Donor and Patient Safety Program Manager

LifeCenter Northwest • Bellevue, WA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

The Donor and Patient Safety Program Manager (DPSPM) is responsible for promoting a culture of safety and regulatory compliance across the organization, helping ensure the highest standards of care for organ donors and transplant recipients. This role oversees donor safety initiatives, adverse event management, and patient safety risk reduction strategies while aligning practices with CMS, OPTN/UNOS, FDA, AATB and other applicable regulatory requirements and best practices. The DPSPM collaborates with senior leadership and the clinical and quality teams to build and enhance donor and patient safety structures and systems and to identify and mitigate risks, implement corrective actions, and support continuous performance improvement within the organization.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience as a Patient Safety Manager or Specialist in healthcare required; experience in a critical care hospital setting preferred. Similar role/job responsibilities in healthcare quality or regulatory compliance will be considered.
• Bachelor’s degree in nursing, Healthcare Administration, Public Health, or related field required.
• Relevant work experience can be considered and substituted for academic requirements.
• Progressive experience with: Patient safety, quality, or risk management within a healthcare setting, demonstrating increasing responsibility in leading safety initiatives, conducting risk assessments, root cause analyses, and implementing Corrective And Preventative Action (CAPA) plans and improvement strategies aligned with national safety standards and regulations.
• Developing and managing patient safety programs or infrastructure, including policy development, staff education, committee facilitation, and escalation protocols that support a culture of safety.
• Subject Matter Expert knowledge of patient safety principles and healthcare regulations.
• Ability to interpret complex medical information and effectively communication Medical Director and advisory guidance to diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to analyze safety event data and performance metrics to identify trends, drive improvement initiatives, and monitor outcomes using quality improvement methodologies.
• Ability to build, operationalize, and sustain a comprehensive compliance program to establish oversight and cross-functional accountability
• Strong background in interdisciplinary collaboration, with a track record of engaging clinical and operational leaders, compliance/legal teams, and front-line staff to advance safety culture and implement system-wide governance practices.
• Familiarity with legal and ethical risk considerations in patient safety, including event disclosure, patient rights, documentation practices, and coordination with legal or risk counsel as appropriate.
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication abilities, with skill in engaging diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to manage sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Competence in data collection, analysis, and presentation (Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, or other quality improvement tools).
• Ability to be flexible to respond to continuously changing situations, issues and priorities.
• Must be able to work effectively with others, some in remote locations.
• The ability to prioritize and complete work despite competing objectives.
• The employee in this position must uphold the core values of LifeCenter; these include: Integrity: We are trustworthy, reliable, respectful, and accountable. Collaboration: We work in partnership with others, seeking to understand and be understood, and finding common ground and shared goals to build upon together. Courage: We take personal responsibility and face challenges head-on. Service: Through professionalism and dedication, we honor our commitment to serve others and our obligation to be good stewards of the gift of life.
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or applicable medical or religious exemption will be required as a condition of employment upon offer.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a comprehensive Patient Safety program to monitor and evaluate donor and patient safety events, including near misses, adverse outcomes, and deviations from established protocols to minimize risk to donors and potential transplant recipients.
• Develop and deliver reports to LifeCenter’s Quality Council, senior leaders, and Governing and Advisory Boards, as requested.
• Work closely with senior-level clinical options leadership to support an effective donor and patient safety program.
• Respond to alleged donor and recipient adverse events and safety situations in real time. Coordinate with Clinical and Quality staff to provide redundant and cascading reporting practices, ensuring 24/7/365 coverage of donor and patient safety oversight.
• Ensure timely reporting of patient and donor safety events to appropriate regulatory bodies and partners (e.g. OPTN/UNOS, FDA, AATB, transplant centers, tissue and eye banks).
• Monitor and lead investigations of adverse events and safety situations in collaboration with the LifeCenter Medical Director and advisory staff. Act as the primary point of contact between LifeCenter and regulatory bodies, transplant centers, hospitals, and tissue partners for ongoing investigation and communication.
• Serve as a liaison between clinical and non-clinical stakeholders by translating complex medical information and integrating Medical Director/advisory guidance into regulatory and stakeholder communications.
• In collaboration with the LCNW audit program, conduct regular assessments of organ and tissue operations with regard to donor and patient safety. Track, trend, and report findings to internal stakeholders. Assist in implementation of intervention action plans, including development, adoption, and evaluation of best practices.
• Develop policies and procedures designed to ensure effective documentation, communication, and resolution for donor and patient safety events. Serves as an internal resource and subject matter expert on patient safety practices, promoting a culture of safety, transparency, and continuous improvement.
• In collaboration with the LifeCenter Medical Director and advisory staff and clinical leadership, perform root cause analyses (RCA) of safety events and develop effective corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plans. Ensure effectiveness and provide timely resolution of CAPA plans.
• Monitor, analyzes and trend donor and patient safety data, including potential, suspected, and confirmed adverse events, safety situations, overall donor and patient safety compliance, and process improvement initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with CMS Conditions for Coverage, OPTN/UNOS bylaws and policies, FDA regulations, AATB standards and other applicable requirements relevant to donor and patient safety.
• Maintain complete and accurate documentation of all donor and patient safety investigations, reviews, and outcomes through the development and management of the LCNW Patient Safety occurrence reporting system.
• Serve as subject matter expert for patient safety related policies and procedures within the organization.
• Participates in emergency management activities to ensure a continuum of donor and patient safety oversight during emergent events.
• Develop and deliver donor and patient safety related education programs for LifeCenter staff, partner hospitals, and transplant centers.
• Promote a culture of safety by engaging staff in best practices, transparent communication, and share lessons learned from safety events.
• Provide onboarding and ongoing training to ensure staff awareness of best practice, organizational safety expectations, and regulatory requirements related to door and patient safety.
• Collaborate with the Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement (QAPI) Committee to integrate safety initiatives into standard practice and align with organizational priorities.
• Provide regular donor and patient safety reports to extended senior leadership, including ongoing analyses and trends for continuous process improvement.
• Contribute to strategic safety goals, including reducing adverse events, enhancing donor evaluation and management practices, and improving recipient outcomes.
• Participate in the development of and review of policies, procedures, and protocols that could impact donor and recipient safety.
• Performs other related duties as required by the needs of the company and the leadership team.
• Participates in, and may lead, employee committees, and events.
• Complies with applicable laws, regulations, and LifeCenter policies and procedures.

Benefits

• LifeCenter Northwest offers medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, accidental death & dismemberment insurance, long-term disability insurance, and travel accident insurance.
• Employees have the option of enrolling in the following supplemental or voluntary plans: life insurance, short-term disability, accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness coverage and pet insurance.
• Employees enrolled in our 403(b) program will receive an employer match of up to 7% after one year, employees are auto enrolled at 3% and may change their enrollment at any time.
• LifeCenter encourages all employees to find balance and well-being and provides all employees access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and provides a quarterly Wellness Reimbursement.
• Employees enjoy paid holidays throughout the calendar year and earn 119 hours of PTO annually (to start) as well as Health Time Off hours that is earned 1 hour per 30 worked, paid living donor leave, two weeks paid jury duty leave after 6 months of service, and three weeks of paid parental leave after one year of service is complete.
• A comprehensive review of benefits can be found at https://lcnw.org/about/employment-opportunities/.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees