Darren Parks
Sarasota,FL
Summary
To share my expertise and knowledge in a role that allows for excellent patient care, growth of nursing staff, and supports the vision of the organization.
Knowledgeable [Desired Position] with proven history of leading high-performing teams and executing strategic initiatives that drive organizational growth. Successfully directed cross-functional projects that resulted in significant process improvements and operational efficiencies. Demonstrated leadership and communication skills in fostering collaborative environments and delivering impactful results.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Acute Care Services
Community Medical Center
Missoula, MT
05.2024 - 11.2024
- I am currently filling an interim role as the Director of Acute Care Services. In this position, I have direct oversight of daily operations in ICU/Stepdown/Central Monitoring and overseeing two managers- one for Med/Surg and the other for Orthopedics and Inpatient Rehab. These areas encompass 50 beds within a 150-bed facility. Much of this role has involved maintaining acceptable productivity targets, assisting with capital budget development, implementing strategies for staff recruitment/retention, improving patient satisfaction scores, and mentoring the two managers (both new to their roles within the past year). I participated in the facility’s triannual Joint Commission Survey in June with only one minor finding cited across the adult inpatient areas. Additionally, I have maintained my clinical skill set by working as a staff nurse in both the ICU and Med/Surg settings.
Interim Director of Critical Care
Cedar Park Regional Medical Center
Cedar Park, TX
09.2023 - 02.2024
- I served as the interim Director of Critical Care for this 126 bed community hospital. My areas of oversight included Intensive Care, Stepdown, and Inpatient Dialysis. Due to profound staffing challenges, I filled a dual role as both the leader of the service line and as a bedside staff nurse. Patient volumes rivaled those seen during the COVID 19 pandemic with significantly higher acuities than recently seen. Despite these challenges, I was able to work with nurses and medical providers to reduce the number of invasive medical devices and have zero instances of CLABSI or CAUTI. I chaired the Code Blue Committee in this facility; I reviewed all code blue events and presented findings to the medical staff and Quality department. Much emphasis was placed on patient experience and staff satisfaction- I rounded on all patients daily and met with staff frequently to increase satisfaction scores and to help staff obtain the items needed to do their jobs more effectively.
Interim Director
Box Butte General Hospital
Alliance, NE
09.2022 - 06.2023
- I returned to this facility upon request of the executive team to fill an interim leadership opening for the Med/Surg and OB departments. I was responsible for the oversight of daily operations of these departments and assisted with preparation for their upcoming visit from The Joint Commission. At the end of the initial three-month contract, I was asked to extend once again to assist with the implementation of their new EMR software and provided direct clinical support for all staff on nights during the Go-Live. I transitioned to an interim role as the ER manager during the last two months to cover a medical leave. In this portion of the assignment, I continued to provide staff support for the EMR implementation, completed chart audits to ensure charges were captured, and updated several policies. I was also tasked with the oversight of Respiratory Therapy, Electrodiagnostics, and Sleep Study during that time. I worked bedside in both Med/Surg and ER during short staffed and high-volume periods. The facility did not have a nurse educator, so I developed and provided educational in-services on critical care infusions, respiratory equipment/protocols, chest tube management, and CNA training.
Interim MICU Nurse Manager
Wesley Medical Center
Wichita, KS
02.2022 - 08.2022
- Served as the Interim MICU Nurse Manager in a Level 1 Trauma facility licensed for 750 beds. Responsible for daily operations and oversight of approximately 80 FTEs in a 26 bed unit. Wide range of critically ill patients, including COVID-19 patients. Faced significant staffing challenges at this facility and worked numerous shifts as a staff resource nurse. As a for-profit facility, much emphasis was placed on productivity and throughput to meet organizational goals. Successfully completed a Joint Commission tri-annual survey during this assignment. My major accomplishment here- the MICU had zero CLABSI, CAUTI, or VAP during my assignment. In January 2022 alone, the unit had been tagged with 5 CLABSIs and 2 CAUTIs.
Interim Nurse Manager
Bryan Health-West Campus
Lincoln, NE
06.2021 - 12.2021
- Served as the Interim Nurse Manager for a 24 bed Ortho/Trauma med/surg unit. Primary patient population was elective joint replacements as well as traumatic orthopedic injuries. The primary focus of my time here was to build a better team and make the staff feel supported after a long period of no formal leadership. This was accomplished by establishing monthly staff meetings and daily shift huddles. I was highly visible during this assignment, working bedside and making impromptu visits to the unit during nights and weekends.
Interim ICU Nurse Manager
Camden Clark Medical Center
Parkersburg, WV
02.2021 - 05.2021
- This was a repeat facility for me, only this time I filled the position of Interim ICU Nurse Manager at the request of the Director I had previously worked with. I was responsible for the oversight of this 18 bed ICU’s daily operations and about 60 FTEs. This was an extremely challenging assignment as it occurred during one of the worst periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the night shift were novice nurses with less than two years’ experience who struggled with staffing ratios and the mortality they encountered. Much of my time was devoted to being an informal counselor for those nurses.
Interim Nurse Manager
River’s Edge Hospital
St. Peter, MN
02.2020 - 01.2021
- I filled the Interim Nurse Manager role in this 25 bed critical access hospital. The facility’s main driver of business was orthopedic surgery, although we had patients with chronic medical issues and swing bed/rehabilitation needs as well. In addition to daily operations oversight, I assisted the Pharmacy in developing a pain management protocol for the ortho population that was very clear and concise to meet Joint Commission standards. The COVID-19 pandemic was just starting during this assignment, so I also developed education and taught med/surg nurses how to manage critically ill patients. This included critical care infusions and respiratory delivery methods/equipment- this proved to be valuable as we encountered times where we had to “care in place” as there were no ICU beds within the state to transfer to.
Interim ICU Nurse Manager
Camden Clark Medical Center
Parkersburg, WV
07.2019 - 01.2020
- Responsible for the daily oversight of a 30 bed Cardiac/Telemetry floor. This unit was considered to be med/surg by the facility but functioned more as a stepdown floor. Patient population was primarily ACS, cardiac rhythm disturbances, CHF, and pre/post cardiac catheterization. My primary challenges here were staffing (relied heavily on travel RNs) and increasing the bed capacity of the unit from 30 to 40 beds with no capital money. This required me to find telemetry packs to refurbish and place into use, stretch staffing until additional travel RNs could be obtained, and meeting with patients who were unhappy with semi-private rooms.
Consultant/Liaison
ARH Hazard
Hazard, KY
09.2018 - 06.2019
- I worked as a consultant/liaison in this organization for the sister company of Aureus Medical Group, Focus One Solutions (FOS). FOS was the MSP vendor for this hospital and the rest of the ARH system. Hazard had FOS travel RNs filling about 50% of the facility’s workforce. I was asked to be an onsite representative for FOS in Hazard to work between the nursing agencies and the ARH executive team. During my time here, I worked with ARH leadership and HR to develop unit descriptions to better screen candidates and put processes into place to track disciplinary issues and resolve problems to reduce turnover. I also completed phone screenings of all travel applicants before I chose to move the candidate to unit manager interview or declined further pursuit. In this nearly 10 month assignment, I was able to reduce travel RN turnover from 30% to 3% and helped FOS salvage a $30 million contract. Because of my success here, I was able to expand this program to another ARH facility in Beckley, WV in January 2019.
Interim House Supervisor
Tuba City Regional HealthCare Corporation
Tuba City, AZ
08.2017 - 10.2018
- I filled the role of Interim House Supervisor and was responsible for the management of daily operations across the inpatient departments and the Emergency Department for this regional hospital located on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Adjusted staffing across the hospital to meet patient care needs, served as a clinical resource for nursing staff, and managed patient placement/admission needs. Routinely made transport arrangements with outside agencies for patients requiring care at larger tertiary facilities.
