WHAT DOES AN ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR DO?
Published: Nov 18, 2024 - An Admissions Director develops and implements training programs to educate team members on skilled nursing admission processes and guidelines. Drives outreach activities and referral source development, ensuring goals are met for market skilled nursing centers and quality metrics. Reviews analytic data tracks market trends and develops action plans to optimize performance based on key performance indicators.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Admissions Director
1. Admissions Director Duties
- Lead Generation: Initiates leads through relationships with qualified sources and contact with patients and families.
- Inquiry Response: Responds to all inquiry calls from hospital discharge planners, families, and other referral sources.
- Process Documentation: Works with location leadership to implement a plan for documenting inquiries received during evenings, weekends, and other times of absence.
- Referral Management: Manages all electronic referral systems, profiles, contracts, and ensures access is updated on a timely basis.
- Admissions Management: Manages the admission process by maintaining updated bed availability and facility services information at all times and handles the inquiry process professionally, timely, and with appropriate follow-up.
- Occupancy Optimization: Effectively manages occupancy levels and census/premium mix enhancement.
- Lead Closing: Ensures the closing of all leads.
- Collaboration: Develops and maintains relationships with the Director of Nursing Services and the Business Office Manager to assure appropriate and efficient decisions about prospective admissions.
- Admission Recommendations: Recommends admissions decisions to facility management.
- Room Coordination: Communicates with nursing and housekeeping about appropriate room and bed selection.
2. Admissions Director Details
- Admissions Coordination: Ensures appropriate admission papers and signatures are obtained from residents or responsible parties prior to admission and communicates special needs of new admits to staff, ensuring a smooth transition.
- Sales & Marketing Planning: Coordinates the development and implementation of quarterly sales and marketing plans, serves as chairperson for marketing team meetings, monitors budgets, and tracks results.
- Trend Monitoring: Monitors inquiry, admission, and census trends as part of the Continuous Quality Improvement process.
- Reporting: Prepares the Monthly Inquiry Summary Report, an inquiry log, and other reports.
- Customer Satisfaction: Monitors and evaluates customer satisfaction and patient service evaluations.
- Community Engagement: Develops and implements special events and presentations targeted at community education, establishing and maintaining the facility's status as the expert on skilled nursing, specialty programs, and rehabilitation care in the community.
- Event Participation: Remains current with other local events and participates in events.
- Marketing Collaboration: Works with the marketing department to place advertisements, update the website and services available, including photography, copy, and service evaluations.
- Collateral Management: Ensures the property has appropriate collateral and marketing pieces available.
- Tool Utilization: Utilizes company-provided tools and calendar effectively.
3. Admissions Director Responsibilities
- Admissions Coordination: Direct the pre-admission and admission process as well as arranging for transfer of patients to skilled nursing centers, including referral visits with clinical designees when appropriate.
- Information Gathering: Obtain pertinent information from patients and/or family members, referral sources, and social agencies, verify financial information prior to admission, and complete admission paperwork with family and patient.
- Team Leadership: Directly oversees all aspects of the admission process for all market skilled nursing centers and market admissions associates.
- Tour Management: Coordinates associates to provide tours to prospective patients/families, establishes “tour team champions” for weekends/evenings, ensures tour associates are properly trained, designates and maintains model rooms (where applicable), and ensures rooms are ready for new admissions.
- Family Support: Actively contacts and provides support to patients and families.
- Outreach Planning: Coordinates market Community Outreach Plan.
- Referral Management: Maintains up-to-date information about current major and minor referral sources and alternative resource guides; maintains an active waiting list file.
- Inter-Organization Communication: Communicates admission information to other member organizations and collaborates in transitioning patients among all member organizations.
- Documentation Expertise: Completes understanding of the admission packet and demonstrates the ability to explain it to family and patient.
4. Admissions Director Accountabilities
- Training Development: Develops and implements training programs and professional development plans to educate Admissions Coordinators, Admissions Assistants, and other team members on skilled nursing admission guidelines and processes.
- Quality Improvement: Participates in Nursing Center QAPI.
- Admissions Goal Management: Meets established goals related to admissions for market skilled nursing centers, referral source relationship development, outreach program implementation, and other quality metrics.
- Patient Transition Communication: Communicates with organization personnel regarding patient transitions.
- Strategic Coordination: Develops and coordinates admissions associates in strategic outreach activity in the market to facilitate referrals to skilled nursing centers.
- Community Engagement: Performs strategic outreach events in the market to increase community awareness and facilitate referrals to skilled nursing centers.
- Data Analysis: Reviews monthly analytic data.
- Trend Analysis: Tracks information to determine market trends and develops action plans based on data relative to key performance indicators.
5. Admissions Director Functions
- Community Liaison: Acts as a liaison between the facility and the outside community.
- Referral Management: Connects daily with potential referral sources, including hospitals, physicians, insurers, case management companies, and health care agencies.
- Sales & Marketing Strategy: Creates and executes facility sales and marketing plans and strategies.
- Facility Tours: Conducts facility tours for potential residents and families.
- Admission Screening: Conducts admission screening of potential patients to determine level of care, services required, equipment needs, and insurance coverage, as indicated.
- Admissions Management: Responsible for the admissions of residents through established referral systems and development of a marketing program that supports facility goals and objectives.
- Inquiry Handling: Answers inquiries from prospective residents/families, social workers, and physicians, providing tours of the center.
- Resident Care Representation: Functions as the facility representative to residents, families, insurance providers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals concerning resident care.
- Application Support: Aids in the application and admission process for all new residents, including interviews and pre-admission care conferences.
- Care Coordination: Coordinates care for all residents and manages resident care costs relative to the reimbursement provided by the payor source on admission.
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