PATIENT ADVOCATE

• Support the Risk and Performance Improvement Director will all Performance Improvement activities, project management, meeting preparation, etc.
• Collect, analyze, and enter Performance Improvement Data in various reports; make recommendations for Process Improvement opportunities
• Assist Risk and Performance Improvement Director with required audits and maintain audit compliance
• Maintain a survey readiness atmosphere within the hospital at all times
• Present the hospital’s patient rights philosophy to patients by visiting with them; introducing them to the patient rights materials and confirming their understanding of who to contact with concerns or questions
• Prevent complaints and grievances by counseling with staff who see a problem developing; offering suggestions to resolve potential complaints and modifying practices that cause repeated complaints
• Document and determine a resolution to all complaints within department and hospital policies and procedures
• Maintains all required documentation for complaints and grievances, as well as completes follow up tasks to maintain compliance with Joint Commission and CMS regulations
• Resolve complaint by listening to the patient and/or the family; directing them to a physician or supervisor; helping them present facts to the hospital representative; develop acceptable resolutions and follow up on all outcomes within departmental and hospital policies and procedures

• Practice the utmost confidentiality and customer service to patients and their families and provide information to internal and external customers in a timely, professional and courteous manner clearly and concisely in verbally and written form

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Improves quality results by evaluating and re-designing the patient complaint processes and implementing changes as needed
• Stays abreast of patient advocate trends via educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations
• Enhances the patient advocacy and hospital reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests and exploring opportunities to add value to the role
• Other administrative tasks as assigned
• Will adhere to all safety policies and safe work practice
• Will adhere to all hospital policies and procedures
• Perform other duties as assigned
• Exhibit Service Excellence and support facility internal and external customer service standards 

Emotional or Mental Stress:

Must be able to work with several distractions including light conversations.  Must be able to deal with aggressive, hostile and irrational behaviors of patients.  Must be able to respond immediately in crisis situations concerning patients and/or family members.

• Associates Degree in recognized mental health field or business management and 5 years’ experience working in a patient care role; Bachelor’s Degree preferred
• Proven strong patient care experience
• Strong verbal and conflict resolution skills required
• Strong computer and analytical skills, particular in data tracking and report writing

Critical thinking and project management skills

Physical and Mental requirements of Job:

Able to stop, crouch, reach, walk, and stand for sustained periods of time; use extremities to press against something with steady force, as well as pull objects, using extremities to draw, drag, haul, or tug in a sustained motion; able to feel, grasp, and finger objects and lift them from a lower to higher position or horizontally from one position to another; express and exchange ideas via spoken or written work to convey detailed information in an audible and quick manner, able to make fine discriminations in sound and to perceive the nature of sounds with no less than a 40lb loss @Hz, 1,000 Hz and 2,000 Hz, with or without correction; able to substantially move wrist, hands and/or fingers in a repetitive motion.

Must be able to exert up to 20 lbs. of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 lbs. of force frequently, and occasionally exert up to 50 lbs. of force.

Visual Acuity:

Visual acuity required adequate for preparing and analyzing data and figures, accounting, transcription, characters on computer terminals, reading, and visual inspections necessary