Primary Location:

Peace - Louisville

Address:

2020 Newburg Rd. Louisville, KY 40205

Shift:

First Shift (United States of America)

Job Description Summary:

UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 200 physician practice locations, more than 700 providers, the Frazier Rehab Institute and Brown Cancer Center.
With more than 12,000 team members—physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly skilled health care professionals—UofL Health is focused on one mission: delivering patient-centered care to each and every patient each and every day.

Job Description:

Director of Nursing – Inpatient Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health

Position Summary

The Director of Nursing (DON) for Inpatient Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health is responsible for the overall clinical, operational, and administrative leadership of nursing services within a 24/7 inpatient psychiatric hospital setting. This role ensures the delivery of safe, high-quality, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate care for children and adolescents with acute behavioral health needs. The DON drives clinical excellence, regulatory compliance, staff development, and patient safety in a high-acuity environment.

Key Responsibilities

Operational & Nursing Leadership

• Provide 24/7 leadership and oversight of inpatient psychiatric nursing operations.
• Direct and coordinate all nursing services across child and adolescent inpatient units.
• Ensure appropriate staffing models, acuity-based assignments, and workforce planning.
• Serve as a key member of the hospital leadership team, contributing to operational strategy and program growth.
• Develop and enforce policies, procedures, and clinical protocols specific to inpatient behavioral health.

Clinical & Patient Care Oversight

• Ensure delivery of evidence-based psychiatric nursing care tailored to pediatric populations.
• Oversee management of high-acuity patients, including those with severe behavioral dysregulation, suicidality, aggressive behaviors, and trauma histories.
• Ensure best practices for:
  • Milieu management
  • De-escalation and crisis intervention
  • Suicide prevention protocols
  • Use of restraints and seclusion (reduction initiatives)
• Oversee safe medication administration, including psychotropic medication monitoring.
• Partner with psychiatrists and interdisciplinary teams on treatment planning and outcomes.

Safety & Risk Management

• Promote a culture of safety focused on:
  • Reduction of incidents (self-harm, aggression, elopement)
  • Safe patient handling and crisis response
• Lead root cause analyses (RCA) and implement corrective action plans.
• Monitor and reduce restrictive interventions in alignment with regulatory standards.
• Ensure staff competency in CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) or equivalent.

Regulatory Compliance & Accreditation

• Ensure compliance with:
  • Joint Commission Behavioral Health standards
  • CMS Conditions of Participation
  • State psychiatric hospital licensure requirements
• Lead survey readiness and manage regulatory audits/inspections.
• Oversee policy updates related to patient rights, restraint/seclusion, and documentation standards.

Staff Leadership & Workforce Development

• Recruit, hire, and retain skilled behavioral health nursing staff and mental health technicians.
• Provide leadership oversight to Nurse Managers.
• Implement structured onboarding and competency validation programs for inpatient psychiatric care.
• Lead ongoing staff education on:
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Pediatric behavioral health
  • Crisis intervention and safety practices
• Build a culture of accountability, engagement, and resilience (reducing burnout and turnover).

Quality Improvement & Performance Management

• Monitor and improve key clinical and operational metrics, including:
  • Restraint/seclusion rates
  • Patient safety incidents
  • Medication errors
  • Staff injuries
  • Patient satisfaction and outcomes
• Lead performance improvement initiatives using data-driven approaches.
• Participate in hospital committees.

Family & Patient Engagement

• Ensure care models support family involvement and communication.
• Promote developmentally appropriate, culturally competent, and patient-centered care.
• Address grievances and participate in service recovery processes.

Financial & Resource Management

• Develop and manage departmental budgets and staffing targets.
• Monitor labor utilization, overtime, and productivity benchmarks.
• Ensure efficient use of resources while maintaining safe staffing levels.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required
• Master’s degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, or related field preferred

Licensure & Certifications

• Active Registered Nurse (RN) license
• Basic Life Support (BLS) required
• Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC)  preferred

Experience

• Minimum 4 years of nursing experience, including inpatient psychiatric care
• Minimum 2 years of progressive leadership in behavioral health (manager or above)
• Direct experience in child/adolescent inpatient behavioral health strongly preferred
• Experience managing high-acuity psychiatric populations and crisis environments required

Key Competencies

• Expertise in inpatient psychiatric nursing operations
• Strong knowledge of behavioral health regulations and accreditation standards
• Advanced crisis management and de-escalation leadership
• Ability to lead in high-stress, high-acuity environments
• Excellent communication and interdisciplinary collaboration skills
• Data-driven decision-making and performance improvement capability

Work Environment

• 24/7 inpatient psychiatric hospital setting
• High-acuity behavioral health units with potential exposure to aggressive or self-harming behaviors
• Requires availability for off-hours, on-call coverage, and emergency response

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Reduction in restraint/seclusion utilization
• Patient and staff safety incident rates
• Staff turnover and engagement scores
• Regulatory survey outcomes
• Quality and clinical outcome metrics

Additional Job Description:

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Required).
• Master’s Degree in Nursing, Administration, Education or other Leadership field from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Preferred).

• If Master’s Degree in other discipline outside of Nursing, then Bachelor Degree in Nursing from an accredited/approved school of nursing.
• Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from an accredited/approved school of nursing (Preferred).

Experience:

• A minimum of four (4) years related professional experience, including two (2) years in a leadership level in a matrix management organization. (Required) A portfolio of increasing responsibility will be considered in lieu of traditional management history.

• Proven ability to direct and/or facilitate the work effort of peers and subordinates through teamwork and team building (Required)

• Proven ability to work collaboratively and effectively communicate with physicians, hospital staff, educational institution representatives and other professionals (Required)

Licensure: Active Kentucky Registered Nurse License or compact license with privileges to work in Kentucky (Required).

Certification:

• Basic Life Support (BLS) accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA) (Required)
• National Nursing Certification in Field of Specialty obtained if not held at time of hire (Preferred)