Senior Patient Relations Specialist

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health•Lebanon, NH

12d

About The Position

In partnership with hospital leaders, the Senior Patient Relations Specialist manages feedback, including compliments, complaints, and grievances, from the initial point of contact through appropriate documentation, investigation, and resolution. This position requires excellent active listening skills, empathic responsiveness, critical thinking, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. The Senior Patient Relations Specialist demonstrates discretion with information sharing and is responsible for reviewing data trends and reporting results to appropriate departmental, divisional, or senior leaders. They facilitate interdepartmental collaboration to achieve improvement initiatives. Additionally, they are frequently required to discuss complex situations and facilitate family meetings, and will serve as a mediator between the patient, family, and D-H leaders. They work in collaborative partnership with the Office of the CEO, Nursing Leadership, Risk Management, Legal, and Patient Financial Services. Successful individuals in this position require a high degree of emotional intelligence, boundary setting, and emotional maturity. This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week day shift position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a healthcare-related field and 5 years of experience in a patient/customer-oriented position or the equivalent in education and experience required.
Strong negotiation and communication skills, with the ability to work independently, are required.
Ability to handle confidential material with maturity, sensitivity, and discretion.
High impact communication: excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to listen, empathize, de-escalate, and critically think through issues and potential solutions.
Excellent interpersonal skills to include working with external parties, providers, and families. Social perceptiveness necessary.
Learning and teaching strategies for ongoing service recovery skill building.
Ability to work with minimal supervision and maintain a high degree of communication of current work activity with supervisors.
Excellent self-control and negotiation skills to effectively manage difficult situations and people.
Adaptability with a high tolerance for ambiguous work situations.

Responsibilities

Assures compliance with all regulatory requirements for grievance resolutions and reporting.
Maintains database for tracking and trending complaints and grievances. Compiles data for analysis, identifying areas of opportunity to improve patient experiences.
Generates statistical data and feedback regarding the trending of complaints and grievances to leadership, as well as specific departments.
Partners with colleagues to develop and implement initiatives targeted to improve patient experience.
Serves as an advocate for patients and their family members prior to, during, and following their care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H).
Provides staff education in areas related to patient relations, including patient needs and expectations, patient rights, and responding to patient complaints and grievances, to build and sustain a patient-customer focused culture.
Reports identified or potential risk issues to Risk Management or Quality Assurance & Safety leadership.
Works closely with liability carrier and General Counsel in response to issues that represent potential liability or claims of malpractice or negligence.
Assists with the development and revision of policies, procedures, and guidelines, i.e., Patient Relations, Patient Rights, and Complaint and Grievance resolution.
Performs other duties as required or assigned.