Director of Nursing (Home Nursing) - Naperville,IL 60563

Department: Nursing / Clinical Services
Reports To: Administrator / Executive Director / Chief Executive Officer
Position Type: Full-Time
Location: Reliance Home Health Caregivers, Naperville,IL 60563
Experience: 10 to 15 Years 
Pay : $140,000 - $150,000
Supervises: Clinical Nurse Supervisors, Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and other clinical personnel as assigned

Position Summary

The Director of Nursing (DON) is responsible for the overall leadership, management, coordination, and oversight of nursing and clinical services provided by the home nursing agency. The DON ensures that clients receive safe, appropriate, high-quality, and person-centered nursing care in accordance with physician/provider orders, individualized plans of care, agency policies, professional nursing standards, and applicable federal and Illinois requirements.

The Director of Nursing provides clinical leadership to the nursing department, supervises nursing personnel, oversees clinical competency and performance, supports new client admissions and case openings, monitors supervisory visits and documentation, and works collaboratively with Human Resources, Scheduling, Quality Assurance, and agency leadership to maintain appropriate staffing and continuity of care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Clinical Leadership and Nursing Oversight

• Provide overall direction and leadership for the agency's home nursing services.
• Ensure nursing services are delivered safely, professionally, and according to each client's authorized plan of care and physician/provider orders.
• Establish and maintain appropriate standards of nursing practice.
• Provide clinical guidance and consultation to nursing supervisors, RNs, LPNs, and other clinical staff.
• Review significant changes in client condition and ensure appropriate clinical interventions, notifications, and follow-up.
• Promote client safety, dignity, independence, privacy, and quality of life.
• Serve as a clinical resource for complex cases and nursing concerns.

2. Client Admission and Case Management

• Participate in or oversee the clinical admission process for new home nursing clients.
• Review referrals and available clinical information to determine whether the agency can safely meet the client's nursing needs.
• Ensure appropriate nursing assessments are completed before or at the initiation of services as required.
• Oversee development, implementation, review, and revision of individualized plans of care.
• Ensure nursing staff understand client-specific diagnoses, medications, treatments, precautions, equipment, emergency procedures, and physician orders before assuming independent responsibility for a case.
• Coordinate with clients, families, physicians/providers, hospitals, pharmacies, vendors, and other members of the healthcare team as appropriate.

3. Nursing Supervision and Field Visits

• Ensure required supervisory visits are completed accurately and within established timeframes.
• Conduct field supervisory visits when necessary.
• Assign qualified clinical supervisors to clients based on clinical needs, geographic coverage, and staff competency.
• Review supervisory visit findings and ensure identified concerns receive timely follow-up.
• Evaluate whether nursing services remain appropriate and whether changes to the client's plan of care are necessary.
• Ensure clinical concerns identified during field visits are communicated to appropriate leadership and healthcare providers.

4. Nurse Competency and Skills Validation

• Establish and oversee nursing competency requirements.
• Ensure nurses complete required competency and skills evaluations before independently performing assigned clinical procedures.
• Coordinate initial and ongoing competency evaluations for nursing personnel.
• Verify competency for client-specific skills, which may include medication administration, enteral feeding, tracheostomy care, ventilator care, seizure management, oxygen administration, catheter care, wound care, and other authorized nursing procedures.
• Ensure competency documentation is completed and maintained appropriately.
• Identify nurses requiring additional education, retraining, supervision, or competency validation.

5. Staff Orientation, Education, and Training

• Participate in clinical orientation for newly hired nurses.
• Ensure nursing employees receive appropriate general and client-specific training.
• Develop or approve clinical training materials, nursing protocols, and competency tools.
• Provide continuing education and clinical updates when changes occur in policies, procedures, regulations, or standards of practice.
• Identify educational needs through audits, incidents, supervisory visits, performance reviews, and clinical observations.

6. Nursing Staffing and Continuity of Care

• Collaborate closely with Scheduling and Human Resources to maintain adequate nursing coverage.
• Assist in determining whether nurses are clinically appropriate for specific client assignments.
• Ensure nurses are assigned within their authorized scope of practice and demonstrated competencies.
• Address clinical staffing concerns that could affect client health or safety.
• Assist with emergency staffing and continuity-of-care planning when necessary.
• Work with Scheduling to minimize missed shifts and gaps in nursing coverage.
• Escalate significant staffing shortages or safety concerns to agency leadership.

7. Documentation and Medical Record Oversight

• Ensure nursing documentation is complete, accurate, timely, and consistent with the client's plan of care.
• Review clinical records, nursing notes, assessments, supervisory documentation, medication records, treatment records, and other clinical documentation as required.
• Monitor documentation for omissions, inconsistencies, late entries, or other compliance concerns.
• Ensure corrections and follow-up are completed when documentation deficiencies are identified.
• Maintain confidentiality of client health information in accordance with HIPAA and agency policy.

8. Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement

• Participate in the agency's Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement activities.
• Conduct or oversee clinical audits to evaluate quality, safety, documentation, and compliance.
• Review trends involving hospitalizations, emergency department visits, medication errors, missed shifts, client complaints, incidents, and other clinical concerns.
• Develop corrective action and improvement plans when deficiencies are identified.
• Monitor corrective actions to determine whether improvements are sustained.
• Report significant clinical trends and risks to agency leadership.

