Patient Advocacy Specialist: PT Days

Firelands Health•Sandusky, OH

About The Position

The Patient Advocacy Specialist serves as a liaison between patients and families and hospital staff to enhance patient relations. The role communicates patients’ positive and negative perceptions of their hospital experience, helps them understand organizational policies, procedures, and services, and assists with resolving problems. The specialist proactively rounds on assigned patients each work day, responds to patient needs and feedback, and coordinates timely, effective solutions with caregivers and other members of the patient care team. The position coordinates the receipt, investigation, resolution, communication, and correspondence related to complaints and grievances during and after a hospital stay. It maintains patient-contact and grievance records, compiles and analyzes feedback from multiple sources, and prepares activity reports to inform leadership and identify opportunities for improvement. The specialist also supports patient rights, collaborates with Case Management and other care-transition functions, participates on patient-satisfaction committees, and maintains knowledge of applicable accreditation requirements and regulatory standards. Firelands Health is a locally managed, not-for-profit healthcare provider serving the Sandusky Bay region and a regional service area of more than 300,000 residents. Its mission is to provide excellent healthcare, promote community wellness, and improve the lives it serves. Its core values are Attitude, Commitment, and Enthusiasm.

Requirements

Experience in a health care clinical field is required.
Three years of relevant experience in clinical care or health care-related customer service.
Obtain patient advocacy certification within three years of accepting the position.
Strong customer service and interpersonal skills.
Be a team player with demonstrated success using a team approach to resolve issues or accomplish goals.
Address difficult or awkward situations with tact and diplomacy.
Work supportively with staff to troubleshoot and resolve issues.
Be visible to staff, offering support and modeling service behaviors and concern-resolution processes.
Adaptability and a high tolerance for ambiguity.
Proven analytical skills, including analysis, planning, organizing, and troubleshooting.
Ability to be mobile and communicate effectively, and to adequately understand oral and written communication from others.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in a health care-related field, current license, or certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as a liaison between patients and families and hospital staff to enhance patient relations.
Communicate patient and family perceptions of the hospital experience and facilitate understanding of organizational policies, procedures, and services.
Assist patients and families with problem resolution and refer needs for service, communication, comfort, care assistance, or other support.
Coordinate collection, analysis, and distribution of complaint and satisfaction feedback and related actions to the leadership team.
Round on assigned patients each work day to identify strengths and concerns proactively.
Choose an appropriate level of response and involve other patient-care team members as needed to coordinate timely, effective solutions.
Communicate issues within the interdisciplinary team to support consistent, coordinated care.
Respond to suggestions and compliments and provide positive reinforcement to patients and staff.
Coordinate the receipt, investigation, problem-solving, communication, and correspondence associated with patient complaints and grievances during hospitalization and after discharge.
Organize workflow to remain visible to patients and prioritize multiple tasks.
Collaborate with Case Management and other transitions-of-care functions to address strengths and concerns across the continuum of care.
Identify and refer system-related and issue-related problems.
Maintain a database of patient contacts, concerns, grievances, and actions.
Compile complaint and grievance reports from multiple sources, document information in the database, maintain the grievance log and files, and produce activity reports.
Correlate complaint and grievance findings with other feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
Facilitate advocacy and services to assure patient rights.
Participate in patient-satisfaction committees, including SAMA, the ACE of Hearts Team, and the Continuous Quality Improvement Team.
Maintain proficiency in computer programs related to organizational functioning.
Contribute to the grievance log.
Maintain knowledge of current accreditation requirements and regulatory standards.