Senior Director Safety, Quality and Rural Programs

Senior Director Safety, Quality and Rural Programs

HYBRID WORK OPPORTUNITY       

DEPARTMENT:           Safety and Quality and Rural

REPORTS TO:             Senior Vice President, Safety and Quality

Pay Range: $140,000 to $190,000

Benefits: Medical PPO/HMO, Dental, Vision, Life, LTD, ADD, FSA, 401K, Vacation

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Senior Director, Safety, Quality and Rural Programs is a member of a leadership team responsible for achieving results related to improving and transforming care across the continuum. The Senior Director uses data-driven and evidence-informed strategies and tactics. The Senior Director leads and implements programs and tactics to improve health and health care delivery Washington State including, but not limited to responsibility for rural hospitals

This position has a dual reporting structure to the Sr. VP of Safety and Quality and the Vice President for Advocacy and Rural Health. The individual has close working relationships with the staff of the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, members of the Government Affairs team and others to assure the timely, coordinated and strategic deployment of relevant resources.

The Senior Director will directly supervise members of the Safety and Quality team to achieve goals and metrics of specific programs and initiatives and meet deliverables of grants and contracts with hospitals, and other community partners and stakeholders. Additionally, the Senior Director will be responsible for assigned boundary-spanning projects and initiatives related to rural policy such as payment programs, work force initiatives, and policy proposals. These projects may be internally to WSHA and externally in pursuit of WSHA strategic goals and in support of the WSHA Mission and Values.

The effectiveness of this position is measured by the quality and efficiency of the program’s operations and outcomes and by the satisfaction of WSHA members, staff and partners.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Achieve goals and strategies specific to safety, quality and rural health policy as outlined by the WSHA Strategic Plan in collaboration with internal teams, hospitals and external stakeholders.
• Serve as the key leader and administrative point person in the design and execution of responsibilities associated with positioning the S&Q Program to optimally achieve annual and long-term goals.
• Participate in the preparation of program operating budgets and be an accountable steward of association resources. Ensure cohesion of rural objectives across departments, including but not limited to Quality and Patient Safety, Policy and Advocacy, WHS and AWPHD.
• Assist in strategic agenda setting for the rural membership and act in a lead capacity on relevant policy and programming initiatives.
• Assist in staffing the Rural Hospital Committee and the Safety and Quality Committee, and as requested, participate in agenda planning, member preparation, and presentations to applicable WSHA and AWPHD committees.
• Provide presentations, engagement and education and development to boards, CEOs, clinical leaders, and government as requested
• Support/operationalize strategies and tactics to improve the stability and viability of hospitals and health systems in rural Washington.
• Participate in the determination, assessment, direction and preparation of rural hospital programs and strategies. May be assigned to oversee operating budgets for rural hospital programs and be an accountable steward of association resources.
• Lead or contribute to completion of applicable grant or contract proposals and be accountable to grant or contract deliverables.
• Coordinate meetings, develop work plans, manage timelines, coordinate internal transitions of work, support data needs, address customer needs, and support completion of quarterly, annual and management reports.
• Lead, mentor and coach staff to achieve organizational and individual development goals and evaluate performance of assigned staff when interacting with and supporting members and partners, including the initiatives they support.
• Interface between the participating groups and cohorts, contracted resources and internal resources to provide high level customer service. Communicate directly with participating groups as needed.
• Approve use of and manage local and national experts related to assigned areas.
• Plan and facilitate regular communication with the rural membership on key program and policy issues, including rural administrator calls.
• Facilitate development of common agendas with strategic partners and develop relationships with key agency staff, member staff, and partner organizations.
• Staff and/or lead key rural groups and rural oriented activities within WSHA’s membership.
• Serve as the liaison to the AWPHD board on AWPHD-funded safety and quality initiatives with work performed by WSHA staff.
• Support the development and deployment of rural safety and quality initiatives, including the rural CNO collaborative and rural health equity programs.
• Act as a convener of external rural stakeholders including the Department of Health, AWPHD, the Washington Rural Health Collaborative and Washington Rural Hospital Network.
• Work to align activities and agendas across stakeholder groups.
• Support the VP of Advocacy and Rural Health in advocacy and rural health policy, including planning and staffing of advocacy days and implementation of the strategic advocacy plan.
• Engage WSHA members in public policy and advocacy.
• Support SVP Safety and Quality in successfully supporting WSHA’s safety and quality improvement initiatives both within Washington and for other states that contract with WSHA for safety and quality work.
• Other duties required to support program functions and success.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

This position directly supervises the Safety and Quality Heath Equity Director, the Director of Safety and Quality Rural, and a Safety and Quality Assistant Director and works directly or indirectly with other members of both the Safety and Quality and the Rural programs. This position may oversee external constituencies such as consultants. This position is expected to work with a high level of matrix and collaborative supervisory responsibility with other leaders at WSHA.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education/Experience:

Registered Nurse with master’s degree in nursing or related field plus a minimum of seven years’ recent experience in leadership in a hospital or hospital-associated inpatient or outpatient clinical department with responsibility and decisional authority for safety, quality, , operational and financial success of the department.  Experience in a rural setting or working with rural health care facilities, experience and/or training in policy analysis or policy development and   familiarity with a federal or state policy development environment is preferred.

Skills & Abilities: 

• Demonstrated ability to lead and achieve rapid results on strategic initiatives.
• Ability to develop, lead, and participate in partnerships and joint ventures with other organizations.
• Ability to develop programs to meet the needs of other states, systems, and rural health care settings.
• Strong and varied clinical and operational experience. Excellence in developing and managing staff.
• Ability to assess and evaluate issues and to make effective and appropriate judgment/ decisions using accurate sources of decision support information.
• Ability to develop organizational structures and manage staff to help achieve goals when working with important partners such as health care systems and other Washington health care associations while being very lean.
• Strong working knowledge of improving care processes, working with communities, and working with physicians in complex projects.
• Excellent research capabilities in finding and sharing clinical best practices; must have prior experience gathering data, designing reports, and developing systems to collect and present data.
• Strong team player who is able to coordinate a number of activities at one time.
• Preference and ability to work collaboratively with others to resolve issues,
• Excellent customer/member relations skills as well as verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, research, develop, and deliver to achieve high satisfaction.
• Experience working closely with groups composed of a variety of disciplines.
• Demonstrated understanding of change management.
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback in a constructive manner to colleagues and supervisors,
• Familiarity with state and federal health care laws and regulations.
• Demonstrated community engagement experience.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Self-starter with strong analytical skills.
• Ability to articulate complex issues in an understandable way.
• Ability to discern key policy and messaging points.
• Ability to travel one day a week and/or up to three nights a month, mostly within Washington.

Computer Skills:

• Strong computer and data management skills, including proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite, especially PowerPoint, and ability to produce graphs, charts, and spreadsheets.
• Demonstrated ability with web-based tools such as managing and updating website content.
• Demonstrated experience with database management.
• Ability to gather, interpret and analyze data using computer software.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands and work environment described below represent the activities and surroundings of the positions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This is a full-time position associated with successful sustainability of this project. It requires attendance during core business hours and occasional time beyond the standard business day. Position requires frequent use of computer and exposure to normal physical office environment. The work is typically performed in an office environment, with a moderate noise level. The employee is frequently required to talk and hear on the telephone and in person with individuals and groups. The staff person is required to read and respond to documents in hard copy and electronic form. The position requires regular travel within Washington State to member facilities, and on occasion, overnight travel is necessitated.