Quality and Patient Safety Specialist

Reporting to the Manager of Quality and Patient Safety, the Quality and Patient Safety Specialist is responsible to foster a Culture of Safety and High Reliability and adopt methods to identify and evaluate risks for harm with a focus on system improvement. The Quality and Patient Safety Specialist supports implementation of the Quality and Patient Safety Framework, by engaging stakeholders in key activities across the organization. The Specialist is responsible to facilitate quality improvement initiatives, conduct root cause analysis of patient safety events, support frontline leaders in the patient safety event review process, coordinate and engage programs in the preparation for accreditation on site surveys, drive the implementation of key deliverables towards our high reliability performance goals while promoting safe practices.

Contribute to Patient Safety by:

• Ensure compliance with best practice, internal policies, applicable accreditation standards and key legislative requirements related to quality, patient safety, and risk (e.g. Excellent Care for All Act, Public Hospitals Act, Quality of Care Information Protection Act).
• Serve as a resource to program leadership and advance quality and safety through facilitation, education and coaching of quality improvement methodologies, patient safety best practices and high reliability principles.
• Model behaviors and support the adoption of high reliability organization (HRO) concepts into programs across the organization.
• Apply human factors and high reliability principles into the organization’s patient safety systems and process redesigns.

Patient Safety

• Promote a fair & just culture, safety reporting, transparency, and openness to learning across all levels of the organization.
• Design, plan and deploy annual Patient Safety Week activities in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Facilitate the interdisciplinary review of patient safety events through conducting a Root Cause Analysis, supporting leaders in Apparent Cause Analysis, and completing an annual Common Cause Analysis for organizational learning and system improvement.
• Support program leaders in the preparation of reports related to quality and patient safety as required.

Quality Improvement

• Facilitate corporate multidisciplinary quality improvement initiatives in alignment with the organization’s strategic goals and engage providers in partnership to improve the quality of care and service delivery.
• Facilitate improvement activities using Quality Improvement Tools (e.g. lean six sigma, model for improvement, PDSA, Drivers Diagram, Pareto Charts etc.).
• Proactively identify quality and patient safety opportunities through data trending and analysis.
• Support the development, monitoring and improvement of program performance metrics.
• Complete the annual Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) progress report in partnership with program leadership and QI working groups.

Accreditation

• Provide guidance and support program leaders through the Qmentum Accreditation Canada survey readiness process.
• Deploy the patient safety culture survey and facilitate a gap analysis to identify safe practice vulnerabilities.

HRO

• Support the adoption of HRO behaviors and principles into programs across the organization.
• Serve as an active HRO trainer, delivering education on Universal and Leadership skills to staff, leaders, and physicians, including but not limited to Reliability & Commitment to Caring, 4C Purposeful Rounding, Just Culture, Apparent Cause Analysis, and Messaging Zero Harm.
• Manage and advance the HRO Habit Formation and Sustainability framework including (HRO Coach program, HRO Champion program, 4C purposeful rounding, daily tiered huddles).

What must you have?

• Minimum of a four (4) year bachelor’s degree in a health-related discipline.
  
• Minimum of 3 years working experience in healthcare.
  
• Minimum of 3 years working in quality, patient safety, risk management, accreditation, or professional practice.
• Willingness to actively pursue certification in Quality and Patient Safety, if not already attained.
• Experience and knowledge with Patient Safety and Quality projects or initiatives, electronic clinical incident management systems, performance measurement, data reporting analysis, quality improvement principles and Quality of Care Reviews.
• Highly computer literate, including working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Power Point, Excel, and Access).

What else do you bring?

• Experience and knowledge with Patient Safety and Quality projects or initiatives, electronic clinical incident management systems, performance measurement, data reporting analysis, quality improvement principles and Quality of Care Reviews.
• Well-developed public speaking abilities and exemplary written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to establish positive collaborative working relationships with all staff, physicians, clients, families, community agencies and other professionals while employing tact and diplomacy.
• Dynamic, innovative, and creative leadership, especially in the development of, and delivery of, education material to adult learners; interpersonal and team building skills to engage staff.
• Proven organizational, problem solving, time management, prioritization, coordination, facilitation, and critical thinking abilities.
• Detail oriented, objective, and demonstrated commitment to just culture.
• Ability to handle challenging and sensitive situations with professionalism, empathy, tact, diplomacy, objectivity, and in discreet confidence.
• Proven attendance record.
• Demonstrates understanding and complies with patient and staff safety policies and procedures that foster a safe and inclusive environment for all.
• Models behaviour that is aligned with Mackenzie Health’s Commitment to Caring and the values of Mackenzie Health - Excellence, Leadership and Empathy.
• Commitment to providing an exceptional experience for staff and clients within a challenging and exciting health care environment.

Preferably, your profile also includes:

• Master’s Degree in Quality Improvement, Patient Safety or Health Administration is preferred.
• Institution for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) quality or patient safety certificate, Certified professional in Health Safety (CPPS), Certified Professional Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) Officer certificate, Project Management Professional (PMP) Certificate or equivalent is preferred.
• Lean Green and/or Black Belt or equivalent is preferred.
• Training in HRO Universal and Leadership Skills is preferred.
• Recent experience with project and change management is preferred.

*You may be required to work at any site of Mackenzie Health.

Mackenzie Health is an inclusive and equal opportunity employer committed to providing accommodations for applicants upon request at any stage of the recruitment process in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Our hiring process does not involve the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, assess or select applicants.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those under consideration for an interview will be contacted.