Service Line Lead Quality and Safety Specialist - Women's Health

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 Director for Quality Improvement & Patient Safety, the Lead Quality & Safety Specialist for Nursing oversees the clinical quality and safety improvement of Nursing across YNHHS. This leader will manage and support clinical excellence within Nursing with a strategic focus on Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Control initiatives. The Lead Quality and Safety Specialist of Nursing will provide oversight, guidance, and support to system Quality and Safety Specialists and clinical leaders throughout the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) on opportunities for improved safety and quality as well as performance on Nursing KPIs. The roles overall focus is supporting corporate and divisional strategic goals and meeting YNHHS quality and safety objectives and standards .

EEO/AA/Disability/Veteran

• Leads, facilitates, and executes quality and safety projects to improve performance across Nursing within YNHHS.
• Supports the Safety and Quality Department in meeting goals. Uses Nursing KPI to determine progress and barriers to achieving team goals.
• Leads Nursing performance improvement teams to reduce variation and standardize clinical care and operational effectiveness according to best practices across YNHHS.
• Utilizes knowledge of patient safety science, IHI model for improvement, Lean, or other validated methodologies for process improvement to lead, facilitate, manage, and report on quality and patient safety initiatives within Nursing across YNHHS.
• Influences and communicates with all clinical and operational management levels concerning Nursing quality and safety program goals and progress.
• Trains and mentors Nurse managers and other clinical leaders on the philosophy, methodologies, application, and tools of safety science and performance improvement.
• Independently coordinates local and system-wide Nursing initiatives to reduce variation and standardize clinical care and operational effectiveness according to best practices.
• Serves as an expert in 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 current risk of recurrence.
• Acts as a resource to frontline operational leaders to aid in proactively assessing and mitigating safety risks.
• Stays abreast of changes that impact Nursing performance in reported measures including, but not limited to Centers for Medicare Services (CMS) and QualityNet, Vizient, Agency for Healthcare Quality (AHRQ), LeapFrog, US News & World Report, and clinical registries.
• Supports Q&S operations by utilizing appropriate benchmarking and performance resources (i.e., Centers for Medicare Services (CMS) and QualityNet, Vizient, Agency for Healthcare Quality (AHRQ), LeapFrog, US News & World Report, and clinical registries) to formulate integrated clinical and operational data analyses in Nursing.
• Serves as a content expert and partners with the Clinical Quality & Safety and Data Strategy team and ITS to develop appropriate Nursing dashboards and reports.
• Acts as a coach to executives and clinical leaders at all levels in developing, analyzing, and understanding key critical safety and quality measures.
• Under the direction of Safety & Quality leadership, conducts periodic gap analyses and action plan development within Nursing to ensure alignment with national patient safety and clinical quality initiatives.
• Collaborating with stakeholders, develops and ensures execution of system-wide Nursing 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.
• Acts as a primary preceptor and mentor for new employees and provides education to enhance group knowledge of performance improvement and safety tools and methodologies.
• Coordinates interdisciplinary teams, including senior leadership and frontline staff, aligning with system-wide Nursing care signature initiatives.

EDUCATION

• Bachelors degree required. Masters Degree required OR a Bachelors degree and a minimum of 4 years of direct healthcare quality experience in lieu of a Masters Degree.

EXPERIENCE

• With a Masters degree, three (3) to five (5) years of experience in project management in a healthcare setting with demonstrated success in the leadership of significant projects OR Safety and Quality Level III with Nursing experience. With a Bachelors degree, a minimum of four (4) years of direct healthcare quality experience with demonstrated success in the leadership of significant projects OR Safety and Quality Level III with Nursing experience.
• Women’s/Perinatal experience OR 4+ years of direct healthcare quality and Women’s/Perinatal experience required
• Understand how systems of safety, safety culture, reliability, and continuous learning create safe patient care. Knowledge of patient safety and quality resources available through various channels and utilizes evidence -based research. Has an understanding of and assists 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. Previous experience within a large academic or multi-facility environment is preferred. Experience in statistics, data analysis, and clinical quality or safety is required. Demonstrated history of leading successful improvement work. Demonstrated knowledge of effective training methods.

LICENSURE

• Valid RN license required. DEPARTMENT: SCHEDULE: REPORTS TO: Safety and Quality YNHHS Director Quality DEPT NUM (CODE): GRADE: FLSA STATUS: 1641 (67015) 4D EXEMPT Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) is required or willing to become certified within 6 months. Dual certification as a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) is preferred. Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Preferred.

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 . The Manager/Director provides broad guidance and overall direction. 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.