WHAT DOES A HOUSE SUPERVISOR DO?
Updated: Oct 06, 2025 - The House Supervisor oversees hospital operations during assigned shifts, ensuring high-quality care and efficient patient flow throughout the facility. This role involves supervising and supporting staff across all departments, coordinating with medical personnel for after-hours procedures, and managing administrative duties in the absence of senior leadership. The supervisor also ensures compliance with hospital policies, facilitates temporary staff orientation, and enhances the patient experience through clear communication and responsive support.


A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for House Supervisor
1. House Supervisor Details
- Patient Care Assessment: Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates the delivery of patient care hospital-wide for an assigned shift
- Clinical Resource Management: Acts as clinical resource by overseeing the delivery of patient care, directs and delegates patient care assignments to nursing staff working on the units based on acuteness of patient care needs and staff capability, and anticipates future needs
- Clinical Competency Maintenance: Maintains clinical competence in providing direct patient care, evaluates outcomes, consults with other specialists, and adjusts nursing care processes as indicated to ensure optimal patient care
- Collaborative Care Coordination: Coordinates patient care through collaboration with the patient/family and other specialists of the healthcare team
- Interdisciplinary Communication: Acts as a multi-disciplinary liaison between the nursing department and ancillaries
- Safety and Environment: Maintains a safe, comfortable, and therapeutic environment for patients/families and staff in accordance with hospital standards
- Cultural Sensitivity: Remains sensitive to spiritual and specific cultural patient needs, recognizes them, and incorporates values into the plan of care
- Operational Support Tasks: Assists with locating equipment, relieving staff, providing medications to nursing units after pharmacy hours, ensures adequate staffing levels, and schedules OR cases
- Medication Administration Oversight: Ensures that medications and treatments are administered as prescribed by the physician, clinical path, or standard protocols
- Procedure Assistance: Assists physicians with various procedures, treatments, and surgical techniques, or delegates/assigns to other healthcare team members
2. House Supervisor Duties
- Care Delegation: Delegates or assigns aspects of care to healthcare team members consistent with their role and responsibilities
- Team Communication: Effectively communicates with and assists other members of the nursing team and/or other disciplines
- Conflict Resolution: Actively participates in problem-solving and conflict resolution to maintain team cohesiveness
- Interpersonal Support: Assist others in resolving interpersonal conflicts
- Policy Adherence: Supports and maintains established departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance program, safety, environmental and infection control standards
- Professional Development: Participates in educational programs, self-management activities, current literature, in-service meetings and workshops
- Patient and Staff Education: Acts in the role of nurse educator for staff, patients and families on medication, equipment, treatment, modalities and resources for inpatient care and discharge into the community
- Change Implementation: Assists with the implementation of the changes as recommended by the committees
- Staff Orientation: Assists in the orientation of new staff or students
3. House Supervisor General Responsibilities
- Policy Implementation: Implements program policy and procedure according to program regulations and guidelines
- Shift Leadership: Acts in lead role on assigned shift, point person for all activities
- Staff Supervision: Assists Administrator in directing, supervising and scheduling staff
- Individual Counseling: Provides counseling to individuals
- Treatment Plan Management: Implements and monitors the treatment plan of individuals
- Record Keeping: Maintains accurate and adequate records
- Rule Compliance Monitoring: Monitor compliance with house rules
- Support Plan Execution: Implements and monitors support plan of individuals to include but not limited to behavior, support plan, safety plan, and crisis plan
- Daily Living Support: Assists, teaches and monitors individuals' daily living activities, including but not limited to personal hygiene, bathing, shaving, grooming, dressing, laundry, meal preparation, medication administration and room care
- Training Participation: Attends and participates in all training and meetings
4. House Supervisor Responsibilities
- Resident Care Coordination: Provides supervision and coordination of resident care through assessment and evaluation of individual resident care needs
- Rounding Oversight: Performs frequent rounds on each unit to assess and evaluate resident care provided through ongoing supervision of all nursing personnel
- Care Plan Management: Performs resident assessments, and reviews and revises the resident’s care plan as indicated
- Incident Review: Reviews incident/accident reports and ensures completion