Interim CTU/ICU/Inpatient Dialysis Manager
Southeast Health
Cape Girardeau, MO
01.2018 - 07.2018
- Responsible for the daily operations of a 12 bed cardiothoracic unit (CTU), 14 bed medical/surgical intensive care unit (ICU), and inpatient dialysis. Oversight of approximately 60 FTEs among these areas. Areas of focus during this assignment included reduction of travel RN dependence, quality monitoring of ventilator bundles, central line use, and urinary catheter days. Also heavily involved in the implementation of eICU at this facility in conjunction with Avera Health, the introduction of new dialysis equipment for continuous renal replacement therapy, and assisted with the implementation of Omnicell medication delivery cabinets. Occasionally provided direct patient care in times of need.
Interim Inpatient Nurse Manager
Box Butte General Hospital
Alliance, NE
07.2016 - 06.2017
- As the Interim Inpatient Nurse Manager, I held responsibility for the oversight of approximately 45 staff members and the daily operations of the Medical/Surgical and OB units. Heavily involved in the cares of occasional critical care patients in this facility. Successfully hired core staff members and reduced dependence upon contract staff. Assisted with development of capital and personnel budgets for fiscal year 2017-2018. Projects worked on with this organization included a change in the staffing model from team nursing to primary nursing, moving the oversight of the critical care unit from ER to Inpatient leadership, standardization of crash carts (adult and pediatric), assisted with the development of a sepsis protocol, and Joint Commission preparedness. Staff development and education was a primary area of focus so that staff were more prepared to care for critically ill patients and pediatric patients.
Special Care Unit Nurse/House Supervisor
Boone County Hospital
Boone, IA
10.2015 - 06.2016
- Served in a dual role in this critical access facility from Oct-Dec 2015 as a Special Care Unit (SCU) nurse and as a House Supervisor. Responsibilities as a staff nurse included direct patient care for patients deemed too ill to be safely cared for on the Medical/Surgical/Pediatric (MSP)unit, primarily those with cardiac, sepsis and substance abuse/mental health issues and monitoring all telemetry patients on the SCU and MSP units. In the House Supervisor role, responsibilities included bed management/admissions, serving as a resource for all areas (including the Emergency Department, the Birth Center, and Surgical Services), and working with local staffing agencies, as needed, to ensure adequate staffing was available throughout the facility.
Interim Nurse Manager
Clarinda Regional Health Center
Clarinda, IA
05.2015 - 09.2015
- I filled the interim role as the Nurse Manager for the Med/Surg and Emergency Departments in this critical access hospital. I was responsible for the daily operations of a 25 bed medical/surgical floor (with telemetry services) and a 5 bed emergency department that averages approximately 15 patient visits per day in this critical access hospital. Med/Surg patients included acute, observation, swing and skilled care. Supervised approximately 30 staff members. Worked closely with hospital committee, the implementation of the Emergency Severity Index triage tool to the emergency department and EMS, assisted with the implementation of a new supply cabinet system, and helped launch a new orthopedic program.
Interim Night Shift House Supervisor
Froedtert Community Memorial Hospital
Menomonee Falls, WI
01.2015 - 05.2015
- I filled an interim Night Shift House Supervisor and served as the in-house administrator for the facility overnights/weekends. Responsible to ensure that adequate staffing was in place for multiple nursing units throughout the facility based upon census and acuity. Acted as a resource nurse for inpatient and emergency nurses. Called in specialty teams as needed for patient care (operating room, cath lab, stroke teams). Handled all patient placement/admissions while on duty. Updated WI TRAC each shift in accordance to facility policy. Also served as the public relations official outside of regular business hours.
