Director, Hospital & Patient Services (Remote)

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

• Supports FMCNA's mission, vision, core values and customer service philosophy.  Adheres to the FMCNA Compliance Program, including following all regulatory and FMS policy requirements.
• Directs the strategic initiatives relative to the market development activities of Hospital Services Specialists (HSS) and Renal Travel Consultants (RTC).
• Collaborates with Sr. Director, Hospital & Patient Services, Divisional Vice-President, Operations Support, Market Development and appropriate operations management team to establish the target markets for service expansion and product offerings in terms of marketing of admissions services to hospitals and other referral sources.
• Ensures seamless integration of division and corporate growth goals. 
• Transfers field knowledge and geographic characteristics to the Central Admissions Office and works with the Director of CAO to ensure the marketing and admissions practices are supportive of one another. 
• Develops the skill set of the Manager of Hospital & Patient Services staff through educational offerings; mentoring and guidance.
• Ensures compliance of staff to company policy and procedures; and state and federal regulations governing the activities associated with the marketing of healthcare services.

DUTIES / ACTIVITIES:

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

• Responsible for driving the FMS culture through values and customer service standards.
• Accountable for outstanding customer service to all external and internal customers.
• Develops and maintains effective relationships through effective and timely communication.
• Takes initiative and action to respond, resolve and follow up regarding customer service issues with all customers in a timely manner.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborates with the Senior Director, HPS to develop and execute the strategic direction for the HPS organization within the division. Develops and executes the marketing plan for the Hospital Service Specialists (HSS) or Renal Travel Consultants (RTC) to support division operations and achieve growth.
• Contributes to the achievement of division and company goals by collaborating with internal business partners to target key markets for Hospital Services Specialist and Renal Travel Consultant presence and by building relationships with referral sources.
• Provides direction and oversight of marketing activities which include, but are not limited to: assessing Manager, HPS performance in conveying the admission and therapy services available through the company to service pre-ESRD and chronic renal disease patients; recommending service offerings within markets as they relate to patient services (RTC/HSS) based on current and anticipated market need; recommending areas for expansion of TOPS programs; and providing direction to Manager, HPS and their teams in creation of service metrics for acute care facilities in reduction of length and number of hospital stays. 
• Collaborates with Senior Director, Hospital & Patient Services, VPs Operations Support and the Director of CAO to develop, implement and update HSS/RTC standard operating procedures and policies. 
• Oversees the monitoring and evaluation of operational policies and procedures including setting goals, standards and benchmarks to evaluate staff performance, and employee and customer satisfaction through satisfaction surveys; surveillance and metric reporting; trending of market penetration with reference to admissions services in hospitals and other areas within the community. 
• Monitors and evaluates Manager, HPS activities to include:
• Provides informal feedback throughout the year through scheduled observation visits made by the Director with the Manager, HPS and the HSS/RTC where the Director critiques the Manager, HPS performance in relation to the coaching and feedback for the HSS/RTC.  Formal feedback is provided through the annual performance appraisal process. 
• Manages the department staffing through the appropriate hiring, firing and disciplinary actions.
• Coordinates with the Director of CAO to hold monthly or bi-weekly meetings between HSS/RTC and the CAO staff to review strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs).  Implements appropriate actions to improve operational processes related to the admissions process. Target areas for process improvement include integration of specific requirements of physician practices or other referral entities; on-boarding of new facilities and/or physicians or their office staff to the admissions process; discussions of specific marketing initiatives impacting the admission process of the CAO; new service initiatives, such as the expansion of therapies (e.g. nocturnal, home, etc.) within geographic areas; interventions or outreach needed for tenuous relationships.  
• Together with the Director of CAO, ensures a strong communication process between PICs and HSS/RTC, facility and other support staff who participate in the patient placement and admissions process.
• Reviews evaluation benchmarks with Managers, HPS and operational staff to ensure performance achieves business initiatives. Benchmarking metrics in terms of high growth areas, over and underperforming areas, etc. will be discussed with operations management; CAO management and Manager, HPS to develop strategies to optimize business performance.
• Utilizes formal customer satisfaction surveys and informal customer feedback to coach staff and improve systems and processes.
• Responsible for growing the business by taking proactive steps in the development of programs to market admissions office services to all staff in existing and new dialysis clinics and outside/non affiliated physicians. Educates physicians and other referral sources about the patient intake and admission processes. Leads the department in the role as liaison between staff and physicians.
• Ensures staff adheres to and follows established policies and procedures and government regulations regarding the handling of patient and confidential information, data collection, auditing activities and other regulatory issues.
• Oversees the orientation, training and coaching of new Managers, HPS and HSS/RTC, as well as existing staff to ensure goals and objectives are met. Develops Manager, HPS and HSS/RTC skill set related to relationships with both internal and external customers through initial experiential training involving multi-departments throughout the organization; monthly web-exes; periodic ride-alongs and bi-annual in-person educational programs.
• Ensures the operations of the Hospital & Patient Services marketing functions meet policy and procedure performance metrics, quality improvement program standards, and the requirements of laws and regulations and standards of FMCNA 
• Manages departmental workflow procedures and service levels.  Utilizes the database to evaluate HSS/RTC work progress and conducts ongoing analyses and assessments of operational performance for continuous systems and process improvements, improved efficiency, and improved customer satisfaction.  Implements communication procedures, systems and technology as appropriate to improve efficiency, accuracy and consistency in operations including ensuring quality and maintenance of databases related to HSS/RTC work tracking.
• Together with the Director of CAO, implements processes to drive and facilitate teamwork between the HSS/RTC, CAO and internal and external customers within the division such as implementing scenarios where HSS/RTC and some of the referral source staff rotate through the CAO to acclimatize them to the admissions process and their contributions to enhance operations.
• May intercede in complex situations such as if the patient is a foreign national, or non-insured patient, or patient with a complicated medical history to gather information to provide to other divisional operations departments such as billing groups, and managed care, to expedite and assist with the admissions process.  Follows up with the pertinent party, as needed.
• Maintains current knowledge regarding industry best practices.  Evaluates, identifies, and recommends systems and practices that would enhance and improve marketing of the FMS admissions process and processes to expand market presence within the division. Implements as appropriate.
• Manages operational resources and correlates to production activity and budget-to-actual results ensuring budget is maintained concerning systems, FTEs and hours worked.
• Establishes interdepartmental referral source visits, as necessary, and recruits appropriate operational and market development resources for staff training (e.g. HSS/RTC collaboration with RVP, DO, AM and Directors of Market Development).
• Other duties as assigned.
• Additional responsibilities may include focus on one or more departments or locations.  See applicable addendum for department or location specific functions.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare, Marketing or Business related field

Advanced education preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND REQUIRED SKILLS:

• 5 years of directly related sales /customer service management experience, preferably in health care environment.
• 5 years related experience in a multi-facility environment, finance or  accounting.
• Demonstrated management and leadership competencies and skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills – Must be able to communicate with all levels of personnel, including physician relationships.
• Excellent skills in customer service, continuous quality improvement, relationship development, results orientation, team building, motivating employees, and decision-making.
• Must have working knowledge of the reimbursement and insurance verification process.
• A fundamental knowledge of managed care a plus.
• Must complete the required compliance and FMCNA orientation and training modules and attend ongoing training and development programs within the specified time line.
• Computer proficiencies: Microsoft Excel and/or Access, PowerPoint, Word, Tabit software a plus.
• Demonstrated skills in diversity management and performance management.
• Approximately 30% travel required.

EO/AA Employer: Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

Fresenius Medical Care North America maintains a drug-free workplace in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.