- Incident Analysis: Assists in data collection to determine probable cause to arrive at a conclusion in incidents involving injuries to residents
- Timely Reporting: Submits to the director of nursing within 24 hours
- Staffing Monitoring: Monitors staffing levels on all shifts
- Staffing Assessment: Identifies the need for supplemental or flexible staffing as determined by assessment of unit activity
- Schedule Support: Assists with staffing schedules to ensure adequate staffing
- Performance Observation: Observes the performance of nursing staff and provides periodic performance reviews of individual staff members
- Staff Evaluation: Provides feedback for ongoing evaluation
5. House Supervisor Additional Details
- Personnel Support: Assists resident care coordinators and charge nurses with personnel issues, including employee counseling
- Clinical Guidance: Functions as a clinical resource, role model for nursing staff, and offers assistance
- Staff Communication: Conducts monthly staff meetings to facilitate communications with staff, communicate changes within the nursing department and facility, educate staff, and obtain staff concerns and feedback
- Meeting Documentation: Records minutes and attendance at each meeting
- Training Assessment: Assesses staff learning needs and provides monthly in-services
- Staff Orientation: Assists in the orientation and training of nursing staff
- Policy Participation: Participates in nursing council and policy and procedure reviews
- Quality Data Collection: Collects data for quality assurance activities
- Performance Improvement: Assists in identifying areas of concern that require monitoring and assists in formulating a performance improvement plan
- Problem Solving: Displays analytical and basic problem-solving skills
- Issue Reporting: Communicates problems to the manager
- Attendance Compliance: Follows all time and attendance policies
- Ongoing Education: Attends educational programs provided by the facility
6. House Supervisor Overview
- Care Standards Compliance: Ensuring a high standard of care consistent with the National Standards for Out of Home Care is provided to children placed within the program
- Environment Safety Oversight: Ensuring the care environment within the residential home complies with program standards, fire safety standards, and workplace health and safety requirements
- Case Planning Participation: Participating in assessment and planning activities within the case management cycle for each child
- Child Advocacy: Advocating the developmental, learning, and therapeutic needs of children
- Roster Management: Creating weekly rosters within set time frames in a fair and effective manner
- Task Delegation: Delegation of operational duties to disability support staff and induction/orientation of new staff members
- Staff Leadership: Provision of supervision, leadership, and guidance to disability support staff
- Service Delivery Coordination: Manage delivery of client medication and meals, including meal planning, ordering and collecting supplies, verification of orders and requests/forms submitted by disability staff
- Team Collaboration: Work as part of the broader person-centered team, including teaching/inducting new workers to the support provided for the adult/young person
- Property Maintenance Oversight: Manage general maintenance of property and equipment, reporting damages and failures in a timely manner
- Activity Scheduling: Schedule, plan and delegate regular activities for clients’ weekend excursions, at-home activities and attendance at appointments, including facilitating events in collaboration with other residential sites
7. House Supervisor Additional Details
- Professional Development: Maintains education/knowledge level to demonstrate commitment to professional improvement and as a role model to the department
- Performance Management: Coaches and manages staff performance
- Priority Setting: Sets performance improvement priorities and identifies how to adjust priorities in response to unusual or urgent events
- Leadership Mentoring: Mentors and coaches potential staff for leadership positions
- Quality Referral: Makes appropriate referrals to the Quality Department when issues arise
- Resource Management: Ensures that nursing departments have the needed supplies/equipment and staff to operate safely and effectively
- Licensure Verification: Ensures that licensed staff while working have licensure and certification, such as Basic Life Support (BLS) or ACLS, etc
- Change Management: Effectively manages the change process to achieve high-performance outcomes
- Strategic Contribution: Supports and contributes to hospital and nursing annual strategic plans, professional practice model, shared governance bylaws, nurse residency program, educational programs, clinical ladder, and essential nursing administrative functions
- Quality Leadership: Leads staff in the adoption of all quality initiatives and evidence-based practice
- Satisfaction Education: Educates staff and develops processes to ensure nurse-sensitive patient satisfaction above the national mean in all nursing-sensitive indicators
- Satisfaction Collaboration: Works with all departments to achieve patient satisfaction scores consistently above the National Mean
8. House Supervisor Functions
