Quality & Patient Safety Specialist

Arnot Health System • City of Elmira, NY

5d

About The Position

The Quality and Risk Management Specialist plays a critical role in advancing high‑reliability care by supporting quality performance improvement, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation initiatives across the organization. This role applies clinical nursing expertise; deep knowledge of healthcare regulations, accreditation, and standards; and risk management principles to assess performance, identify opportunities for improvement, reduce harm, and ensure compliance with external requirements.
The Specialist collaborates closely with clinical leaders, frontline staff, medical providers, legal counsel, and executive leadership to promote a culture of safety; support evidence‑based practice; and minimize organizational, clinical, and operational risk.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN); Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Quality, or related field preferred.
• Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license in applicable state(s).
• Minimum of 3-5 years of clinical nursing experience in a healthcare setting.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, and patient safety principles.
• Working knowledge of quality improvement tools and methodologies.
• Ability to analyze data and translate findings into improvement actions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines and organizational levels.
• Demonstrated critical thinking, discretion, and professional judgment.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ)
• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS)
• Certified Risk Manager (CRM) or Healthcare Risk Management Certification (Certification may be required within a defined timeframe if not already held.)

Responsibilities

• Support organization‑wide quality improvement initiatives using recognized methodologies (e.g., PDSA, Lean, Six Sigma, performance improvement frameworks).
• Analyze quality indicators, patient safety metrics, and clinical outcomes to identify trends, gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Support patient safety programs including event reporting, near‑miss analysis, and harm prevention initiatives.
• Facilitate root cause analyses (RCAs), failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA), and aggregate event reviews.
• Assist with development, revision, and monitoring of clinical policies, procedures, and standards of care.
• Support identification, assessment, and mitigation of clinical and operational risks across care settings.
• Participate in risk assessments related to patient care, documentation, staffing, workflows, and regulatory changes.
• Assist with review and follow‑up of adverse events, serious safety events, grievances, and patient complaints.
• Support readiness and ongoing compliance with federal, state, and accrediting body requirements (e.g., CMS, Joint Commission, state health departments).
• Assist with preparation for surveys, audits, and regulatory reviews, including tracer activities and document review.
• Monitor regulatory changes and assist leadership in interpreting and operationalizing requirements.
• Participate in corrective action planning following citations, findings, or audit results.
• Apply professional nursing judgment to evaluate quality, safety, and risk issues affecting patient care.
• Serve as a clinical resource to interdisciplinary teams related to standards of care, documentation, and regulatory expectations.
• Support initiatives related to nursing-sensitive indicators, professional practice standards, and evidence‑based care.
• Collaborate with nursing leadership on quality improvement, patient safety, and regulatory priorities.
• Collect, validate, analyze, and interpret quality, safety, and risk data from multiple sources.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and summaries for committees, leadership, and governing bodies.
• Support data integrity, abstraction, and submission requirements as applicable.
• Translate data findings into actionable insights and improvement strategies.
• Support education and training related to quality improvement, patient safety, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
• Promote just culture principles, transparency, and open communication regarding safety concerns.
• Support staff engagement in safety reporting and improvement activities.
• Participate in and support quality, safety, risk, and performance improvement committees.
• Assist with program evaluations, annual reports, and strategic quality planning.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support organizational goals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level