9. Incident Management and Client Safety

• Review clinical incidents, medication errors, injuries, changes in condition, hospitalizations, and other significant events.
• Ensure appropriate immediate clinical action is taken to protect client health and safety.
• Ensure physicians/providers, guardians, families, agency leadership, and other required parties are notified when appropriate.
• Participate in investigations involving clinical care or nursing practice.
• Identify whether additional training, supervision, corrective action, or changes to the plan of care are necessary.
• Cooperate with regulatory or oversight investigations as required.

10. Regulatory and Policy Compliance

• Maintain knowledge of applicable federal and Illinois requirements governing home nursing services.
• Ensure nursing practices comply with professional standards, agency policies, licensing requirements, payer requirements, and applicable regulations.
• Assist with regulatory surveys, audits, inspections, and corrective action plans.
• Maintain required nursing policies and procedures and recommend revisions when necessary.
• Ensure clinical staff maintain required licenses, certifications, training, and competencies in collaboration with Human Resources.

11. Personnel Management

• Supervise and evaluate nursing leadership and clinical staff as assigned.
• Participate in interviewing, selecting, orienting, and evaluating nursing personnel.
• Conduct or participate in nursing performance evaluations.
• Provide coaching and corrective guidance regarding clinical performance.
• Collaborate with Human Resources regarding nursing employee performance, attendance, conduct, competency, or compliance concerns.
• Recommend retraining, additional supervision, removal from a client assignment, disciplinary action, or other appropriate intervention when warranted.
• Promote professional communication, accountability, teamwork, and respectful workplace conduct.

12. Communication and Interdepartmental Collaboration

The Director of Nursing will maintain effective communication and collaboration with:

• Agency Administration and Executive Leadership
• Human Resources
• Scheduling/Staffing Department
• Quality Assurance/Compliance
• Clinical Nurse Supervisors
• Field Nurses
• Clients and families/guardians
• Physicians and other healthcare providers
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• Pharmacies and medical equipment providers
• Case managers and other authorized external partners

The DON is expected to communicate significant clinical, staffing, safety, and compliance concerns promptly to appropriate leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• Current and unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in the State of Illinois.
• Nursing degree from an accredited nursing program.
• Appropriate professional nursing experience consistent with the services provided by the agency.
• Previous supervisory, management, home health, home nursing, private duty nursing, or similar clinical leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Current CPR/BLS certification as required by the agency.
• Knowledge of nursing standards, clinical documentation, care planning, medication management, infection prevention, and patient safety.
• Knowledge of applicable home-care regulations and professional nursing requirements.
• Ability to supervise and evaluate nursing personnel.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple clients, employees, clinical priorities, and deadlines.
• Ability to respond appropriately to urgent clinical and staffing situations.

Core Competencies

The successful Director of Nursing should demonstrate:

• Clinical leadership and sound nursing judgment
• Patient/client safety awareness
• Staff supervision and accountability
• Regulatory and policy compliance
• Clinical documentation oversight
• Quality assurance and performance improvement
• Effective communication
• Conflict resolution
• Staff education and development
• Emergency decision-making
• Confidentiality and professional ethics
• Organization and time management
• Interdepartmental collaboration
• Commitment to person-centered care

Performance Expectations

Performance will be evaluated based on areas including:

• Quality and safety of nursing services
• Timely completion of supervisory visits and clinical reviews
• Nursing competency compliance
• Accuracy and completeness of clinical documentation
• Client and family satisfaction
• Staff performance and development
• Appropriate response to incidents and clinical concerns
• Regulatory and policy compliance
• Continuity of care and clinical staffing support
• Quality improvement outcomes
• Communication and collaboration with other departments
• Responsiveness to agency leadership

Confidentiality

The Director of Nursing must maintain strict confidentiality regarding client, employee, medical, and organizational information and comply with HIPAA, agency confidentiality policies, and all applicable privacy requirements.

Reliance Home Health Caregivers provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

I understand that neither the completion of this application nor any other part of my consideration for employment establishes any obligation for Reliance Home Health Caregivers to hire me. If I am hired, I understand that either Reliance Home Health Caregivers or I can terminate my employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause and without prior notice. I understand that no representative of Reliance Home Health Caregivers has the authority to make any assurance to the contrary. I also understand that no guarantee will be given for the number of hours of work. Upon my termination, I authorize the release of reference information to potential employers.

I understand that if an offer of employment is made, the following must be successfully completed as a condition of employment:

A background check that will include: information from previous employers, whether contained in written records or not, all public/private records, including criminal, civil, driving, credit, and education, and any other pertinent information relating to my ability to successfully perform the job for which I have been offered employment.
Pre-employment drug screening.
Pre-employment physical.

Proof of citizenship or authorization for employment in the United States is required in accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. I attest that I have given to Reliance Home Health Caregivers true and complete information on this application. No requested information has been concealed. I authorize Reliance Home Health Caregivers to contact references provided for employment reference checks. If any information I have provided in untrue, or if I have concealed material information, I understand that this will constitute cause for the denial of employment or immediate dismissal.