Position Summary
Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community is seeking an experienced and collaborative Director of Nursing (DON) to lead our nursing services and support the delivery of safe, compassionate, resident-centered care.
Reporting to the Vice President of Health Services, the DON provides leadership and oversight of daily nursing operations, clinical outcomes, staffing, regulatory compliance, employee development, and quality improvement. This role is responsible for developing strong nursing leaders, building effective systems, and ensuring our nursing team has the resources, accountability, and support needed to provide exceptional care.
The DON works closely with Nursing Administration, medical providers, interdisciplinary teams, residents, families, and organizational leaders to promote resident dignity, independence, safety, and quality of life.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and oversight of daily nursing operations and clinical care.
- Ensure nursing practices, assessments, care plans, documentation, and interventions meet resident needs and applicable standards.
- Lead, mentor, and develop nursing leaders and staff while promoting accountability, professional growth, teamwork, and succession planning.
- Oversee nursing staffing, scheduling, attendance, overtime, and workforce planning based on resident acuity, census, regulatory requirements, and operational needs.
- Support recruitment, onboarding, retention, engagement, competency, and performance management within nursing.
- Maintain compliance with CMS requirements, federal and North Carolina regulations, licensure standards, resident rights, and organizational policies.
- Maintain survey readiness and oversee appropriate follow-up related to clinical incidents, regulatory findings, resident concerns, and identified risks.
- Lead nursing participation in Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI), using data and root cause analysis to strengthen clinical outcomes and prevent recurring issues.
- Monitor key clinical indicators such as falls, wounds, infections, weight changes, hospital transfers, and medication-related concerns.
- Promote timely, compassionate communication with residents and families and ensure concerns are appropriately addressed and resolved.
- Collaborate with medical providers, Pharmacy, Therapy, Dietary, Social Work, Activities, Infection Prevention, and other disciplines to support coordinated care.
- Partner with the VP of Health Services in managing nursing budgets, staffing costs, overtime, supplies, and other departmental resources.
- Evaluate workflows, technology, and clinical processes to improve efficiency, communication, consistency, and quality of care.
- Anticipate emerging clinical and workforce needs and contribute to the development of future care delivery and staffing models.
Leadership Expectations
We are seeking a nursing leader who can:
- Lead through others by developing capable nursing leaders and empowering them to manage daily operations effectively.
- Build reliable systems that create clear expectations, accountability, and consistent follow-through.
- Use data to drive decisions related to clinical quality, staffing, operations, and financial performance.
- Think proactively by identifying risks and addressing root causes before concerns become recurring problems.
- Develop people and culture through coaching, recognition, accountability, fairness, and professional growth.
- Promote collaboration across disciplines while keeping resident needs at the center of decision-making.
- Embrace improvement and innovation while maintaining resident safety, dignity, and quality of life.
Qualifications
- Current, unencumbered Registered Nurse (RN) license in North Carolina.
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required.
- Demonstrated nursing leadership experience, preferably in skilled nursing, long-term care, or a continuing care retirement community (CCRC)/Life Plan Community.
- Strong knowledge of CMS requirements, federal and state regulations, resident rights, clinical standards, and quality improvement practices.
- Experience with nursing operations, staffing, employee supervision, performance management, and clinical risk management.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze clinical and operational data, identify trends, and implement measurable improvement plans.
- Strong communication, organizational, decision-making, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining focus on resident care, compliance, team effectiveness, and operational performance.
Why Deerfield
At Deerfield, the Director of Nursing plays an important leadership role in creating an environment where residents receive exceptional care and nursing professionals are supported, developed, and empowered to succeed. We are looking for a leader who combines clinical excellence, operational discipline, strong people leadership, and a genuine commitment to serving older adults.
