For SNF and assisted living operators
The hiring resource for Directors of Nursing in skilled nursing and assisted living.
Interview kits, pay benchmarks built on BLS and CMS data, and side-by-side looks at recruiting options - for administrators making a DON or ADON decision.
- 32 providers tracked
- 10 ranking categories
- 7 weighted criteria in the DON Fit Score
- BLS and CMS public data behind our pay benchmarks
The Top 10
What are the best ways to fill a DON seat?
Cross Country Search, Kirby Bates Associates and B.E. Smith lead our Top 10. We rank recruiters, hiring platforms and interim options against one published method.
- 1
Cross Country Search
Top pick Best for multi-facility operators that want national candidate reach See the Top 10 - 2
Kirby Bates Associates
Runner-up Best for a nurse-leadership specialist search See the Top 10 - 3
B.E. Smith
Strong alternative Best for interim DON coverage that can convert to a permanent search See the Top 10
How we review
How do we rank providers?
We rank every provider with one published method, the DON Fit Score. It scores 7 criteria, weighted to 100. The same criteria apply in every category.
- Post-acute and long-term care focus 25%
- Fee model and price transparency 20%
- Guarantee and contract terms 15%
- Search process and candidate vetting 15%
- Fit for independent operators 10%
- Speed and geographic coverage 10%
- Evidence and disclosure 5%
Covering the leading DON hiring, staffing and training providers
PointClickCare
MatrixCare
Relias
IntelyCare
ShiftMed
Incredible Health
Vivian Health
AHCA/NCAL
LeadingAge
McKnight's Long-Term Care News
Direct Recruiters, Inc.
Kirby Bates Associates
HCR Network
WittKieffer
B.E. Smith
Floodgate Medical
1st Op Recruiting
ProLink
Medical Solutions
NPHire
Cross Country Search
Kaye/Bassman International
Nurse.com
Hireology
Browse by category
Which type of provider are you looking for?
- Hiring a Director of Nursing Search options side by side
- DON Recruiting Firms Search firms compared
- Interim DON Coverage Cover the seat while searching
- Job Boards & Hiring Platforms Run your own search
- Nurse Staffing Platforms Floor coverage during turnover
- DON Salary & Compensation Pay benchmark sources
- DON Retention & Turnover Keep nursing leadership stable
- Survey Readiness & Star Ratings Protect surveys and star ratings
- Nurse Leader Training & Certification Certifications and training
- Clinical Operations Software EHR and MDS systems
Common situations
What brings you here today?
- Our DON just gave notice Cover the seat, protect survey readiness, start the search.
- Promote from within or hire outside? Weigh your ADON or unit manager against an external search.
- What should we pay a DON? Salary and total-comp benchmarks by region and facility size.
- Should we use a recruiter? Fees, guarantees and how DON search firms compare.
- Our DONs keep leaving Flight-risk signals and retention plans that hold.
- Survey window is coming What a new DON must have in place before surveyors arrive.
Fresh from Topics
What is new from our editors?
Guides, comparisons and analysis for operators hiring or keeping a Director of Nursing.
Our first guides are being written
Hiring playbooks, recruiter comparisons and pay analysis are in the edit now. They will appear here as each one is published.
Industry news
What is the long-term care press reporting?
Headlines on nursing leadership, staffing rules and surveys from the long-term care trade press.
The headline feed starts soon
We will round up reporting from other long-term care publications on DON hiring, staffing mandates and survey policy, each linked to its original source.
Tools and research
Which tools help with a DON decision?
Free, operator-focused tools and an annual benchmark. Each one is in development.
In development
Annual DON Salary & Leadership Benchmark
DON and ADON pay by region and facility size, built on BLS wage data and CMS facility data.
-
DON Interview Kit
Questions matched to your acuity, census and survey history.
In development
-
DON Job-Ad Wizard
A DON or ADON posting that says what the role really is.
In development
-
Promote-or-Hire Quiz
Is your ADON ready, or is an outside search the safer call?
In development
-
DON Flight-Risk Quiz
Early signals that your current DON is close to leaving.
In development
-
Survey-Readiness Check
What a new DON must have in place before surveyors arrive.
In development
-
Hire-and-Retain Compensation Plan
Base, bonus and retention terms built to hold a hire.
In development
Who we write for
The situations operators bring to a DON hire
Composite reader scenarios, labeled as such - not customer endorsements.
-
We lost two DONs in eighteen months, and both times the vacancy showed up in our next survey. Interview questions matched to our acuity and census would have caught the mismatch before the offer.
Illustrative persona
-
My ADON was ready on clinical skills but not on budgets or survey management. A promote-or-hire framework would have told us exactly what development she needed first.
Illustrative persona
-
Every recruiter quoted a different fee and a different guarantee. A side-by-side on fee structure and replacement terms is what I needed before signing anything.
Illustrative persona
-
Our DON offer was under market and we did not know it until the candidate told us. Pay data tied to BLS and our region would have saved three weeks.
Illustrative persona
-
The first ninety days decide whether a new DON stays. I want a checklist for what corporate owes them, not just what they owe the building.
Illustrative persona
-
Assisted living rarely gets a DON hiring guide written for it. Our scope is different from a SNF and the job ad should say so.
Illustrative persona
For recruiting firms and hiring platforms
Become a featured partner
Put your firm in front of administrators who are already comparing DON recruiters, platforms and interim options. Featured placements are labeled and sit beside our rankings - they buy visibility, never a position in them.