Nurse Manager, Intensive Care/Stepdown/Telemetry
Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
07.2010 - 01.2015
- Responsible for the daily operations of a 16 bed mixed medical/surgical Intensive Care/Stepdown Unit and oversight of the Telemetry operations throughout the entire facility. In addition to overseeing the daily operations of the unit, I frequently provided direct bedside care for critically ill veterans. During my tenure, I oversaw the development and implementation of a new EMR for the ICU and participated in the development and implementation of a regionalized Tele-ICU covering multiple states across the Midwest. Responsible for multiple quality monitors- VAP and CLABSI free during this management period. Worked closely with ICU Medical Director to introduce innovative technologies, protocols, and order sets into the ICU. Responsible for the oversight of 40 FTEs with minimal turnover and high levels of nursing satisfaction. Excellent patient satisfaction scores. Responsible for hiring/firing/performance management and development of staff. Involved in numerous committees related to hospital operations and shared governance for nursing staff.
Clinical Surgery Coordinator
Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
11.2009 - 07.2010
- Responsible for providing education to meet the needs of the Surgery service line as directed by the Surgery Director. Performing multiple quality monitors for the surgery service line. Involved with numerous committees, both nursing specific and hospital wide. Working with a variety of staff and departments for Joint Commission Preparedness. Was appointed as the Advisor for the Practice Council, and Chairperson for the Medical Team Training Committee. Active participant in the Falls PI Project in Jan. 2010.
Director of Medical/Surgical Services, Interim Director of Maternal/Child Services
Creighton University Medical Center
Omaha, NE
06.2008 - 10.2009
- Responsible for the daily operations of the entire medical/surgical area of the hospital, which included a 33 bed surgical/trauma unit, a 33 bed specialized medicine unit, and acted as the liaison with a contracted dialysis service. The surgical/trauma unit provided care for trauma surgery, general surgery, orthopedics, esophageal surgery, bariatrics, and neurosurgery. The specialized medicine unit provided care for general medicine, oncology, and renal specialties. Both units offered telemetry services. Directed the opening and subsequent closure of a specialty unit in 2009 for the care of eight mentally disabled residents from the Beatrice State Developmental Center who had been displaced from that facility. Also served as the interim director over much of the Maternal/Child area from Nov. 2008- Oct. 2009. Managed approximately 85 FTEs with direct supervision of approximately 100 staff members within Med/Surg. On an interim basis in maternal/child, gained responsibility for an additional 70 FTEs. Within Med/Surg, I was able to maintain turnover rates to less than 10% and demonstrate high levels of employee satisfaction. Involved in numerous committees related to hospital operations. Involved with fiscal services to develop/manage the budget and labor costs for this area. Responsible for hiring/firing/performance management of staff. Worked closely with physicians to increase satisfaction and increase volumes. Also coordinated with marketing to attract physicians to increase volumes within existing service lines. Worked in tandem with hospital Quality department to develop processes/action plans to achieve quality patient outcomes.
Clinical Manager, 5200 Surgical/Trauma Unit
Creighton University Medical Center
Omaha, NE
08.2006 - 05.2008
- Responsible for daily operations of 33 bed surgical trauma unit, and management of approximately 35 FTEs. Involved with numerous committees related to hospital operations. Reduced annualized turnover from 50% to 15% in one year; increased employee satisfaction by 20% during the same period. Eliminated the use of contract labor within the first year of tenure. Responsible for hiring/firing/performance management of staff. Initiated an hourly rounding program for hospital nursing staff. Actively involved in a process to successfully achieve accreditation as a Bariatric Center of Excellence.
House Supervisor
Creighton University Medical Center
Omaha, NE
11.2003 - 08.2006
- Functioned as the in-house administrator during evening/night/weekend/holiday shifts. Responsible for nurse staffing and resource, patient placement, public relations. Acted as a liaison to Senior Administration outside of normal business hours.
ICU Staff RN, prn Charge RN
Saint Joseph Hospital/Creighton University Medical Center
Omaha, NE
06.1999 - 08.2006
- Provided direct patient care to complex multiple trauma, medical, and surgical patients. Routinely used a variety of hemodynamic equipment, Lice/Camino ICP monitors, IABP therapy, and CRRT therapy. Routinely functioned as a charge/resource RN for peers within ICU. Provided orientation for numerous new staff members.
