Team Leader, Transfer Center

Team Leader, Transfer Center

Cayuga Health and its affiliates are the region's leading healthcare system and most trusted providers of integrated health services, empowering our people in our mission to equitably improve the well-being of the communities we serve. Our commitment to providing extraordinary healthcare begins with our team of extraordinary professionals who are continuously discovering clinical innovations and enhancing access to the most up-to-date facilities, equipment, technologies, and research protocols. Cayuga Health's commitment to our employees includes competitive compensation, comprehensive employee benefits programs, and the opportunity to explore and build a career in healthcare through our many professional development programs. 

Summary: The Transfer Center Team Leader supervises the daily activities of the Cayuga Health System Transfer Center (CHSTC) and its Associates. They are a key frontline leadership component of the Clinical Operations Office, and report directly to the Director of Clinical Operations. As a working Supervisor, they function alongside their teams to utilize strong interpersonal communication skills to facilitate patient acceptance and hospital to hospital transfers. They collaborate with Registered Nurses, physicians, hospital/medical office staff, Administrative Supervisors, and EMS agencies to manage incoming and outgoing patient transfer requests. For patients departing an in-system facility, they facilitate appropriate inter-facility transportation resources, and for all patient transfers, they ensure required documents are present and complete. They also utilize their organization skills to capture patient demographic information, pertinent clinical data, financial and payer information, and all transfer request events in the patient's electronic medical record.

Roles and Responsibilities: (Tasks)

• Establishes and maintains trusting and professional relationships with referring parties by providing excellent customer service. 
• Utilizes empathy and compassion to fully understand a referring party's needs, remaining aware they are seeking help for a patient they are not resourced to care for
• Completes all daily assignments in the Transfer Center; ensures all requests triaged & prioritized 
• Coordinates transfers from external facilities for ED to ED, ED to inpatient, and inpatient to inpatient; ensures legal requirements & proper level of care is maintained
• Secures clinical information for all transfer requests from external facilities to ensure the inbound facility has the capacity & capability of meeting the patient's medical needs 
• Collaborates with appropriate Administrative Supervisor & Patient Access teams to ensure the patient has a proper bed assignment & initiated registration before transfer occurs
• Ensures adherence to EMTALA laws, CMC guidelines & all hospital policies and procedures for patient transfers are followed to avoid regulatory, compliance, or legal issues
• Ensures strict documentation of each transfer request; captures patient demographics, reason for transfer, referring facility, referring physician, accepting physician, & payer information in the electronic medical record
• Collaborates with Physicians and Nurses at both the transferring and receiving facility to facilitate a telephonic hand-off report prior to the transfer
• Secures authorization from payer for the transfer (as warranted)
• Coordinates patient ground/air transport for all outgoing health system transfers
• Collaborates frequently with emergency departments & Administrative Supervisors to ensure bed boards are updated & departments are aware of admissions/transfers
• Collaborates & troubleshoots issues with bed availability, patient needs, & resource allocation with the Administrative Supervisor, Clinical Managers, & Transfer Center Medical Director as needed
• Keeps sending & receiving providers aware of changing information that may impact the bed request, pick-up or arrival time, or resources needed upon the patient's arrival
• Maintain TC electronic schedule
• Maintain and publish monthly and annual CHSTC statistics & dashboard
• Assists Director with TC standard work, SOPs, and policy revision
• Assists Director with Quality Assurance review of call center activity
• Assists Director with performance management process for TC Associates

Required Skills and Experience:

• High School diploma (or equivalent)
• Basic Life Support (CPR) Certification
• 2-3 years of front-line healthcare experience in an acute care hospital, medical office, emergency services or call center
• Ability to work independently & systematically in high-stress environments
• Possess the ability to speak up when uncomfortable; confidence to halt a dysfunctional process & prevent procedural errors
• Strong computer keyboarding skills; ability to communicate on the phone while dictating details of the conversation simultaneously
• organizational and time management skills
• Ability to understand and apply EMTALA law and CMS guidelines to ensure compliance
• Formal customer service representative experience
• Strong verbal & written communication skills; ability to establish professional relationships
• Ability to document clearly and accurately in an electronic medical record to ensure accurate record keeping & reporting
• Previous knowledge or ability to learn payer authorization processes
• Strong interpersonal communication & teamwork skills

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• 911 Dispatcher experience; call-center experience
• Working knowledge of medical terminology
• Call center experience

Physical Requirements: Repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., Use of computer keyboard); may require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 40 pounds), including boxes, equipment, IV solutions and stooping and kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, to remove and replace items on lower shelves and to file documents in lower file drawers); sitting, walking, or standing for long periods of time may be necessary; must be able physically to operate the equipment used for the job.

Location and Travel Requirements:

• Onsite at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY to begin program
• Future site planned in Montour Falls, NY
• Opportunity to work from home after 1 year being considered

Cayuga Health System and its affiliates are committed to treating all patients, providers, staff and volunteers equitably and with dignity, ensuring the highest levels of safety, care and respect, and striving to recognize and overcome biases and policies that contribute to disparities in healthcare access, equitable care and positive health outcomes for all.

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, supporting the growth and health of our employees and community by embracing the rich diversity, needs and circumstances of all peoples and prioritizing opportunities to build a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable protected characteristics.

If you require reasonable accommodation to complete a job application, pre-employment testing, and a job interview, or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact the Cayuga Health Talent Acquisition team at talentacquisition@cayugahealth.org.

Current Openings for Team Leader, Transfer Center Jobs at Cayuga Health System