Rural Health Clinic Quality Improvement Manager

Rural Health Clinic Quality Improvement Manager

Position Description

Basic Job Purpose

The Rural Health Clinic Quality Improvement Manager delivers quality improvement programming to Michigan’s Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and the providers who work in them. The Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) is Michigan’s State Office of Rural Health. This position requires direct Rural Health Clinic experience, working knowledge of value-based care and how it reaches a small rural practice, and practical command of quality improvement tools that a clinic team can actually use. The Manager designs and delivers QI programming and technical assistance to RHCs statewide and manages MCRH’s clinic facing chronic disease and quality projects, including partnership work with the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and project work with MDHHS. The Manager also supports the Michigan Rural Health Clinic Network and serves as MCRH’s subject matter expert for RHC quality improvement questions across the state.

Supervision Received

Reports directly to the Director of Programs & Services. No direct reports at this time.

Typical Working Conditions

- Hybrid Schedule: One in-office day per week, as a minimum (flexibility considered for exceptional candidates).

- Occasional travel to Rural Health Clinics for on-site technical assistance and cohort engagement activities.

Performance Expectations & Core Competencies

• Rural Health Clinic Knowledge: Understands how an RHC is certified, staffed, paid, and run, and what that means for what a clinic can realistically take on.
• Quality Improvement Expertise: Applies recognized improvement methods and tools, and chooses the ones that fit the size and capacity of the practice in front of them.
• Value Based Care Fluency: Explains quality measure performance, attribution, care management billing, and payer programs in terms a clinic manager or provider can act on.
• Technical Assistance & Practice Support: Meets clinics where they are, translating requirements into steps a small practice can carry out without added staff.
• Professional Communication & Relationship Building: Engages with stakeholders with professionalism, respect, and clarity.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: Works cooperatively within MCRH and across external partners to advance shared rural health goals.
• Sound Judgment & Discretion: Handles clinic quality data, patient level information, and other sensitive material appropriately, and maintains clear professional boundaries.
• Excels at customer service: Treats all people with utmost respect and responsiveness, strengthening relationships and advancing work plans and MCRH Mission.
• Personal drive: Has a passion to meet and exceed objectives in a thoughtful and time driven manner.
• Commitment to MCRH: Can align one’s own behavior, leadership and commitment with the needs, priorities, goals, and culture of MCRH.
• Embraces inclusion: Creates an atmosphere that respects and embraces engagement of all people, ideas, and backgrounds.
• Loves to learn: Able and willing to learn new skills and knowledge and accept new challenges to improve projects.
• Manages multiple projects and tasks: Effectively manages time and resources to respond to needs while continuing to deliver on organizational goals, objectives, and timelines;
  and seeks help when needed in juggling priorities.
• Personifies teamwork: Demonstrates good collaboration and communication to be effective in any team setting.

General Duties and Responsibilities

Quality Improvement Programming & Technical Assistance:

• Design and deliver quality improvement programming to RHCs and their providers, including trainings, learning collaboratives, webinars, coaching sessions, and office hours.
• Provide practice facilitation and coaching on measure selection, data collection and validation, workflow redesign, testing changes, and sustaining improvement over time.
• Apply and teach quality improvement tools appropriate to small practices, including the Model for Improvement and PDSA cycles, process mapping, root cause analysis, run and control charts, and gap analysis.
• Support RHCs in meeting quality reporting requirements and in using their own data to set priorities and track progress.
• Conduct baseline assessments of clinic quality infrastructure and develop improvement plans with clinic leadership.

Value Based Care Support:

• Help RHCs understand and prepare for value based payment, including quality measure performance, attribution, risk adjustment, and shared savings and incentive arrangements.
• Support clinics in building and billing care management services, including Chronic Care Management, Transitional Care Management, and Annual Wellness Visits.
• Advise clinics on the operational and financial implications of value based arrangements, including staffing, workflow, documentation, and payer contracting.
• Track Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payer program developments affecting RHCs and translate them into practical guidance.

Clinic Facing Project Management:

• Manage MCRH’s partnership work with the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, including chronic disease and chronic kidney disease projects focused on identification, management, and coordination of care for Medicaid populations.
• Manage MDHHS clinic facing project work ensuring alignment with program objectives.
• Manage Chronic Care Management program efforts with participating RHCs.
• Manage workplans, budgets, deliverables, partner coordination, and funder reporting across all assigned projects.
• Recruit and enroll clinic participants, and maintain engagement through the life of each project.
• Network Support & Representation:
• Support the Michigan Rural Health Clinic Network, including meetings, communications, needs assessment, and member engagement.
• Serve as MCRH’s point of contact for RHC quality improvement questions from clinics across Michigan, whether or not they participate in a funded project.
• Represent MCRH with partner organizations, including the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, MDHHS, MPRO, payer organizations, and the National Association of Rural Health Clinics.
• Identify and promote rural best practices, providing information and working models other clinics can adopt.

Education & Resource Development:

• Develop trainings, toolkits, workflow templates, and resources supporting RHC quality improvement and value based readiness.
• Contribute to design and content for statewide conferences, educational workshops, and events such as the Billing & Coding Workshop.
• Assist with fund and resource development efforts related to RHC quality and chronic disease initiatives.
• Attend appropriate educational meetings to keep current with RHC regulations, quality measurement,
• value based care, and chronic disease management.

Other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in nursing, public health, health administration, health informatics, or a related field;
  
• Minimum of three years of experience in ambulatory quality improvement, clinic operations, population health, or a closely related field.
• Direct Rural Health Clinic experience whether in clinic operations, quality, billing, or clinical practice.
• Formal quality improvement training, such as IHI Improvement Advisor, Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable, is strongly preferred.
• Certification in healthcare quality (CPHQ) or medical practice management (CMPE), or clinical licensure (RN, LPN, LMSW), is strongly preferred.
• Experience with value based payment arrangements, including quality measure reporting, care management billing, or payer incentive programs, is strongly preferred.
• Experience with ambulatory EHR systems and registry or population health tools is strongly preferred.
• Experience delivering training, facilitation, or technical assistance to provider organizations is highly valued.
• Experience managing grant funded projects, including workplans, budgets, and funder reporting, is highly valued.

Additional Information

Accommodation

MCRH reserves the right to adjust job duties and responsibilities based on organizational needs.

Compensation and Benefits

MCRH offers a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive suite of benefits, including:

- 92% employer-covered healthcare premium for employees and their families

- 160 hours of paid time off (PTO)

- 8 paid holidays

- Vision and dental benefits

- 403(b) retirement plan

- Hybrid work environment

- Flexible scheduling

- Summer Friday policy supporting work-life balance

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter including salary expectations, by October 12th, 2026 to Crystal Barter (View email address on click.appcast.io). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Job Description Review

This description will be reviewed and updated as needed during the annual performance review process.