Site Access Coordinator

Why Fraser Health?:
Fraser Health is responsible for the delivery of hospital and community-based health services to over 1.9 million people in 20 diverse communities from Burnaby to Fraser Canyon on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations.

Our team of 43,000 staff, medical staff and volunteers is dedicated to serving our patients, families and communities to deliver on our vision: Better health, best in health care.

Effective October 26, 2021 all new hires to Fraser Health will need to have full COVID 19 vaccination (have received a full series of a World Health Organization “WHO” approved vaccine against infection by SARS-COV-2, or a combination of approved WHO vaccines). Please note this applies to all postings, and individual medical exemptions must be approved by the Provincial Health Officer.

Detailed Overview:
The Site Access Coordinator is responsible for managing the effective utilization of hospital resources by coordinating the efficient and timely patient placement and bed utilization on site and at designated Fraser Health (FH) acute sites in collaboration with the Patient Transfer Network (PTN); implements appropriate policies and procedures and provide guidance to health care teams regarding patient access and community transitions.

During afterhours, coordinates and monitors patient services by providing guidance and direction for quality patient care and effective resource management when the service/network leaders are unavailable. Coordinates staffing requirements, supervises staff, adjusts assignments, identifies patient care issues and determines solutions. Represents management in dealing with issues pertaining to patients, families or community partners.

**Responsibilities**:

- Facilitates timely patient placement at acute site and designated FH sites; coordinates patient placement activities by assessing current and projected capacity, prioritizing and expediting critical issues requiring immediate action; leads daily bed meeting with Patient Care Coordinators and site leadership.
- Consults with Patient Transfer Network (PTN), Community Resources as required to identify appropriate care for patients by developing and maintaining an understanding of available services at external health care facilities and agencies, determining appropriate contacts, and transfers and discusses bed availability and resources on a patient to patient basis.
- Coordinates acute site transfer planning including arranging patient/resident/client (P/R/C) and/or equipment transfers, both external and internal; identifies and reports potential discharges, associated issues and communicates to Manager.
- Supervises and coordinates clinical staff by providing work direction and making clinical and operational decisions after hours when the service leaders/managers are unavailable; coordinates the use of equipment and other resources.
- Acts as a clinical resource for nursing staff and provides clinical guidance in patient placement and flow and bed utilization and interpretation of administrative policies when there is difficulty in accessing resources for patient care; assists Bed Booking staff in allocating beds, interfacing with nursing units and services and notifying the Manager of actual or potential problems and follow up.
- Serves as a role model and clinical resource for nursing staff by demonstrating clinical expertise, providing clinical guidance and sharing expertise; mentors staff and facilitates problem solving with regard to clinical practice. Develops and recommends changes to current patient access and flow policies and procedures and drafts new and/or revised procedures, standards and criteria in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team to optimize timely bed access and appropriate patient placement.
- Analyzes statistics and trends (e.g. ALC, ALOS/ELOS, 10 hour rule, Acute Dashboard) at the assigned site and identifies and participates in strategies to best manage the designated patient populations; works with clerical support staff on maintaining a database for acute bed availability to achieve optimal bed utilization and ensure patient information is efficiently managed.
- Investigates incidents such as injury to patients and staff injuries in accordance with the applicable (e.g. Occupational Health & Safety) established policies and procedures and quality improvement protocols, completing documentation and forwarding to applicable Manager.
- Confers with physicians, families and departments within the acute site on questions related to nursing practice and Hospital policy and refers unresolved issues to the Manager for follow-up.
- Monitors the quality of nursing practice and the safety of patient environment through observation and assessment, including infection control issues; identifies and promotes quality improvement opportunities and activities; communicates to Manager observations of a clinical or operational nature requiring follow-u