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Case Study: Nielsen Group Supplies Birch Bay Nursing Director
Residents of Birch Bay Village live on Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor, Maine. The seaside homes making up Birch Bay Village consist of 16 traditional assisted living units, 16 secure memory loss units, 23 independent living units and 20 independent cottages. The nursing staff is guided in their care by physicians practicing nearby at Mount Desert Island Hospital, the facility that operates Birch Bay Village. When the administration needed a competent, experienced director of nursing for an interim position, Executive Director Debra Heffernan turned to Nielsen Healthcare Group. "This opening arose very quickly and Nielsen was able to respond very quickly," Dr. Heffernan said. "We could not leave this position unfilled. We were able to review the resumes of very qualified people, someone who would pick up the continuity of the position." Of the candidates offered, Birch Bay selected one with 12 years' experience as director of nursing in a long-term care facility. She had managed both assisted living facilities and secure Alzheimer's care units, and had brought several facilities through successful JCAHO surveys. The interim director of nursing "sized up the situation very quickly," said Dr. Heffernan. "She undertook service improvements and was really good at enlisting the aid of the staff. She did a great job." It is crucial that the physicians have confidence in the nursing staff, Dr. Heffernan said. "Medical care for our residents has to be coordinated with their physicians. (The interim director) established a really good relationship with our medical staff." Searching for, recruiting and hiring a regular manager for a position such as director of nursing is a process requiring time and great care. Health care facilities from shore to shore have come to depend upon Nielsen Healthcare Group, a pioneer and leader in the industry, to supply interim executives and managers. Finding the perfect fit is what Nielsen does best. Within days of Dr. Heffernan's call to NHG, credentials of two very qualified candidates were presented for consideration. As always, candidate credentials are pre-screened by Nielsen. The requesting facility selects the candidate, conducts interviews, negotiates compensation and arrives at an agreement. Nielsen receives a percentage based on the annualized compensation as payment for a successful placement. In this case, the interim director served until the regular director of nursing began her duties four and a half months later. At Birch Bay Village, said Dr. Heffernan, "You have to like long, quiet winters." Thanks to Nielsen Healthcare Group, residents of Birch Bay Village had a tried-and-true leader to guide their nurses through one of those long winters. Thanks to a contractual agreement between the Maine Hospital Association's Associated Health Resources and NHG, members are eligible for an 8% discount on this service.
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