At Houston Methodist, the Lead Care Manager position is a licensed, experienced staff nurse responsible for coordinating and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Care Navigator program which monitors, anticipates and responds to patient's health needs across the full continuum of the health and population spectrums. This position demonstrates strong critical thinking and proven assessment skills, role modeling compassionate communication with physicians and the interprofessional healthcare team. The Lead Care Manager position assumes leadership responsibilities with high level contributions at the program service line and across the institution and works with staff, managers and leadership to optimize department outcomes, assessing department needs related to practice and improvement opportunities, serving as a clinical resource for both the program and hospital staff and coordinating department and hospital-wide education, at management's discretion. In addition to leading projects or performs specialized responsibilities as a regular part of their normal job responsibilities, this position is responsible for patient outreach and care coordination to high risk populations to achieve optimal outcomes.

HOUSTON METHODIST EXPERIENCE EXPECTATIONS

• Provide personalized care and service by consistently demonstrating our I CARE values:
  • INTEGRITY: We are honest and ethical in all we say and do.
  • COMPASSION: We embrace the whole person including emotional, ethical, physical, and spiritual needs.
  • ACCOUNTABILITY: We hold ourselves accountable for all our actions.
  • RESPECT: We treat every individual as a person of worth, dignity, and value.
  • EXCELLENCE: We strive to be the best at what we do and a model for others to emulate.

• Practices the Caring and Serving Model

• Delivers personalized service using HM Service Standards

• Provides for exceptional patient/customer experiences by following our Standards of Practice of always using Positive Language (AIDET, Managing Up, Key Words)

• Intentionally collaborates with other healthcare professionals involved in patients/customers or employees' experiential journeys to ensure strong communication, ease of access to information, and a seamless experience

• Involves patients (customers) in shift/handoff reports by enabling their participation in their plan of care as applicable to the given job

• Actively supports the organization's vision, fulfills the mission and abides by the I CARE values

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in the recruitment and interview process for all new hires. Coordinates and provides new staff orientations, including EMR training, documentation training, community resource training and telephonic interviewing training as needed. Provides assessment and feedback of new staff at 30, 60 and 90 days with findings to management. Assesses, recognizes and resolves staff operational needs.

• Serves as the expert Care Management resource for all Care Navigator staff. Assists staff by providing advice, guidance and handling of emergent or urgent calls that need to be escalated to next level of supervision that are within the Lead Care Manager's scope of professional practice. Leads and reports on interventions for transitions of care and population health initiatives, ensuring optimal communication and planning between staff and other teams across different settings. Provides coverage for staff in the absence of the manager.

• Develops teamwork activities, builds awareness of overall department work environment, consistently offers assistance, and responds positively to requests for assistance. Initiates and lead team huddles, meetings as needed. Serves as a backup for management in the department. Collaborates with other staff members and communicate regularly to promote team-based care and shared-decision making. Leads initiates to improve department scores for turnover/retention/engagement.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies, develops and executes appropriate disease management activities and interventions such as, but not limited to, individual and/or group contacts and training classes.

• Facilitates identification, adoption, implementation and utilization of ¿best practice¿ clinical practice guidelines and protocols for management of specific diseases/ conditions.

• Proactively identifies and resolves delays and obstacles to services for the patient. Serves as a patient/client/staff advocate and assists in the identification and improvement of service delivery. Leads unit/organizational/system activities to improve patient satisfaction and throughput metrics, through peer-to-peer accountability.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Creates practices for quality and process improvement initiatives, implementing improvement processes for work flow and outcome metrics include (but are not limited to) patient satisfaction, readmissions, cost-per-case, and compliance with care paths or evidence-based guidelines.

• Using resources available, develops, disseminates and monitors protocols and processes to ensure proper documentation, assessments and notifications are completed for populations being served. Implements risk reduction strategies related to health, safety and function.

• Conducts collaborative performance improvement activities for staff, providing interventions and feedback to manager and involved staff. Performs quality monitoring for staff performance which includes but not limited to: day-to-day staff productivity and telephonic monitoring, and addresses deficiencies or underperformance and methods for improvement.

• Leads an evidence-based practice change, performance improvement or research project for service-line/organization/system that meets the requirements of an empirical outcomes (EO) Magnet exemplar to improve quality and safety scores.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Keeps staff on task, operating within deadlines and budget. Initiates, leads, and manages multiple projects simultaneously. Collaborates with leadership in assessing and planning for future projects, staffing and budget needs.

• Supports department/organizational strategies to achieve financial targets and mentors others to do the same through timely documentation of care, optimizing efficiency, and other areas according to department specifications.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops initiatives and processes to address program needs. Assists in clinical review and assessment of future program opportunities, including participating and leading internal and external interprofessional meetings, as needed. Provides feedback, instruction, and development guidance to help others to excel in their current or future job responsibilities; plans and supports the development of individual skills and abilities.

• Translates strategic priorities into operational reality; aligns communication, accountabilities, resource capabilities, internal processes, and ongoing measurement systems to ensure that strategic priorities yield measurable metrics and sustainable results.

• Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited school of nursing

• Master's degree preferred

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Eight years clinical nursing experience

• Five years care management or related nursing discipline, telehealth preferred

• Chronic disease management experience preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - REQUIRED

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure -- Compact Licensure - Must obtain permanent Texas license within 60 days (if establishing Texas residency) AND
• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) AND
• Magnet - ANCC-recognized certification in applicable specialty area, ACHPN-HPCC or CCM or CMC or ACM-NBCM or CDCES or CHPN-HPCC or CMGT-BC or CM-ABOHN or ANCC-NCM

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations

• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security

• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles

• Knowledge of disease processes, available resources, and treatment options appropriate to diverse populations

• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in interactions with physicians, payors, and patients and their families

• Strong assessment, organizational and problem-solving skill as evidenced by capacity to prioritize multiple tasks and role components

• Conveys a positive, empathetic, and therapeutic rapport in all workplace encounters

• Demonstrates a poised, credible, and confident demeanor that reassures others and commands respect

• Adaptability and flexibility to manage through change

• Strong critical thinking skill and proven assessment skills

• Ability to work effectively with all levels of administrative and professional personnel.

• Proficient computer skills to include word processing, spreadsheets, presentation preparation and database management

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform No
• Scrubs No
• Business professional Yes
• Other (department approved) No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. DIsaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

Houston Methodist (HM) is one of the nation’s leading health systems and academic medical centers.  HM consists of eight hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital, its flagship academic hospital in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, and seven community hospitals throughout the greater Houston metropolitan area.  HM also includes an academic institute, a comprehensive residency program, a global business division, numerous physician practices and several free-standing emergency rooms and outpatient facilities.  Overall, HM employs over 25,000 employees.   Houston Methodist is supported by a wide variety of business functions that operate at the system level to help enable clinical departments to provide the best patient care and service in a spiritual environment.

In 2019 Houston Methodist and its physicians treat more than 6,333 international patients from more than 76 countries. Houston Methodist Global Health Care Services’ consulting and education divisions also provide advisory services and training and development to health care organizations around the world.