Facilities Environmental Safety Specialist

Position Facilities Environmental Safety Specialist Location Lutheran General Hospital; Park Ridge, IL. Employment Type Full Time; 1st Shift, Monday-Friday Travel Required Some travel required for additional sites and off‑sites. Travel to other facilities in a personal vehicle is required. Responsibilities Manage and oversee portions of Accreditation Environment of Care (TJC) and/or Physical Environment (DNV) Safety programs for multiple facilities. Act as liaison for all program chapters (Safety, Security, Hazardous Materials/Waste, Clinical Engineering, Fire Safety, Utilities). Coordinate and chair the Environment of Care or Physical Environment Committee, maintain agendas and minutes, and communicate safety updates to committee. Assist with OSHA, EPA, construction safety and operations activities to maintain constant readiness for surveys and inspections; serve as safety point of contact during federal, state, local, and organizational surveys and inspections. Support regulatory agency personnel during compliance inspections. Interface with facility administration and department leadership to oversee special projects directed by Safety Leadership and Administration. Present safety programs, safe controls, and/or training to leadership, physicians, vendors/contractors, and teammates. Discuss safety and risk assessment impacts of operational changes that affect patient safety, teammate safety, visitor safety, and life safety. Initiate and disseminate PCRA (Pre‑Construction Risk Assessment), ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment), and ILSM (Interim Life Safety Measures) documentation for projects at multiple facilities. Act as liaison between administration, clinical departments, and planning/designing construction teams to ensure overall environmental safety for patients, teammates, visitors, vendors, and contractors. Generate and submit physical environment reports, safety reports, risk assessments, and corrective action plans from regulatory and accreditation surveys (Joint Commission, DNV, DHSR, CMS, CARF, CAP, CLIA) to leadership and appropriate departments. Educate and coordinate corrective actions for any deficiencies identified during surveys, inspections, and assessments. Manage and complete internal inspections of the physical environment, perform safety rounds of departments and grounds, and create work orders and purchase orders to address deficiencies and corrective actions. Assist with proper handling, storage, documentation, inspection, and transportation of hazardous waste/materials within facilities. Respond to hazardous material spills and emergencies. Work collaboratively with other service lines to accomplish initiatives impacting patient care, patient safety, teammates, contractors, and visitor safety, including injury/illness prevention, eyewash compliance, product recalls, fire drills. Act as first responder for incidents at facility; maintain constant on‑call response readiness and serve in multiple roles during incident command events at facility and corporate level. Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required None Education Required Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience Experience Required 2–4 years or more of experience in safety and/or facilities management that includes experience in emergency management, environmental safety, and life safety. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required Clear communication verbally, in person, and in writing with patients, families, agencies and the healthcare team. Sense of urgency and ability to make sound decisions. Set a strong example of safety by working safely and using personal protective equipment appropriately. Critical thinking, independent decision making, and solution oriented. Ability to operate computers and computer software programs. Physical Requirements And Working Conditions Position requires travel, exposing to weather and road conditions. Travel to other facilities in a personal vehicle. Must be able to sit, stand, walk, lift, squat, bend, reach above shoulders, and twist frequently throughout the workday. Must have functional speech, vision, smell, touch, and hearing. Operate all equipment necessary to perform the job. Exposed to a normal office environment. Must be able to lift up to 10 lbs. regularly and up to 50 lbs. occasionally. Subject to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions. May be exposed to mechanical, electrical, chemical, and radiation hazards as well as blood and body fluids; therefore personal protective equipment must be worn as necessary. Must be physically able to wear and function in a Level C protective suit for training, simulation and actual responses to decontamination needs. Preferred Job Requirements Health Care Environmental Manager (HEM) certification issued by the ECRI, Institute's Center for Healthcare Environmental Management (CHEM), Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygiene (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) or other related industry certifications are highly preferred. #J-18808-Ljbffr Advocate Health Care