE standards.
• Manages and promotes continuous process improvements in assigned areas(s).
• Ensures excellence in outcomes for all quality, safety, and patient experience metrics, driving data-informed performance improvement and accountability for regulatory and accreditation requirements.
• Leads and builds the capacity of team members for excellence in all aspects of performance and outcomes.
• Demonstrates effective change management skills, innovation and systems thinking and planning.

Performance Management

• Responsible for providing feedback on performance, including evaluations, mentoring, and coaching.
• Accountable for addressing conflicts proactively and ensuring timely resolutions.

Building Relationships

• Builds positive relationships with teams, peers, and leadership to uphold organizational mission, vision, values, and performance standards.
• Actively engages teams with timely updates and information.
• Champion and nurture the collaborative nursing shared governance model and engage team members in decisions impacting their work.
• Provides feedback and recognition when appropriate.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined above.

• Demonstrated leadership, person-centered relationships, and effective communication skills.

• Ability to evaluate and determine the appropriate staff mixes to support safe, appropriate and efficient patient care.

• Knowledge of organizational business operations and demonstrated strategic planning skills.

• Knowledge of budgeting practices, reporting analysis, and forecasting.

• Expert in change management, innovation and systems thinking and planning.

• Expertise in building high functioning teams and processes that promote and foster teamwork.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
• Five years of progressive management experience, with at least two years in a rehabilitation health setting.

Licenses Required

• Current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in the State of Utah, or obtain one within 90 days of hire under the interstate compact if switching residency to State of Utah. Must maintain current Interstate Compact (multi-state) license if residency is not being changed to Utah.

* Additional license requirements as determined by the hiring department.

Preferred

• Basic Life Support Health Care Provider card through American Heart Association or obtain within one month of hire.
• Master’s degree in nursing or related health care field.
• Professional certification, such as ANCC Nurse Executive Advanced, Board Certification (NEA-BC) or AONL Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP)
• Experience supporting or participating in ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® designation, redesignation, or journey activities.
• Proven history of innovative nursing program design and implementation.
• High level of collaboration skills with other medical and professional disciplines.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This position may involve intensive work that may exert up to 100 pounds and may consistently require lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling or otherwise moving objects, such as medical equipment, or patients while providing medical care.