Primary Care Triage RN | Patient Contact Center | Full Time

Concord Hospital is agreeably an acute care regional hospital serving central New Hampshire. The hospital has some 300 licensed beds, admits more than 18,000 patients each year, and offers centers for cardiology, orthopedics, cancer care, urology, and women's health. Concord Hospital also operates other medical facilities in the region, including surgery, imaging, sleep diagnostic, and rehabilitation facilities, and its affiliated physician groups operate family health and physician practice offices. With roots reaching back to 1884, Concord Hospital is an affiliate of Capital Region Health Care, which also offers mental health and home health care services. As part of Capital Region Health Care, Concord Hospital shares education, purchasing, and outpatient service functions (and expenses) with its affiliates, while retaining its independence. In 2011 Concord Hospital formed another collaborative network, the Granite Healthcare Network, with four regional New Hampshire health care providers: Elliot Health System (which operates the Elliot Hospital), LRGHealthcare (consisting of Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Regional Hospital), Southern New Hampshire Health System (operating the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center), and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. To help control the spiraling costs of medical care in the US, as well as to meet health reform mandates, the affiliated facilities are launching programs to share technology and administrative resources, such as claims management software, data storage, linen service, liability insurance pooling, and Medicare patient management. The hospitals in the newly formed network will remain independently managed and owned and have the option to participate or not participate in each of the group efforts. With annual operating revenues of some $480 million, Concord Hospital spends about $37 million annually on community care efforts, including charity medical care for low-income and uninsured patients. The medical center has also launched initiatives to improve quality and patient safety programs, including putting infection reduction protocols in place, consolidating electronic health record (EHR) consolidation efforts, and enacting medication management practices. After a financially challenging year in 2010 (due to changes in state tax regulations for hospitals), Concord Hospital's cost-control and improvement efforts helped increase profits to some $27 million in 2011 (up more than 80% from 2010).

The Nurse Triage Team plays a vital role in providing acute clinical support by assessing patient symptoms and determining appropriate care pathways. Working closely with Contact Center Agents, who serve as an extension of medical group practices, triage nurses evaluate patient concerns using ClearTriage and evidence-based clinical protocols. Utilizing critical thinking skills and sound clinical judgment, nurses provide timely and accurate medical advice, ensuring patients receive the appropriate guidance for their health concerns. Key responsibilities include: Conducting in-depth assessments of patient symptoms. Providing medical guidance based on established clinical protocols. Handling high volumes of calls and electronic communications efficiently. Ensuring patient confidentiality and adherence to privacy regulations.

Establishes priorities in organizing daily activities and maintains efficient patient flow. Triages patient phone calls following established guidelines and prescribed format for identifying patient's health problems or concerns, and providing quality patient care. Administers prescribed medications. Provides education to patients in response to identified patient needs. Documents health information, interventions, and outcomes into the patient electronic medical record. Delegates patient care activities using the five rights: right task, person, direction, circumstance, and supervision (ensuring the task has been completed satisfactorily and documentation is complete) and providing feedback to delegatee and manager. Applies principles of purposeful, organized thinking based on the nursing process to make sound clinical judgment and decisions. Completes practice specific clinical skill competencies on an annual basis.