- Interdepartmental Collaboration: Works in a collaborative and supportive fashion with Medical Staff Leadership, Administration and Department Heads to fulfill the mission and pledge to service excellence at the Strategic Behavioral Center
- Care Planning Support: Assists the Director of Nursing in planning, developing and executing patient care services to result in quality patient care
- Meeting Preparation: Prepares agendas, formulates/reviews quality data, presents and/or facilitates assigned meetings
- Regulatory Knowledge: Knowledgeable of the Joint Commission Accreditation, North Carolina Facility Licensing Standards, Board of Nursing, hospital policies and other legal compliance requirements related to the assigned patient population
- Leadership Backup: Serves as back-up to the Director of Nursing
- Patient Safety Monitoring: Closely monitors and ensures procedures intended to ensure a safe milieu and accounts for all patients
- Care Assignment Supervision: Plans, orients, assigns and supervises patient care activities of licensed nursing personnel and milieu personnel
- Resource Reallocation: Takes initiative to reassign or redistribute personnel resources
9. House Supervisor Key Accountabilities
- Talent Management: Participates in the interview, selection, onboarding and retention of human resources
- Staff Visibility: Maintains high visibility and accessibility to assigned staff, patients and family members
- Program Compliance: Understands the foundational principles of the clinical program and ensures prescribed services are carried out by qualified personnel
- Medical Coordination: Confers with medical staff on non-routine patient care concerns and clarifies medical orders to appropriate caregivers
- Admission Assessment: Ensures all patients receive a comprehensive nursing assessment within eight (8) hours of admission, admitting physician orders are completed and care plan initiated
- Reassessment Standards: Nursing reassessments are performed to desirable standards and in accordance with policies
- Trauma Informed Care: Assesses appropriateness or attempts to incorporate self-soothing/less restrictive measures, justification to initiate restrictive intervention, post-intervention debriefing and completion of a face-to-face nursing assessment in a timely fashion
- Medication Management: Storage, accounting for and administration of medications / medical equipment is performed
- Equipment Maintenance: Removes from service nonfunctioning equipment and initiates needed replacements
10. House Supervisor Additional Details
- Clinical Consultation: Consults with medical staff or pharmacist when a side-effect or error is suspected or detected
- Care Documentation: Responsible for documentation of care that is individualized and consistent with assessments/treatment plans
- Record Accuracy: Progress notes and physician's orders are dated/timed, legible, free of unapproved abbreviations and signed with professional designation
- Patient Instruction: Assigns staff or competently performs patient/family education, counseling, or discharge instructions
- Infection Surveillance: Participates in active surveillance of potential infectious diseases/outbreaks and initiates control procedures
- Safety Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for safety and quality standards
- Competency Assessment: Assesses staff competency against established criteria and considers skill set in making patient care assignments
- Incident Investigation: Investigates and documents incidents and variation concerns in a thorough and timely manner, when indicated, initiates corrective interventions, staff reeducation or certifies nursing competency
- Professional Role Modeling: Solid professional role model for licensed/non-licensed personnel, facilitates cohesive teamwork and bridges healthy communication
11. House Supervisor Role Purpose
- Data Utilization: Effectively utilizes meaningful data to positively influence quality indicators or improvement opportunities
- Staffing Management: Acquainted with budgeted staffing parameters, use of electronic PAF for replacing personnel and circumstances to adjust staffing assignments/level, proactively addresses situations influencing controllable overtime
- Timekeeping Systems: Utilizes Paycom to manage compensable time, requisition staff, approve time off and support staff schedules
- HR Compliance: Seeks HR consultation and performs routine personnel actions
- Injury Reporting: Report staff injuries beyond first aid are documented on the “first report of injury” and referred according to policy
- Time Off Fairness: Responsible for staff requests for breaks and scheduled time-off are managed equitably
- Confidentiality Awareness: Appropriately considers the sensitivity and confidentiality of medical/psychiatric information, along with the need-to-know, before sharing information with others
- Medical Documentation: Medical records entries are legible, errors are minimized, are timely completed and include a signature with a professional designation
- Deficiency Correction: Medical records of deficiencies are minimized, and when identified, corrected as soon as practical
12. House Supervisor Key Accountabilities
