The posting
Job Posting Title:
Health Services Administrator
Department:
Metropolitan Detention Center
Location:
100 DEPUTY DEAN MIERA DR SW
Pay Range:
$252,033.60 - $340,974.40
Close Date:
October 23, 2026
Employees at Bernalillo County enjoy the ability to team up with each other to build a high quality of life for our county residents, communities, and businesses. In addition to being an organization with a strong focus on work-life balance, building a culture of flexibility, learning, and belonging the County offers many benefits. Employees of Bernalillo County enjoy many thoughtful rewards such as, but not limited to generous leave accruals; career development opportunities; remote & flex-work options as appropriate; longevity pay; education assistance program; health benefits; lucrative retirement; and so much more.
The Health Services Administrator (HSA) provides executive-level leadership and operational oversight of the comprehensive health care delivery system at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). The HSA ensures medical, nursing, behavioral health, substance use disorder, pharmacy, dental, ancillary, and reentry services operate as an integrated, accessible, efficient, and high-quality system of care.
The HSA serves as the principal administrative leader for health services and oversees operations, contracts, staffing, budgets, performance, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement. The position collaborates with County, MDC, clinical, custody, contracted, and community health partners to ensure effective delivery of health care services and compliance with applicable federal, state, County, and correctional health care requirements, including NCCHC and ACA standards. Clinical decisions remain under the authority of licensed medical professionals, while the HSA ensures the systems, resources, and processes necessary to support effective clinical care are in place and performing as expected.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Directs and coordinates the day-to-day operation of MDC’s health care delivery system, including medical, nursing, behavioral health, substance use disorder, withdrawal management, pharmacy, dental, diagnostic, specialty, emergency, infirmary, and reentry services.
- Directs, supervises, and evaluates multidisciplinary health care teams, including medical, dental, mental health, nursing, technical, clerical, and support staff.
- Establishes operational systems to ensure timely access to health care from booking through release or transfer, including screening, assessment, treatment, medication administration, emergency care, specialty referrals, hospitalization, discharge planning, and continuity of care.
- Manages staffing and workforce resources to maintain appropriate staffing levels and oversees scheduling, assignments, recruitment, retention, training, performance evaluations, and employee development.
- Manages the site budget and financial performance, authorizes expenditures, analyzes financial results, and submits required financial and operational reports.
- Ensures 24-hour operational readiness and appropriate site utilization, including processes for escalating urgent clinical, staffing, pharmacy, laboratory, equipment, and patient-safety concerns.
- Ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, contractual requirements, and standards, including NCCHC, ACA, PREA, HIPAA, and federal and state requirements.
- Maintains required accreditations and coordinates regulatory, accreditation, contractual, and external inspections and reviews, including timely remediation of identified deficiencies.
- Leads and monitors Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities, audits, corrective actions, and Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) to ensure identified issues are addressed and sustained.
- Coordinates and delegates clinical programs and services based on contractual requirements, patient needs, and patient movement within and outside the facility or Department of Corrections.
- Coordinates with County leadership, MDC administration, facility security, health care providers, and regional and statewide partners to facilitate health care delivery and maintain effective operational relationships.
- Serves as the health services liaison with facility security administration, ensuring appropriate coordination between health care and security personnel.
- Oversees the grievance and informal complaint process, ensuring complaints are reviewed, addressed, documented, and resolved in accordance with applicable requirements.
- Ensures health care operations support compliance with court orders, settlement requirements, monitoring activities, and reporting obligations, including those associated with the McClendon litigation.
- Ensures effective integration of medical and behavioral health services for patients with serious mental illness, suicide risk, co-occurring disorders, substance use disorders, cognitive impairment, and other behavioral health needs.
- Coordinates behavioral health services and interdisciplinary management of high-risk and high-utilizing patients, including screening, assessment, treatment, medication management, crisis response, suicide prevention, observation, and continuity of care.
- Provides administrative leadership for correctional Medicaid and New Mexico Section 1115 reentry initiatives, including JUST Health Plus, and coordinates compliant workflows for eligibility, enrollment, covered services, documentation, claims, medication access, and transition of care.
- Monitors Medicaid utilization, claims, denials, reimbursement, and compliance, identifying opportunities to appropriately offset County health care expenditures without compromising clinically necessary care.
- Ensures timely administrative response to significant health-related incidents and implements infection prevention and communicable disease programs, including surveillance, testing, isolation, treatment, vaccination, outbreak response, and required reporting.
- Ensures health services are incorporated into emergency preparedness and continuity-of-operations planning, including readiness for mass casualty events, outbreaks, utility failures, medication or oxygen interruptions, staffing emergencies, evacuation, extreme weather, electronic health record downtime, and pharmacy disruptions; identifies deficiencies and escalates unresolved patient-safety, staffing, contractual, regulatory, or access-to-care concerns.
- *The above information is intended to outline the general nature and scope of the duties required for this position. It is not an exhaustive list and may vary depending on specific job assignments and responsibilities.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in health administration or a related field such as health services management, public health administration, or business administration.
- Twelve (12) years of experience in health administration, financial management, clinical operations, regulatory compliance, and/or related field.
- Eight (8) years of experience in a managerial role.
- *Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience may be considered for the above requirements.
PREFERENCES
- Experience in healthcare administration, healthcare operations, or a related healthcare management environment.
- Experience in correctional healthcare at an executive level where the facility has an average daily population over 1,000.
- Experience managing healthcare budgets and financial performance.
- Experience with staffing, workforce management, scheduling, and personnel supervision.
- Experience with correctional healthcare standards, including NCCHC and ACA.
- Experience with accreditation, inspections, audits, regulatory compliance, and corrective action plans.
- Experience working within correctional or detention environments.
- Experience coordinating healthcare services among institutional, hospital, and external healthcare providers.
- Experience with quality improvement, performance management, and healthcare operational planning.
- Experience working collaboratively with physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals, institutional leadership, and external stakeholders.
- Experience with committee coordination, meeting facilitation, and compliance documentation.
- Experience managing healthcare services subject to contractual requirements and settlement agreement obligations.
PREFERENCES SCREENING AND COMPLIANCE
- The offer of this Bernalillo County position requires compliance with the following:
- Successful completion of required background investigation and applicable employment screening.
- Successful completion and maintenance of required clearance.
- Adherence to all applicable County departments, safety, security, policies and procedures.
- Completion of required training and orientation.
- Compliance with applicable federal, state, county, and institutional regulations and standards.
- Compliance with applicable NCCHC and ACA requirements.
- Completion of required safety, security, correctional environment, and other assigned training.
- Maintenance of any required credentials, certifications, clearances, or other qualifications applicable to the position.
- Successful completion of a post-offer employment medical examination and background investigation.
- Adherence to all County safety guidelines.
- Complete all FEMA training(s) assigned to this position.
- Possession of a valid New Mexico driver’s license by the date of hire, or ability to obtain within sixty (6) days of hire and maintenance of a valid license while employed in this position.
- Completion of required supervisor training, if applicable.
WORKING CONDITIONS
- Duties are performed indoors in a temperature-controlled environment.
- Duties are performed on an even, typically dry surface, such as concrete, tile, or carpet.
- Work is conducted with a select team without direct supervision and may at times involve working with a large group.
- May be required to work extended hours.
EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, AND MATERIALS
- Equipment typically used includes a telephone, computer, printer, and copy machine.
- May occasionally drive a county vehicle.
