Director, Patient Safety

USRC's greatest strength in being a leader in the dialysis industry is our ability to recognize and celebrate the differences in our diverse workforce. We strongly believe in recruiting top talent and creating a diverse and inclusive work climate and culture at all levels of our organization.

SUMMARY

The Director of Patient Safety is responsible for leading the organization's patient safety strategy and implementing programs that promote a culture of safety, minimize preventable harm, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. This role oversees event response management, safety data analytics, and proactive risk assessments to identify and mitigate safety concerns. The Director works cross-functionally with clinical, operational, IT, and compliance teams to develop policies, tools, and educational initiatives that enhance organizational learning and performance improvement. A champion of Just Culture, the Director fosters transparency, accountability, and continuous learning across the care continuum.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties and tasks may be assigned.

Event Response & Risk Mitigation

• Lead and coordinate thorough, timely responses to adverse safety events and near misses.
• Conduct and oversee Root Cause Analyses (RCAs) and Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEAs) to uncover system vulnerabilities and prevent recurrence.
• Develop corrective and preventive action plans, tracking implementation and impact.

Data Analytics & Trend Monitoring

• Monitor and analyze patient safety data to identify risks, performance trends, and improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with clinical and operational teams to translate data insights into targeted interventions.
• Prepare and present patient safety reports, scorecards, and dashboards for leadership and governance bodies.

Program Development & Team Member Education

• Design and implement patient safety initiatives, including falls prevention and medication safety programs.
• Lead the Great Catch program to promote reporting, learning, and proactive safety culture.
• Develop and deliver training programs on patient safety principles, tools, and organizational policies.

Systems Collaboration & Regulatory Alignment

• Partner with Risk Management and Compliance to ensure alignment with federal, state, and accreditation requirements (e.g., CMS, TJC).
• Work with IT to design, implement, and maintain dashboards for real-time visibility into patient safety metrics.
• Serve as the subject matter expert on patient safety practices, tools, and standards.

Cultural Leadership & Engagement

• Lead and embed the principles of Just Culture throughout the organization.
• Coordinate patient safety engagement activities, including National Patient Safety Week.
• Foster a psychologically safe environment that encourages event reporting, staff empowerment, and continuous learning.

• Upholds management goals of corporation by leading staff in team concepts and promoting a team effort.
• Maintains effective personnel management and employee relations, including evaluating the performance of all personnel; approving and submitting all hours worked and counseling and disciplining employees.
• Recruits, trains, develops, and supervises personnel.
• Actively promotes GUEST customer service standards; develop effective relationships at all levels of the organization.
• Effectively communicates expectations; accepts accountability and holds others accountable for performance.
• Regular and reliable attendance is required for the job.

Qualifications/Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Requirements include:

• Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Management, Nursing, or a related field required; Master's degree preferred.

• Five (5+) years of progressive experience in healthcare quality, patient safety, or related domains.
• Proven experience conducting RCAs and FMEAs and implementing system-level safety improvements.
• Familiarity with safety reporting systems, incident management platforms, and data analysis tools.

• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) preferred at hire or required within one year.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification preferred or required within two years of hire.

Originally posted on Himalayas