- Decision Making: Makes decisions based on knowledge, experience and the ability to forecast using information management and relevant data
- Workforce Optimization: Promotes practices to maintain an efficient and effective workforce through staffing model development, recognizing patient needs, and the competence of the staff, and gives employees appropriately challenging assignments
- Staff Assignment: Assigns staff to nursing areas based on patient need and utilizes the staffing guidelines appropriately
- Quality Leadership: Provides leadership and promotes staff involvement in continuous quality improvement activities
- Quality Monitoring: Conducts ongoing quality management by identifying quality assurance issues and coordinating action and follow-up
- Early Detection: Spot problems, opportunities, threats and trends early
- Safety Rounding: Conducts safety rounds and infection control rounds for all areas of the hospital and documents findings
- Risk Management: Ensures risk management principles and practices are implemented
- Regulatory Compliance: Establishes and ensures staff adherence to standards and regulatory agency requirements
13. House Supervisor Roles and Responsibilities
- Documentation Compliance: Monitors documentation to ensure compliance with MercyOne Medical Center policies and procedures
- Chart Auditing: Completes chart audits and provides appropriate feedback to staff
- Education Monitoring: Monitors the educational needs of staff
- Program Development: Provides programs designed to meet the educational needs
- Participative Management: Responsible for participative management practices, shares responsibility and influence
- Team Development: Facilitates the development of working relationships, which enhance team and individual performance to achieve best practice
- Resource Negotiation: Negotiates adeptly with individuals and groups over roles and resources
- Medical Collaboration: Collaborates and fosters positive professional relations with medical staff
- Networking Relationships: Develops a network of contacts (internal and external) and works well with other departments/units as well as within the community
- Relationship Building: Builds cooperative working relationships
- Committee Participation: Participates actively on committees and disseminates information appropriately, action-oriented/goal-directed and seeks results
14. House Supervisor Registered Nurse RN Roles
- Staffing Accuracy: Ensures accurate staffing and census records
- Resource Support: Acts as an in-house resource for staff, patients, visitors, and physicians
- Family Assistance: Assists units and families with patient expirations
- Emergency Response: Responds to potential or actual emergency situations with direct and appropriate actions
- Transfer Coordination: Coordinates transportation for transfers or admissions
- Bed Assignment: Obtains and communicates bed assignments utilizing the bedboard system
- System Utilization: Using hospital information systems
- Medication Retrieval: Accurately obtain medication from the Pharmacy during the 11-7 shift
- Diversional Process Management: Responsible for processes to use when diversional status
15. House Supervisor Nights Responsibilities
- Pharmacy Protocols: Follows Pharmacy protocols for obtaining medications when the pharmacist is unavailable
- Staffing Oversight: Understanding of staffing patterns, patient care ratios and patient acuity systems to provide adequate staffing, reviews schedules and adjusts to meet defined patient needs
- Interdepartmental Communication: Provides effective communication and coordination between the medical staff, ancillary staff, nursing administration, and nursing staff
- Contract Staff Deployment: Plans and directs the orientation and deployment of contract employees’ temporary agency personnel
- Credential Verification: Verifies current state license, CPR, ACLS, and/or other certifications if appropriate
- Orientation Checklist: Provides an orientation checklist and assures completion in a timely manner
- Evaluation Completion: Provides hospital evaluation form and assures completion in a timely manner
- Disciplinary Action: Independently recognizes and performs disciplinary actions concerning unusual occurrences regarding employees
16. House Supervisor Key Accountabilities
- Performance Feedback: Provides feedback to the respective DON and/or other House Supervisors regarding any performance concerns and develops action plans
- Event Reporting: Informs administrative personnel appropriately of events, problems, and needs within the hospital
- Service Improvement: Works to improve services at the facility
- Patient Respect: Responsible for respecting and responding to patients’ preferences, values and needs
- Customer Service Participation: Participates actively and positively affects the outcomes of customer service activities
- Team Communication: Responsible for team player and communicating effectively at all levels
- Privacy Compliance: Follow and abide by all privacy (HIPAA) regulations regarding patient information
- Cultural Sensitivity: Responsible for being sensitive to customer/co-worker emotions, thoughts, and feelings by being culturally aware of their preferences and cultural norms in a courteous and professional manner
17. Catering Back Of House Supervisor Responsibilities
