Quality and Safety Specialist

Overview To be part of our organization, every employee should understand and share in the YNHHS Vision, support our Mission, and live our Values. These values – integrity, patient‑centered, respect, accountability, and compassion – must guide what we do, as individuals and professionals, every day. Under the direction of the Quality & Safety department leadership, the Quality & Safety Specialist II is responsible for facilitating improvements in clinical and operational performance in delivery network and system‑wide patient safety and clinical quality. Collaborating with frontline management, staff, and clinicians, the team uses safety science and performance improvement methodologies to evaluate and improve clinical processes of care by reducing variation and driving standardization according to best practices. EEO/AA/Disability/Veteran Responsibilities Facilitates, and executes projects to improve performance with limited scope. Supports the Safety and Quality Department in meeting goals and objectives. Uses KPI to determine progress and barriers to achieving team goals. Utilizes knowledge of patient safety science, IHI model for improvement, Lean, or other validated methodologies for process improvement to facilitate, manage, and report on quality and patient safety initiatives while teaching and supporting others in using appropriate quality and safety tools and methodologies. Classifies safety events and determines appropriate follow‑up actions. Identifies opportunities and takes action to reduce variation and standardize clinical care according to best practices. Performs ongoing assessment of risks to patient safety using tools such as root cause analysis, apparent cause analysis, common cause analysis, failure mode effects analysis, incident reporting analysis, and understands sentinel and adverse event review. Provides consultation for planning and implementing immediate corrective actions to mitigate the local risk of recurrence. Supports the advancement of a safety culture through deployment and sustainment of patient safety strategies and identification of key drivers for patient safety programs at the hospital level. Understands the changes that may impact system‑wide performance in reported measures including CMS, QualityNet, Vizient, AHRQ, LeapFrog, US News & World Report, and clinical registries. Supports operations by utilizing appropriate information systems and aids in developing integrated clinical and operational data analyses. Accesses and utilizes available dashboards and reports to monitor key critical performance and quality and safety measurements. Aids in developing appropriate data resources and dashboards to support organizational quality and safety priorities. Provides training and mentoring to YNHHS staff and clinicians on the philosophy, application, tool usage, and safety and quality improvement methodologies. Provides education to enhance group knowledge of quality improvement and safety tools and methodologies. Collaborates with stakeholders, develops, and ensures execution of local and system-wide quality and patient safety initiatives and projects through leading and facilitating multi-disciplinary teams to achieve performance improvement goals to enhance quality and safety. Makes focused recommendations for improvement opportunities across delivery networks, system service area, departments, and divisions. Facilitates the utilization of dashboards and reports by managers and clinical leaders of all levels to monitor key critical performance, quality, and safety measurements. Under the direction of leadership, perform periodic gap analyses and action plan development to ensure conformance with national patient safety and clinical quality initiatives. Performs other duties as assigned by the Safety and Quality leadership team. Qualifications Education Bachelors degree required. Masters degree preferred. Experience Three (3) to five (5) years of experience in project management in a healthcare setting or 1 to 2 years as a Quality and Safety Specialist I within the department. Knowledge of patient safety and quality resources available through various channels and utilizes evidence‑based research. Understanding of and assistance with ensuring compliance with mandated state, federal, and regulatory agencies, rules, codes, laws, and standards that impact patient safety and quality. Familiarity with federal and state quality and safety programs that impact hospitals' public performance and reputation. Demonstrated history of leading successful improvement work. Efficiency with Excel and PowerPoint. Patient‑oriented team player with flexibility to adapt to evolving priorities with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks. Licensure Valid RN license or related healthcare professional license preferred but not required. Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) or Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) is preferred; it is required to become certified within two years of hire. Special Skills Decision Making: Ability to make decisions guided by precedents, policies, and objectives. Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are highly varied, complex, and often non‑recurring, requiring staff input and innovative, creative, and Lean diagnostic techniques to resolve issues. Independence of Action: Ability to set goals and determine how to accomplish defined results with some guidelines. Written Communications: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers. Oral Communications: Ability to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families, and external customers. Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate in‑depth knowledge of concepts, practices, and policies and use them in complex, varied situations. Teamwork: Ability to act as a team leader for small projects or work groups, creating a collaborative and respectful team environment and improving workflows. Customer Service: Ability to provide an elevated level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff, and internal and external customers in a professional, service‑oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem‑solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations. YNHHS Requisition ID 180504 #J-18808-Ljbffr Yale New Haven Health