Assistant Director of Nursing (Director Nursing 1 DD)

Assistant Director Of Nursing

The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) provides high-quality, person-centered services, supports, and advocacy to approximately 140,000 Individuals with developmental disabilities in New York State. We are guided in our interactions with the people we serve and each other by compassion, dignity, diversity, excellence, and honesty. Our motto is "Putting People First," which applies not only to the Individuals we serve but to our employees as well.

The Assistant Director of Nursing for OPWDD plans, oversees, and evaluates the provision of comprehensive nursing services to Individuals with developmental disabilities residing in facilities operated or certified by OPWDD. The Assistant Director of Nursing will have a direct impact on the quality of nursing and healthcare provided to the Individuals receiving services within State Operations. High quality nursing and healthcare is essential to ensuring that OPWDD can accomplish its core mission of helping people with developmental disabilities lead richer lives. This position will work under the direction of the Director of Nursing 3 and is pivotal in helping to maintain clinical competence and regulatory compliance throughout the state and will be responsible for assisting in maintaining the health and safety conditions and practices related to clinical services within the Division of State Operations (DSO) - Bureau of Clinical Services.

The Assistant Director of Nursing is a statewide position, assisting in providing direct oversight / clinical supervision to the Registered Nurses working in certified residential, clinic, and program settings throughout the state. This position will assist in the management, oversight, and evaluation of nursing services including :

• Assist with the development and implementation of nursing policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with established standards of nursing care in accordance with State, Federal, and OPWDD regulatory requirements.
• Oversee, evaluate, and participate in recruitment, training, and continuing education programs for nursing staff.
• Assist with the clinical supervision of nursing staff.
• Participate in the Statewide Community of Practice meetings to foster discipline collaboration and professional development initiatives.
• Participate in other committees / agency work groups as delegated.
• Assist in the ongoing development, training, and monitoring of the nursing portion of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) for nursing forms, documentation, use of eMAR, and data functions.
• Provide training, consultation, technical assistance, and supervision / mentoring to nursing staff across the state through a combination of in-person site visits and remote technology.
• Work with nursing staff after internal Bureau of Program Certification surveys to ensure that any deficiencies are addressed locally and that any new protocols put into place are addressed statewide.
• Assist the Director of Nursing in coordinating nursing activities, which will include a mix of both administrative and clinical aspects, while focusing on maintaining high quality of care and staff performance.
• The Assistant Director of Nursing will have primary responsibility for being out in the field to ensure proper and timely implementation of new policies / procedures and / or of any new programs / contracts.
• This position will take an active role in local nursing meetings, where there are discussions on hospitalizations, discharges, changes in the status of individuals supported, complaints, concerns, or general nursing questions.
• This position will focus on specific DDSOs, providing on-site leadership / mentorship where there are nursing concerns in areas that include competency, new nurse mentorship / support, increase in Critical and Significant events in nursing or Statements of Deficiencies related to nursing.
• The Assistant Director of Nursing will assist in the preparation of the survey process, hold mock surveys as indicated, and will assist with the preparation of any plans of corrections, bringing any findings up to the Director of Nursing 3.
• Will act in an administrative / management capacity in the absence of the Director of Nursing 3.

Telecommuting to be discussed at interview.