- BOH Staff Management: Responsible for managing all BOH staff
- Timeline Accountability: Hold the BOH team accountable to the event timeline, manage changes to the timeline as they arise, communicate, and collaborate on the timeline
- Team Collaboration: Collaborate with the FOH event managers as a cohesive, well-oiled machine
- Food Service Coordination: Ensure food is prepared and ready to serve at the right time, temperature, and quality by communicating and assisting the culinary team
- Pre-Shift Training: Hold pre-shift meetings for the teams and conduct training for temporary employees
- BOH Organization: Maintain a clean and organized back of house throughout the event and ensure all closing checklists are completed at the end of the event
- Dish Team Oversight: Manage the dish and breakdown teams
- Inventory Communication: Communicate inventory needs to the Venue Operations Manager
- Event Support: Assist FOH and BOH during the timeline to ensure smooth, timely, well-run special events
- Dinner Expediting: Expedite the dinner service
18. Back Of House Supervisor Essential Functions
- Associate Supervision: Provide direct supervision of the Resort Associates, including supervising, training and coaching Associates based on company standards, policies, and guidelines
- Guest Area Presence: Responsible for spending at least 80% of scheduled hours in the guest areas of the resort
- Coordinator Supervision: Provide direct supervision of the Playtime Coordinators, including supervising, training and coaching coordinators based on company standards, policies, and guidelines
- Playtime Support: The Resort Supervisor supports and guides Coordinators in the completion of scheduled playtimes
- Resort Cleanliness: Clean and maintain the guest areas of the resort in such a manner as to provide an odor-free and low-stress environment
- Guest Care: Feed, exercise, and provide daily care for all guests
- Hazard Reporting: Report and document to the Resort Manager and/or Resort Assistant Manager any potential hazards or behavioral problems involving guests or employees
- Employee Management Support: Assist Resort Manager in training employees, assigning/directing work, rewarding/disciplining employees, and conducting employee performance appraisals
- Training Compliance: Responsible for assisting new and existing team members in completing their required LMS courses and training guide
- Facility Maintenance: Emptying trash cans, mopping floors, cleaning restrooms, common areas, and the employee break room
19. House Supervisor Essential Functions
- Service Supervision: Supervises service delivery to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction
- Customer Service Standards: Enforces high standards of quality customer service
- Service Improvement Recognition: Recognizes opportunities for service improvements, coaches staff and/or communicates to department leaders
- Service Recovery: Responsible for practicing service recovery
- Customer Priority Emphasis: Consistently conveys that customers are the highest priority
- Expectation Management: Respects customer needs and expectations and lets customers know if their expectations cannot be met
- Behavior Standards: Follows standards of behavior in providing customer service and communicating with others
- Professional Conduct: Refrain from complaining about (or speaking negatively about) customer behavior or expectations
- Satisfaction Communication: Communicates in a manner that promotes and sustains customer satisfaction and encourages others to do the same
20. House Supervisor Roles and Details
- Team Support Management: Manages up other team members, departments, and leaders
- Outcome Achievement: Achieves these outcomes by ensuring that customer needs and deadlines are realistic and that they are met
- Recognition Practice: Publicly recognizes those who deliver excellent customer service
- Sensitive Issue Handling: Handles sensitive or difficult issues with grace and confidence
- Conflict Resolution: Takes actions that resolve conflicts in a manner that is best for both the organization and the individuals involved
- Focused Leadership: Remains clear-headed and focused and inspires others to do the same
- Emotional Objectivity: Remains objective in the face of strong emotions
- Complaint Resolution: Addresses complaints and problems quickly and effectively, keeps all parties informed of the status of any negotiations required, encourages employees to report problems or concerns and negotiates outcomes that are viewed as fair and even-handed
21. House Supervisor Roles
- Plan Implementation Monitoring: Participate in and monitor the implementation of Person Centered Plans (PCPs), the PSS and Crisis Plan
- Strategy Development: Design and implement support and teaching strategies targeted at assisting individuals with reaching their planned outcomes
- Staff Training Supervision: Provide supervision and training to Direct Support Professionals regarding the implementation of the PCP, PSS, and teaching strategies
- Strategy Evaluation: Evaluate and revise support and teaching strategies to ensure progress toward the achievement of outcomes and action steps
- Outcome Revision: Revise PCP outcomes based on data collection, feedback from staff, and direct observation of the individual
