Patient Flow Coordinator

Patient Flow Coordinator

Mercy Ships is an international charity that brings hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor through state-of-the-art hospital ships. Since 1978, our volunteer crew—made up of medical professionals and skilled workers from over 60 nations—has delivered free surgeries and medical care to over 2.8 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, transforming lives one patient and one port at a time. Join our global team of over 3,000 volunteers and help us change lives daily.

About this role

The Patient Flow Coordinator will provide operational oversight of patient flow across the hospital, ensuring safe, efficient and timely movement of patients. This role provides operational oversight of bed utilization, surgical scheduling capacity, admissions, transfers, and discharges to ensure efficient use of hospital resources.

Working collaboratively with clinical and operational leaders, the Patient Flow Coordinator serves as the central coordinator for ward capacity management, ensuring that patients move safely and efficiently through the care pathway from admission through discharge. The role identifies barriers to patient flow, recommends solutions, and supports hospital leadership.

What you will contribute

Surgical Schedule Operationalization

• Utilize established framework and patient flow processes to ensure efficient progression of patients throughout the surgical journey.
• Collaborate with Patient Flow team and appropriate Clinical Supervisors to identify and resolve scheduling conflicts.
• Monitor surgical throughput and bed availability to ensure alignment between planned procedures, staffing resources, and available bed resources.
• Anticipate capacity challenges and recommend schedule adjustments, when necessary.

Bed Capacity Management

• Maintain oversight of all ward bed allocation, utilization, and patient placement activities.
• Monitor daily bed occupancy and capacity metrics.
• Ensure appropriate ward bed availability to support scheduled surgeries.
• Track patient transfers between units.
• Maintain real-time awareness of hospital census and projected bed demand.

Patient Flow Coordination

• Work closely with Ward Managers or their delegate to facilitate bed occupancy acuity.
• Collaborate with Preoperative Managers or their delegate to ensure an adequate number of surgical patients.
• Track patient movement between the HOPE Center, preoperative, wards, and operating rooms.
• Identify barriers that may delay patient flow and facilitate timely resolution.
• In conjunction with the Hospital Director, facilitate regular patient flow meetings with key stakeholders.

Data Analysis and Performance Improvement

• Monitor key patient flow indicators, for example: bed occupancy rates, surgical schedule utilization, admission and discharge timeliness, length of stay.
• Analyze trends and root causes contributing to inefficiencies in patient flow.
• Prepare reports and recommendations to Hospital Leadership and off-ship DMS Directors.
• Collaboration with the Quality Department in improvement initiatives.
• Support the development and implementation of patient flow policies and procedures.
• Communication and Stakeholder Engagement:
• Maintain effective communication with all departments involved in patient flow and capacity.
• Provide daily updates regarding hospital census, bed availability, and anticipated capacity concerns.
• Escalate operational risks and capacity challenges to the Hospital Director as appropriate.
• Foster collaborative relationships that support patient care and organizational objectives.

For This Role, You Will Need

• Strong communication and leadership abilities
• Demonstrate experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrate flexibility and sensitivity to cultural and language diversity.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Strong understanding of hospital operations and patient flow principles.
• Knowledge of surgical services and inpatient care processes.
• Fluent in written and spoken English language
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Competent with Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and Outlook
• Ability to analyze operational data and develop practical solutions.
• Supportive of Mercy Ships mission and vision and committed to its core values.
• Adherence to the Mercy Ships Code of Conduct.
• Attend and participate in all official community/departmental meetings and team meetings/devotionals.
• Achieves a high level of trust in relationships, respects others, is open and honest, and admits mistakes.
• Works cooperatively and actively engages with others by sharing responsibilities and information.
• Develops rapport with Team Members and maintains positive working relationships through clear and effective communication.
• Alumni Mercy Ships required
• Registered Nurse or Allied Healthcare Professional with active license in home country
• Additional education in healthcare management, operations, or leadership preferred.
• Commitments of 12 months or more require successful completion of On Boarding program