REGISTERED NURSE, BSN - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH THROUGHPUT

Job Summary/Overall Objectives 

The Behavioral Health Throughput RN functions as a member of the Behavioral Health Assessment Team and is responsible for coordinating patient flow across the behavioral health continuum, from admission through discharge. This role focuses on reducing delays, optimizing bed utilization, and ensuring timely, safe, and efficient transitions of care. The Throughput Nurse collaborates with multidisciplinary teams, external facilities, and support services to facilitate appropriate placement and continuity of care for behavioral health patients.   

Essential Job Functions              

• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending education workshops, review professional publications, establish personal networks, and participate in professional societies.
• Assure quality of care by adhering to therapeutic standards, measuring health outcomes against patient care goals and standards, making or recommending necessary adjustments, and following system/hospital and nursing division's philosophies and standards of care set by state board of nursing, state nurse practice act, and other governing agency regulations.
• Protect patients and employees by adhering to infection-control policies and protocols, medication administration and storage procedures, and controlled substance regulations.
• Document patient care services by charting in patient and department records.
• Maintain continuity among nursing teams by documenting and communicating actions, irregularities, and continuing needs using Nurse Knowledge Exchange techniques.
• Maintain patient confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential.
• Identify patient care requirements by establishing personal rapport with potential and actual patients, and other persons in a position to understand care requirements.
• Establish a compassionate environment by providing emotional, psychological, and spiritual support to patients, friends, and families.
• Promote patient's independence by establishing patient care goals, teaching patient/family to understand condition, medications, and self-care skills, and answering questions.
• Maintain safe and clean working environment by complying with procedures, rules and regulations; calling for assistance from health care support personnel.
• Resolve patient problems and needs by utilizing multidisciplinary team strategies.
• Maintain a cooperative relationship among health care teams by communicating information, responding to requests, building rapport, and participating in team continuous quality improvement and problem-solving methods.
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
• Ensure operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements by following manufacturer's instructions, troubleshooting malfunctions, calling for repairs, maintaining equipment inventories, and evaluating new equipment and techniques.
• Maintain nursing supplies inventory by checking stock to determine inventory level, anticipating needed supplies, placing and expediting orders for supplies, verifying receipt of supplies, and using equipment and supplies as needed to accomplish job results.
• The Registered Nurse may provide direct oversight of the GN, LPN, Technical Partner, ALS Technician, Nurse Extern and Unit Clerks. This oversight includes the Registered Nurse conducting the initial comprehensive assessment and interpreting the assessment to initiate the interprofessional plan of care. This oversight includes support of the delegation of duties that are within the scope and capability of the care team.
• Patient Flow and Bed Management 
  • Coordinate and monitor real-time patient flow within the system’s emergency departments and inpatient medical units 
  • Facilitate timely admissions, transfers, and discharges 
  • Maintain situational awareness of bed availability, staffing capacity, and patient acuity 
  • Collaborate with bed management, admissions, and behavioral health and emergency department teams to prioritize placements 
• Care Coordination 
  • Act as a liaison between emergency departments, inpatient units, and external referral sources  
  • Coordinate with case management, social work, nursing staff, and providers to facilitate a plan of care and minimize barriers related to timely and appropriate placement or discharge 
  • Provide clinical guidance related to patient placement and assist in identifying appropriate level of care 
• Communication 
  • Provide ongoing updates to leadership regarding throughput metrics, delays, and capacity issues 
  • Facilitate daily bed huddles and interdisciplinary rounds focused on patient pro