- Service Delivery Assurance: Ensure that services and support are provided in the PCP and PSS Plan
- Outcome Reporting: Complete monthly outcome reports and provide to the Program Manager
- Natural Support Facilitation: Facilitate opportunities for natural support
22. House Supervisor Overview
- Record Maintenance: Consumer Record Maintenance of individual files, including, but not limited to
- Profile Documentation: Individual profile data with emergency contact numbers
- Insurance Documentation: Copies of Medicare/Medicaid cards for all supported living sites, current Release of Information forms, consent forms, and a current signed Consumer Rights statement
- Guardianship Records: Copies of guardianship paperwork, if applicable
- Financial Tracking: Financial records in the Help at Home/Oxford HealthCare Inc. financial system, including documentation of all account spending, personal spending, and household spending
- Progress Documentation: Daily progress notes, monthly reviews, and other client-related documentation
- Medical Records Management: Responsible for medical information, including documentation of necessary medical appointments, lab results, immunizations, physicians' medication orders, Medication Administration Records and controlled drug count sheets
23. House Supervisor Role Purpose
- Nutrition Compliance: Ensure that nutrition guidelines on the PSS and the Crisis Plan are followed
- Shopping Oversight: Ensure that grocery and household shopping is done
- Safety Monitoring: Complete a monthly safety checklist
- HIPAA Compliance: Maintain the confidentiality of all individuals' Protected Health Information, as mandated by HIPAA
- Incident Review: Review all forms, notify the Case Manager of any incidents, and provide oversight for the follow-up plan with staff
- Stakeholder Communication: Maintain communication with family members, guardians, staff and Case Managers on a regular basis, particularly regarding policies, issues, and concerns
- Report Preparation: Prepare and submit reports that are required by contract, funding sources, or regulations
- Training Coordination: Coordinate in-service training that is needed to assist staff in fulfilling responsibilities related to client support
- Medication Oversight: Provide oversight with documentation of the Medication Administration Record, with checks of the MAR at least once per week
24. House Supervisor Details
- Training Monitoring: Monitor and record all required training for staff and schedule updates
- Staff Scheduling: Complete a monthly staff schedule, ensuring appropriate levels of staff coverage
- Health Safety Support: Provide direct support in providing services needed to protect the health and safety of the client, especially in a staffing crisis
- Compliance Training: Provide training and oversight for staff regarding Medicaid Waiver guidelines and licensing and certification standards
- Team Communication: Communicate with the Interdisciplinary Team about concerns and findings
- Personnel Reporting: Report personnel issues to the Program Director/Executive Director
- Emergency Response: Respond to staff in case of an emergency
- Job Training Delivery: Perform On-the-Job Training (OJT) for all support staff
- Field Evaluation: Perform on-site evaluations for all field staff
25. House Supervisor Roles
- Evaluation Completion: Complete all annual evaluations and submit to the Program Director/Executive Director
- Benefits Coordination: Coordination of individual benefits, including Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSA, and Food Stamps
- Resource Access: Secure community resources for individuals supported
- File Maintenance: Maintain individual files, per licensure and company regulations
- Licensure Compliance: Ensure compliance with licensure guidelines
- Medical Coordination: Coordinate the client's medical needs
- Training Assistance: Assist the Program Director/Executive Director in teaching the training classes
- Investigation Support: Assist the Program Director/Executive Director with on-site investigations for worker injury and client complaints
- Staff Support: Assist support staff with other duties, and with approval
26. House Supervisor Job Description
- Facility Rounding: Makes frequent rounds throughout the facility to monitor the delivery of care, oversee the quality of services and direct patient care activities
- Staff Supervision: Directly supervises, provides support to and communicates with all staff house-wide
- Administrative Coverage: In the absence of the Hospital Administrative staff, the administrative scope and responsibility are extended to all services within the hospital
- Operational Oversight: Ensures efficient operations and patient flow throughout the hospital
- Direct Patient Care: Performs direct patient care within the scope of practice and competence
- Agency Staff Orientation: Ensures all temporary agency personnel are deployed and oriented in compliance with hospital policy
- After Hours Coordination: Assist medical staff with scheduling after-hours procedures and calling in standby call staff members
- Patient Experience Enhancement: Enhances the patient/family experience through supportive interactions and explanations of hospital policies
Relevant Information