Job description

Clinical Quality Improvement Specialist

Job Summary

• This position serves in a dual role involving direct in person coordination with hospital facilities to enhance both National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) automated hospital reporting along with pediatric readiness capabilities within hospital networks and facilities located in Indiana. This position promotes best practices and quality improvement processes in both hospital reporting importance for the automation transition and pediatric preparedness programs/initiatives. The position serves in coordinating the development of statewide guidelines, aiding hospitals into an automated platform for hospital reporting, educational modules, and quality improvement resources/tools utilizing federal and national recommendations/guidance, evidence-based guidelines and best practices specific to the delivery of hospital facility key elements reporting along with pediatric emergency care. The position also serves as a resource and technical advisor to, pre-hospital agencies, hospitals, other healthcare practitioners as well as non-health care entities within our state to ensure hospital facility needs are adequately addressed.

Education and/or Work Experience

• Registered Nurse (RN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or other similar certification combined with Hospital experience, preferred
• Bachelor’s degree, supplemented with 3-5 years of previous hospital and quality improvement job-related experience. Ideal candidate also has either CPHQ or Lean Six Sigma

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with development and launching of a state/jurisdiction capacity system that includes near-time bed capacity counts for the state’s/jurisdiction’s acute care hospitals, including critical access hospitals.

• Help coordinate emergency department data, organized per NHSN definitions to Hospital Capacity Data Store at least twice per day on an ongoing basis. Data would include emergency department (ED) census, ED Admitted census (boarding) and ED pressure indicator by count of all patients in the ED that have a physician assigned.

• Create possible items listed below to support the states'/jurisdiction’s ongoing participation in the NHSN Connectivity Initiative, such as:

• Develop communications and training materials for onboarding identified stakeholders and hospital users.

• Provide training and onboarding services to participating hospitals and stakeholders.

• Work with the state’s/jurisdiction's hospitals to collect necessary information for dashboard development and implementation.

• Facilitate the gathering and engagement of hospitals’ technical staff to work on automated and secured data feeds per specifications supported by the web-based application.

• Manages the participation and permission process/clearances (to send data to NHSN) of participating hospitals. Also provides permission to allow for use of state’s/jurisdiction’s data in conjunction with other participating entities for research and emergency planning by the state and federal health partners.

• Obtain signed commitment from acute care hospitals in the state/jurisdiction to participate in the project through an established participation agreement.

• Facilitates efforts to improve clinical and service outcomesthroughout the state as related to pediatric emergency care, utilizing federal/national guidance (including but not limited to the American Academy of Pediatrics, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response, Centers for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Services for Children, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission).

• Works with Indiana Emergency Departments to assess areas of need, conduct gap analyses, communicate pediatric standards and disseminate resources as appropriate.

• Develops and facilitates bi-monthly State Pediatric Emergency Care Workgroup meetings and actively assumes project leadership responsibilities through planning, coordination of workgroup activities and development of tools, educational modules, and resources for workgroup review.

• Participates as a team member on hospital site visits conducted throughout the state, to assess compliance with pediatric emergency care requirements and regulations using defined checklists; provides verbal and written assessment of hospital strengths/weaknesses; outlines recommendations and other key subject matter expertise as appropriate; shares applicable resources and technical guidance with hospitals as needed.

• Develops documents annually to promote quality improvement practices as related to pediatric emergency care documents, and development of a quality improvement plan.

• Utilizes data to identify trends, draw appropriate conclusions and make recommendations; develops data reports for decision-makers to support conclusions and recommendations; reports should communicate any limitations of the analyses.

• Facilitates efforts to improve clinical and service outcomes throughout the state as related to pediatric emergency care, utilizing federal/national guidance (including but not limited to the American Academy of Pediatrics, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response, Centers for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Services for Children, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission).

• Works with Indiana Emergency Departments to assess areas of need, conduct gap analyses, communicate pediatric standards and disseminate resources as appropriate.

• Develops and facilitates bi-monthly State Pediatric Emergency Care Workgroup meetings and actively assumes project leadership responsibilities through planning, coordination of workgroup activities and development of tools, educational modules, and resources for workgroup review.

• Participates as a team member on hospital site visits conducted throughout the state, to assess compliance with pediatric emergency care requirements and regulations using defined checklists; provides verbal and written assessment of hospital strengths/weaknesses; outlines recommendations and other key subject matter expertise as appropriate; shares applicable resources and technical guidance with hospitals as needed.

• Develops documents annually to promote quality improvement practices as related to pediatric emergency care documents, and development of a quality improvement plan.

• Engages in and demonstrates self-development in clinical and professional knowledge base in the areas of pediatric emergency management, quality improvement processes, communication, and awareness of trends in the healthcare environment.

• Utilizes data to identify trends, draw appropriate conclusions, and make recommendations; develops data reports for decision-makers to support conclusions and recommendations; reports should communicate any limitations of the analyses.

Travel

• In-state travel will be required as needed and out of state overnight may be necessary.
• Expect ~85% of work week traveling around state of Indiana