Nurse Manager
Comfort Keepers
Lincoln, NE
07.2004 - 03.2005
- Responsible for completing in-home assessments for clients requiring personal care needs. With company president, developed several initiatives and marketing strategies to build a new business. Responsible for hiring, completing background checks, performance review/management of CNAs.
Evening Staff/Charge RN, Specialized Medicine Unit (5500)
Saint Joseph Hospital
Omaha, NE
07.1997 - 05.1999
- Provided direct patient care to 6-8 patients per shift. Worked primarily with patients diagnosed with COPD, diabetes, GI ailments, and plastics and urology surgeries. Functioned as an evening charge nurse during the second year here- responsible for nursing assignments, chart review, resource for other staff. Oriented several new staff nurses.
Education
Bachelor’s Degree - Nursing
Creighton University
Omaha, NE08-2006
Associate Degree - Nursing
Iowa Western Community College
Council Bluffs, IA05-1997
Skills
- 29 years of RN Experience
- 20 years in nursing leadership
- Clinical background in MSICU, CVICU, StepDown, Med/Surg
Certification
- BLS
- ACLS
- PALS
- TNCC
- Florida Compact: RN9554655
- Minnesota: 2479986
Timeline
Director of Acute Care Services
Community Medical Center
05.2024 - 11.2024
Interim Director of Critical Care
Cedar Park Regional Medical Center
09.2023 - 02.2024
Interim Director
Box Butte General Hospital
09.2022 - 06.2023
Interim MICU Nurse Manager
Wesley Medical Center
02.2022 - 08.2022
Interim Nurse Manager
Bryan Health-West Campus
06.2021 - 12.2021
Interim ICU Nurse Manager
Camden Clark Medical Center
02.2021 - 05.2021
Interim Nurse Manager
River’s Edge Hospital
02.2020 - 01.2021
Interim ICU Nurse Manager
Camden Clark Medical Center
07.2019 - 01.2020
Consultant/Liaison
ARH Hazard
09.2018 - 06.2019
Interim CTU/ICU/Inpatient Dialysis Manager
Southeast Health
01.2018 - 07.2018
Interim House Supervisor
Tuba City Regional HealthCare Corporation
08.2017 - 10.2018
Interim Inpatient Nurse Manager
Box Butte General Hospital
07.2016 - 06.2017
Special Care Unit Nurse/House Supervisor
Boone County Hospital
10.2015 - 06.2016
Interim Nurse Manager
Clarinda Regional Health Center
05.2015 - 09.2015
Interim Night Shift House Supervisor
Froedtert Community Memorial Hospital
01.2015 - 05.2015
Nurse Manager, Intensive Care/Stepdown/Telemetry
Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
07.2010 - 01.2015
Clinical Surgery Coordinator
Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
11.2009 - 07.2010
Director of Medical/Surgical Services, Interim Director of Maternal/Child Services
Creighton University Medical Center
06.2008 - 10.2009
Clinical Manager, 5200 Surgical/Trauma Unit
Creighton University Medical Center
08.2006 - 05.2008
Nurse Manager
Comfort Keepers
07.2004 - 03.2005
House Supervisor
Creighton University Medical Center
11.2003 - 08.2006
ICU Staff RN, prn Charge RN
Saint Joseph Hospital/Creighton University Medical Center
06.1999 - 08.2006
Evening Staff/Charge RN, Specialized Medicine Unit (5500)
Saint Joseph Hospital
07.1997 - 05.1999
Associate Degree - Nursing
Iowa Western Community College
Bachelor’s Degree - Nursing
Creighton University
LEADERSHIP VISION
My role is to promote the growth, mission, and vision of the healthcare organization by providing strong leadership and advocacy for the nurses I lead and the patients they care for.