Patient Safety Officer

JOB SUMMARY:

The Patient Safety Officer serves as the organizations primary resource for patient safety program development implementation and sustainment across all MAHEC clinical departments. This roleis responsible forbuilding andmaintaininga culture of safety through systematic event reporting trend analysis and improvement/cultural initiatives.

Working collaboratively with clinical leadership risk management and front-line staff the Patient Safety Officerfacilitatesroot cause analyses develops corrective action plans and ensures lessons learned aredisseminatedacross the organization. This position plays a critical role in establishing MAHEC as an organization committed to the pursuit of zero harm.

The ideal candidate combines healthcare quality improvementexpertisewith strong analytical skills systems thinking and the ability to engage staff at all levels in safety improvement work. This role requires someone who can build trust foster psychological safety for reporting and translate complex safety science concepts into practical workflows.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Event Reporting & Analysis

• Reviews and prioritizes patient-safety events each day ensuringtimelytriage of all incidents assigned by Risk Management

• Facilitates root cause analyses (RCAs) for serious harm events at the direction of the Medical Review Committee near-misses with high severity potential and recurrent event patterns

• Provides consultation to assigned task owners on patient safety event follow-up for lower-severity safety events

• Utilizes the patient safety platform tracking system tomonitorcompletion and effectiveness of corrective actions

Safety Program Development

• Reviewsdevelopsandmaintainspatient safety policies procedures and standard work documents

• Conducts proactive risk assessments using FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis)methodologyfor high-risk processes

• Coordinates recall management for medications clinical supplies and equipment in collaboration with Pharmacy clinical operations and Risk Management

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Analyzes safety event data toidentifytrends patterns and systemic vulnerabilities

• Prepares safety reports for the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Executive Safety Committee and Quality & Safety Committee

• Tracks and reports patient safety program performance metrics

Culture & Training

• Promotes a Just Culture approach that balances learning withappropriate accountability

• Develops and delivers patient safety training for staff including new employee orientation content as needed

• Trains front-line leaders on patient safety event follow-upmethodologyand human factors principles

• Develops anddisseminatescommunication highlighting patient-safety learnings to promote organizational awareness

• Supports implementation of safety communication tools including huddles & safety briefs

Committee Support

• Serves as primary staff support for a Patient Safety Committee and the Executive Safety Committee

• Reports RCA statuses and action items to Medical Review Committee (MRC); coordinates with MRC to support completion and hold process owners accountable

• Serves as liaison between clinical departments and quality functions on safety matters

• Actively embraces and supports organizational quality initiatives

SPECIFIED SKILLS

COMPUTER

• Proficiencyin Microsoft Office Suite including Excel (data analysis pivot tables) PowerPoint (presentations) and Word

• Experience with electronic health record systems preferred

• Experience with incident reporting and risk management software systems

• Proficiencyin Microsoft Visio or other flow mapping software

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Spanish speaking skills preferred

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Proficiencyin root cause analysis (RCA) and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) methodologies

• Knowledge of quality improvement methods including PDSA cycles Lean and Six Sigma

• Understanding of human factors engineering principles and their application to healthcare

• Familiarity with patient safety culture frameworks

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Light energy level. Primarily sedentary work with occasional walking to clinical sites for rounds training and patient safety event follow-up. Ability to travel between MAHEC locations as needed.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• No direct reports

• Providesfunctional guidance to front-line leaders and Practice Administrators conducting patient safety event follow-up

• May coordinate work of student interns or project-specific team members

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing(BSN) Healthcare Administration Public Health Health Sciences or related field

• Three (3) years of experience in healthcare setting

• Two (2) years of experience in quality improvement patient safety risk management or related function

• Demonstrated experience conducting root cause analyses or similar structured safety reviews

• Experience with data analysis and performance reporting

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Masters degree in Public Health(MPH) Healthcare Administration (MHA) Nursing (MSN) or related field

• Experience in ambulatory outpatient primary care or FQHC/community health center settings

• Clinical licensure (RN LPN or other healthcare license)

• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) or Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care (CPHFH)

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent process improvement certification

• Experience with Team STEPPS IHI Just Culture or High Reliability Organization frameworks

REQUIRED LICENSES

• None

• Clinical licensure or patient safety certification (CPPS CPHQ CPHFH) strongly preferred

SCHEDULE:

Regular attendance on-site is an essential function of this position. Typical business hours are Monday Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (or flexed to best meet the needs of the clients and/or the Division);40 hoursper workweek; weekend holiday or evening coverage is occasionally. Work hours will need to be flexiblein order torespond to special work assignments or evening activities as requested by the team leader.

• On-call availability may befor serious safety events requiring immediate response

• Regional travel to MAHEC satellite locations

POSITION COMPENSATION:

Full-time position with full benefits available. Salary position $78000.

At MAHEC we strive to equip all team members with Total Rewards (pay benefits) to honor their service support their health manage their financial security build their career and thrive.

MAHEC does not provide employment-based US visa sponsorship now or in the future. All new employees must provide valid original I-9 documents on their first day of work. All MAHEC employees and learners will be required to receive the Flu vaccine or have an approved exemption.

MAHEC Talent Management is located at 121 Hendersonville Road Asheville NC 28803. Equal Opportunity Employer.

MAHEC is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Employees who meet federal requirements may be eligible to have remaining student loan balances forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments while working full-time at MAHEC.

If you are interested in this role and you have related experience and qualifications we encourage you to apply or reach out to for support in your job search process. You could be the talent we are seeking for this or other opportunities.