Discharge Unit RN 7a-7:30p

Position Summary

The Discharge Nurse serves as a centralized clinical resource responsible for proactively identifying, tracking, coordinating, and escalating barriers that delay safe inpatient discharge. Working across inpatient nursing units, providers, case management, pharmacy, ancillary services, transportation, and the Discharge Lounge, the RN supports reliable progression of medically ready patients through the discharge process.

The role emphasizes real-time discharge coordination, standardized barrier tracking, interdisciplinary communication, and hospital throughput. The Discharge RN supplements—but does not replace—the responsibilities of the primary inpatient nurse, provider, case manager, or other discipline.

Essential Responsibilities

·         Identify anticipated and medically ready discharges as early as possible and maintain real-time awareness of discharge status and outstanding requirements.

·         Use a standardized process to identify and track discharge barriers, including medications, transportation, follow-up arrangements, durable medical equipment, consults, diagnostics/procedures, placement or disposition needs, home coordination, and patient/family concerns.

·         Coordinate with providers regarding outstanding clinical requirements and completion of discharge orders when clinically appropriate.

·         Partner with case management, social work, care coordination, pharmacy, nursing units, ancillary departments, and transportation to address barriers within each discipline’s scope.

·         Facilitate timely communication between inpatient units and the Discharge Lounge and identify eligible patients for transfer based on established lounge criteria.

·         Prioritize coordination activities according to clinical readiness, anticipated discharge timing, unresolved barriers, transportation needs, and operational demand.

·         Escalate unresolved or time-sensitive barriers through established pathways to the appropriate discipline or leader.

·         Provide real-time problem solving and closed-loop follow-up on identified barriers until resolved, transferred to the responsible discipline, or appropriately escalated.

·         Communicate anticipated discharge volume, recurring barriers, and operational concerns to appropriate leaders and interdisciplinary teams.

·         Collaborate with transportation services and inpatient teams to support timely movement of discharge-ready patients from inpatient beds.

·         Document or track discharge barriers, interventions, escalation, and disposition in the designated electronic or operational system.

·         Participate in discharge-throughput and performance-improvement initiatives, including review of recurring barrier trends and opportunities for process redesign.

·         Maintain patient privacy and confidentiality and comply with hospital policies and applicable regulatory requirements.

·         Experience with patient-flow, discharge coordination, care transitions, case management, or quality improvement preferred.

Key Performance Expectations

·         Timely identification, documentation, and escalation of discharge barriers.

·         Reduce time from medical readiness and/or discharge order to departure from the inpatient unit, using locally defined measures.

·         Timely movement of eligible patients to the Discharge Lounge and appropriate Discharge Lounge utilization.

·         Reduction in avoidable discharge delays and delayed discharge bed time/days.

·         Recurring barrier trends and resolution/escalation performance.

·         Effective interdisciplinary communication and support of hospital throughput.

·         Patient safety and experience measures associated with the discharge process.

Minimum Education, Training, and Experience Required:

• Eligible for or currently licensed as a Registered Nurse in State of Maryland or compact state.
• Associates degree in Nursing required; Bachelors of Science in Nursing preferred or willing to obtain within 5 years of employment
• Certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
• BLS certification is required of ALL nurses within 90-days of hire

The following certifications are required for the nursing units specified.  Each certification must be completed within 1 year of hire.

§  2C (Oncology/Thorasic) – Chemotherapy

§  4B, 4A, 4G, 2G (Telemetry) – ACLS

§  L&D, OB/OR – NRP, C-EFM w/in 3 years

§  Family Center – NRP

§  NICU – NRP

§  ICU – ACLS

§  Peds/Peds ED – PALS

§  OR – ACLS

§  Cath Lab – ACLS

§  PACU – ACLS

§  ENDO – ACLS

§  Pre-Op – ACLS

§  Emergency Dept – ACLS, PALS, Base Station

Patient Contact

Must demonstrate and maintain current knowledge and skills in providing appropriate care/contact for patients in the following age groups * This would be based on designated patient population for each nursing department.

•             X          Neonate (0 thru 30 days)
•             X          Infant (31 thru 12 months)
•             X          Child (13 months thru 12 years)
•             X          Adolescent (13 years thru 17 years)
•             X          Adult (18 years thru 65 years)
•             X          Geriatric (66+ years)    

 Physical Demands:

Medium-Heavy Work – Lifting up to 100 pounds on an infrequent basis (less than one lift every three minutes) and/or carrying up to 50 pounds while walking.  Pushing or pulling up to 115 pounds infrequently or greater than 115 pounds occasionally (no more than once per hour).

 Ergonomic Risk Factors:

Repetition:  Repeating the same motion over and over again places stress on the muscles and tendons.  The severity of risk depends on how often the action is repeated, the speed of the movement, the required force and muscles involved.

Forceful Exertion:  The amount of physical effort required to perform a task (such as moving patients) or to maintain control of equipment or tools.  The amount of force depends on the type of grip, the weight of an object or person, body posture, the type of activity and the duration of the task.

Awkward Posture:  Posture is the position your body is in and its effect on the muscle groups that are involved in the physical activity.  Awkward postures include repeated or prolonged reaching, twisting, bending, kneeling, squatting, working overhead with your hands or arms, or holding fixed positions.

Contact Stress:  Pressing the body hard on sharp edges can result in placing too much pressure on nerves, tendons, and blood vessels.  For example, using the palm of your hand to hit or stick objects can increase risk of musculoskeletal disorders.

Working Conditions: 

1. Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Risk:   Category A – WILL have exposure to blood or body fluids. Exposure to infectious diseases, hazardous materials and highly technical and heavy equipment. 

Schedule:

Monday- Friday (3) 12hr shifts/week, holiday's assigned

Reporting Relationship:

Reports to Department Manager.  Also receives supervision from Director or Hospital Supervisor.  

Disclaimer:

The content of this document reflects the general duties, responsibilities, minimum skills, abilities and competencies necessary to perform the essential functions of the job and should not be considered as an exhaustive detailed description of all the work requirements of the position.

Caring for you as you care for the CommUNITY
Frederick Health offers a comprehensive and affordable benefits package. Health, Dental and Vision insurance are offered the 1st of the month after 30 days of employment to all employees hired to work at least 20 hours per week and we offer multiple plans to best meet your and your family's needs. Life insurance, Short-Term Income Replacement and Long-Term Disability are employer paid for eligible employees. Frederick Health offers a robust Paid Time Off program for eligible employees. Our 403B retirement plan helps you save for your retirement and includes an employer match to eligible employees. All employees have access to free financial planning sessions. We also offer an educational assistance program to support your education goals as well as an employer paid Employee Assistance Program.

Pay is based on experience, skills and education.   If position is part-time, salary will be pro-rated based on scheduled hours.  The pay range may also vary within the stated range based on specialty if applicable. Non-Exempt positions may have shift differential and/or Overtime paid, if applicable. 

Pay range: Hourly rate $36.07 Min -$55.17 Max