Director of Nursing

Position Summary:

The Director of Nursing provides strategic and operational leadership for the Portage County Health District’s clinical and public health nursing programs and services. This role guides programs focused on disease prevention, immunization services, communicable disease investigation and response, and community outreach efforts that improve health outcomes across the county.

The Director oversees nursing staff, immunization and vaccine operations, communicable disease response, and community-based nursing services while ensuring compliance with public health regulations and privacy laws. In collaboration with agency leadership and community partners, the Director advances data-informed population health strategies, supports emergency preparedness efforts, and works to improve equitable access to preventive and community-based nursing services throughout Portage County.

Job Description:

• Develop, implement, and enforce nursing policies to ensure legal compliance and high-quality standards, including oversight of staff training related to bloodborne pathogens, PPE, and immunizations.

• Provide leadership and direct supervision to Public Health Nurses and assigned staff, including hiring recommendations, onboarding, performance evaluation, coaching, scheduling, professional development, and disciplinary actions, while fostering a collaborative, high-performing clinical team aligned with agency goals.

• Direct and oversee all immunization and vaccine programs, including inventory management, storage and handling compliance, Vaccines for Children (VFC) requirements, clinic operations, staff training, and reporting to state and federal systems to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant vaccine delivery.

• Direct and coordinate nursing and clinical services, including communicable disease investigations, animal bite investigations, immunization clinics, adult and child health clinics, and other assigned nursing programs.

• Lead communicable disease outbreak response and public health investigations, providing strategic and operational oversight of investigations, case management, reporting compliance, and coordination with the Ohio Department of Health, healthcare partners, and internal response teams.

• Plan, evaluate, and expand community-based nursing services, identifying emerging community health needs, developing new initiatives, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring equitable access to public health nursing services across Portage County.

• Serve as the agency’s HIPAA Privacy Officer, ensuring compliance with federal and state privacy laws, overseeing privacy policies and training, investigating potential breaches, and implementing corrective actions to safeguard protected health information.

• Serve as the designated and primary after-hours public health contact for the agency emergency phone line. Respond to reports of public health emergencies and Class A communicable diseases received through the dedicated emergency line (330) 296-9919 x159.

• Support and contribute to Portage County Health District initiatives and public health nursing services, including program implementation, compliance, and reporting as applicable.

• Collaborate with the Community Health and Environmental Health Divisions in the planning, development, and implementation of population health services and initiatives.

• Participate in Board of Health meetings and leadership briefings as needed, preparing and presenting reports, program updates, and recommendations related to nursing services, clinical operations, and public health priorities.

• Serve in leadership roles supporting emergency preparedness, communicable disease response, and agency accreditation initiatives.

• Act as a public health liaison to community boards, advisory councils, coalitions, and committees to strengthen partnerships and improve population health outcomes.

• Perform other duties as assigned. This job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities may change based on organizational needs.

Organizational Duties:

• Participate in quality improvement team projects and quality improvement training initiatives as applicable/ required and incorporate the principles of quality improvement into daily work activities.
• Participate in public health emergency response activities as needed, including roles within the Incident Command System/National Incident Management System.
• All health district employees have an emergency response role and may be expected to respond to threats to the public’s health in accordance with the Portage County Combined General Health District Emergency Response Plan.
• Attend and participate in agency-sponsored training, events, and activities.
• Gather and organize documents to fulfill public records requests and other reporting obligations.
• Participate in organizational activities that support and enhance agency accreditation.
• Maintain reasonable and reliable attendance to meet organizational needs and objectives.
• Implement performance management and evidenced-based practice evaluations of mandated and non-mandated programs.

• Provide and support opportunities for reporting staff to participate in quality improvement team projects and quality improvement training initiatives and ensure incorporation of the principles of quality improvement into their daily work activities.