Skilled Nursing.
Skilled Nursing Facilities and post-acute centers. Sourcing the licensed Administrators and Directors of Nursing who protect your license and protect your margin.
Skilled nursing is the most heavily regulated operating setting in healthcare.
Skilled nursing is defined by federal mandates. With CMS staffing ratio requirements, MDS accuracy determining PDPM reimbursements, and state surveys that can issue immediate-jeopardy citations, running a SNF is a high-risk operating challenge. The licensed Nursing Home Administrator and the Director of Nursing must work in perfect lockstep to maintain compliance, clinical quality, and P&L performance. The market for these leaders is highly competitive, and the best candidates are rarely looking for work.
Our headhunters locate passive SNF leaders. We map regional facilities, audit state survey records, and run backchannel references on clinical quality before presenting a shortlist. By executing searches under an engaged structure, we dedicate the time required to vet candidates on reimbursement mechanics and state-level compliance records.
We serve national long-term care chains, regional post-acute groups, non-profit nursing facilities, and private-equity sponsors managing SNF portfolio companies.
Why Platforms Choose Engaged Search
Where the search lives.
Senior leadership and niche-headhunter roles. The recruiter assigned to your search has spent a decade in this segment.
OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP
CLINICAL LEADERSHIP
SDR & REIMBURSEMENT
REGIONAL SUPPORT
Skilled Nursing, specifically.
The questions hiring operators send in the first call.
What SNF roles do you recruit for?
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Operational leadership (Nursing Home Administrator, Regional VP, COO), clinical leadership (Director of Nursing, ADON, Clinical Quality Director), reimbursement roles (MDS Coordinator, MDS Director), and regional support roles (Regional Nurse Consultant, Regional NHA).
How do you qualify a Nursing Home Administrator (NHA)?
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We run a three-stage screen: (1) active state NHA license and clean disciplinary record, (2) survey track record, where we audit their community's historical CMS survey results for IJ or G-level deficiencies, and (3) financial performance, meaning their ability to manage PDPM case-mix, Medicaid rate adjustments, and agency staffing costs.
Do you place MDS Coordinators?
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Yes. MDS accuracy dictates your PDPM reimbursement and quality measures. We recruit experienced MDS coordinators who understand case-mix indexing, ICD-10 coding, and clinical documentation guidelines.
How do you handle searches in rural or under-served markets?
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Rural SNF searches are common. We map candidates in adjacent markets, target leaders with compact or transferrable licenses, and leverage ProHireHQ's database of regional candidates willing to relocate or commute. We work with the client to calibrate relocation and sign-on incentives.
What is your placement guarantee for SNF leadership?
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Every SNF NHA and DON placement carries a written replacement guarantee. The window is negotiated with the engagement rather than fixed, and the terms come in writing with the quote. If the candidate leaves or is terminated inside it, we execute the replacement search at no additional cost.
Three paths from here.
You are replacing an Administrator or Director of Nursing at a facility.
We launch a targeted engaged search to map the local market and present a qualified, licensed shortlist within 30 days.
Book the scoping call →You have a critical vacancy in an under-performing or survey-vulnerable site.
We run the search under strict confidentiality, identifying leaders with turnaround experience and clean regulatory histories.
Request a confidential search scoping →You are calculating the cost of an open facility leadership seat.
An empty NHA or DON seat increases reliance on contract nursing agencies and delays admissions. Use our calculator to see the impact.
Calculate vacancy costs →Tell us the facility, the bed count, the seat.
We map regional facilities to locate passive, licensed NHAs and DONs with clean survey records and strong PDPM performance. We deliver verified shortlists in 30 days.