Risk Analyst

State of North Carolina

4d • $58,613 - $102,574

About The Position

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is one of the largest, most complex agencies in the state, and has approximately 17,000 employees. It is responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of all North Carolinians, providing human service needs for special populations including individuals who are deaf, blind, developmentally disabled, and mentally ill, and helping poor North Carolinians achieve economic independence.

The Quality Assurance/Standards Specialist is responsible for planning, developing, and facilitating the quality assurance and patient safety programs in an in-patient state psychiatric hospital setting. The Quality Assurance/Standards Specialist is responsible for ensuring hospital systems and processes are well-designed, assessing risks, and evaluating the effectiveness of practices to promote safety and quality care for patients, staff, and visitors.

Requirements

• Master's degree in psychology, social work, education, health, business administration or related human service field from an appropriately accredited institution and two years of experience in professional level treatment programming for the applicable client population; or Bachelor's degree in one of the fields listed above from an appropriately accredited institution and three years of experience as indicated above; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience completing investigations/reviews to determine risk of harm or property damage.
• Experience working with others teams, departments or workgroups to assess problems, develop recommendations, and implement action plans/plans of correction/performance improvement plans in order to reduce risk and promote a culture of safety.
• Experience gathering and analyzing data and developing reports.
• Experience overseeing and facilitating team projects.
• 2 years of experience working as part of a treatment team with psychiatric or similar patient population.
• Knowledge of Joint Commission, CMS, and (or) other accrediting bodies.
• Experience in applying regulatory standards and developing policies and procedures.
• Experience in communicating effectively verbally and in written form with various staff.

Responsibilities

• Conduct quality control reviews, audits, and inspections; provides technical assistance and consultation to management and staff on the interpretation and application of quality-of-care standards, accreditation requirements (Joint Commission, CMS HBIPS/Global Measures), and Department of State Operated Health Facilities (DSOHF) dashboard indicators.
• Reviews incident reports, adverse events, and near misses; leads or participates in root cause analyses and comprehensive systematic analyses; identifies trends, contributing factors, and system/process issues.
• Investigate patient incidents and safety events as assigned, including interviewing patients and staff, reviewing documentation, and collecting/securing supporting evidence.
• Develop risk assessment tools and data collection methods; analyzes service delivery and compliance problems; develops written reports, corrective action plans, and improvement strategies.
• Collaborate with management, interdisciplinary teams, and Performance Improvement teams to design/redesign processes, implement changes, monitor sustainability, and promote performance improvement activities hospital-wide.
• Track, analyze, and share hospital performance data with departments, committees, patient care units, hospital leadership, and the Quality, Risk Management, and Compliance (QRMC) team to prioritize patient safety and quality initiatives in response to internal and external requirements.
• Participate in committees, special projects, audits, and inspections related to hospital risk, patient safety, environmental hazards, and patient rights as assigned by the QRMC Department leadership.
• Consult with other departments as needed (e.g., police department for criminal events, advocacy/protection services for allegations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation) and presents findings to management and the Clinical Cabinet for evaluation of safety concerns and trends.
• Routinely perform functions within the Patient Safety Evaluation System (PSES), including review and analysis of events, maintenance of Patient Safety Work Product (PSWP) in a secure environment, and entry of patient safety event information into designated PSES and Patient Safety Organization (PSO) databases.

What This Job Offers

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