(ADON) Assistant Director of Nursing, Skilled Nursing & Long Term Care

Salary

$105,000 - $135,000 / Year

Overview

Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON - RN)

Elderwood at Cheektowaga - Skilled Nursing & Long Term Care

 

Lead with purpose. Strengthen clinical care. Grow with Elderwood.

 

Elderwood is seeking a dedicated and collaborative Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON – RN) to join our facility leadership team. This is an opportunity to influence nursing practice, develop employees, strengthen quality outcomes, and help ensure residents receive consistent, compassionate care.

 

As ADON, you will partner closely with the Director of Nursing and Administrator to advance clinical priorities, support nursing employees, maintain survey readiness, and uphold regulatory standards. You will have meaningful responsibility within the facility - along with access to an experienced network of clinical leaders across the Elderwood organization.

More Than Traditional Long-Term Care

Elderwood at Cheektowaga is a 172-bed skilled nursing community providing long-term care, memory care, and comprehensive subacute rehabilitation.

Our clinical environment serves residents with diverse long-term needs as well as short-stay patients transitioning from hospital to home following illness, injury, surgery, orthopedic procedures, and cardiac conditions. Facility capabilities include:

• • IV therapy

  • PICC-line management

  • Wound-vac therapy

  • Complex wound care

  • Ostomy care

  • Enteral feeding

  • Dialysis coordination

This clinical variety creates an engaging post-acute environment for nurse leaders who want to strengthen employee competencies, support complex care, and help patients make measurable progress toward recovery. It offers elements of med-surg-style clinical variety along with the continuity and resident relationships found in skilled nursing.

Lead With Support Behind You

At Elderwood, facility nursing leaders are accountable for clinical performance - but they are not expected to lead in isolation.

Our facility clinical teams receive support from Elderwood Administrative Services, including organization-wide clinical leadership from the Chief Nursing Officer and an assigned Regional Nurse Consultant who serves as a consistent resource to facility leaders.

 

The Regional Nurse Consultant partners with the Director of Nursing, ADON, Administrator, and clinical team to provide guidance, share best practices, help navigate complex challenges, and support priorities related to quality, regulatory readiness, clinical operations, and nursing leadership development.

 

This structure gives you the opportunity to lead locally while benefiting from the experience, perspective, and resources of a larger clinical organization.

Build the Next Stage of Your Nursing Leadership Career

Elderwood is committed to identifying and developing the next generation of clinical leaders. Nurses who demonstrate strong performance, leadership potential, and an interest in future Director of Nursing opportunities may be considered for advanced development experiences, including Widener University’s Director of Nursing Leadership Academy.

 

Designed for current and aspiring DONs, the 12-week academy combines online learning, leadership coaching, faculty mentorship, and in-person applied workshops. Its curriculum addresses the practical demands of nursing leadership, including communication, decision-making, team development, retention, financial fundamentals, strategic planning, and change management.

 

If you are ready to contribute as an ADON today while preparing for greater leadership responsibility in the future, Elderwood offers an environment where your potential can be recognized, developed, and supported.

 

Apply today and explore your next leadership opportunity with Elderwood.

Responsibilities

Assistant Director of Nursing (RN) Position:

• Assume duties of the Director of Nursing in his/her absence under the direction of the Administrator.
• Assist the resident and Social Services in planning the nursing services portion of the resident discharge plan.
• Assumes duties of personnel within nursing department as needed or directed by DON and/or Administrator.
• Perform administrative duties such as completing medical forms, reports, evaluations, studies, charting, etc., as necessary.
• Recruit, interview, select, hire, train, schedule, supervise, and evaluate nursing personnel, delegating as necessary. This also includes counseling and recommending suspension or termination of employees to Director of Nursing or Administrator as necessary, maintaining documentation to support the same.
• Ensure adequate 24-hour nursing coverage in the facility.
• Ensure that all nursing assistants are enrolled in or have graduated from an approved nursing assistant training program.
• Assist the DON in determining the staffing needs of the nursing service department.
• Ensure that all nurse aide trainees are under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse.
• Recommend to the DON the number and level of nursing personnel to be employed.
• Resolve personnel problems and build into the nursing program maximum employee motivation, keeping employees informed of current changes that effect their ability in providing quality patient care.
• Develop work assignments and schedule duty hours, and/or assist nursing supervisory staff in completing or performing such tasks.
• Delegate to the Charge Nurse(s) and Nurse Supervisor(s) the administrative authority, responsibility, and accountability to perform their assigned duties.
• Nursing Care Functions:
• Supervise all admissions and readmissions for eligibility or denial of Medicare Skilled services regulations.
• Notify all providers, in writing, within 24  hours of resident status of eligibility for skilled services and changes.
• Ensure that written physician certification for skilled services per Medicare guidelines are obtained.
• Coordinate therapeutic services, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, etc., for residents with therapeutic needs.
• In addition, be responsible for monitoring resident progress and eligibility when no longer are eligible for Medicare skilled services. Notification will be timely -- within 24-hours upon determination.
• Make daily rounds of the nursing department to ensure that all nursing personnel are performing their work assignment in accordance with acceptable nursing standards. Report findings to DON.
• Provide residents with a comfortable, clean, orderly, and safe environment.
• Assess resident's condition and care needs through daily resident rounds.
• Monitor medication passes and treatment schedules to ensure that medications are being administered as ordered and that treatments are provided as scheduled.
• Report medication errors per policy.
• Provide direct nursing care as necessary.
• Ensures that residents who are unable to call for help are checked frequently. 

 

From

Up to

Qualifications

Assistant Director of Nursing (RN) Position:

• Must possess, as a minimum, a degree in Nursing from an accredited school.
• Must possess a current, unencumbered, active license to practice as in state.
• Baccalaureate degree preferred.
• Working knowledge of the needs of geriatric complex care requiring long term care, the principles of management, supervision, organizational behavior and structure, and communication systems.
• A physical examination and/or evidence from a physician indicating free of communicable disease to be available upon employment.
• Must be in good physical and mental health.
• Ability to work independently or part of a group.
• Effectively communicate with others.
• If expected to drive company vehicle- must have valid driver's license with good driving record and be at least 21 years of age. (In order to comply with company Driving Standards P&P).
• Must have, as a minimum, 2 years of experience as a supervisor in a hospital, long-term care facility, or other related health care facility.
• Previous long-term care experience is desirable.
• Computer knowledge preferred.
• This position requires regular interaction with residents, coworkers, visitors, and/or supervisors. In order to ensure a safe work environment for residents, coworkers, visitors, and/or supervisors of the Company, and to permit unfettered communication between the employee and those residents, coworkers, visitors, and supervisors, this position requires that the employee be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language at an intermediate or more advanced level.

EOE Statement

WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. Applicants and employees are considered for positions and are evaluated without regard to mental or physical disability, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or any other protected Federal, State/Province or Local status unrelated to the performance of the work involved.