Patient Experience Specialist

Overview

The Patient Experience Specialist is responsible for leading collaborative, organization-wide patient experience improvement initiatives throughout the Covenant HealthCare enterprise. This position is a key driver in implementing effective improvement plans, serving as a highly visible coach to leaders, managers, and front-line staff, and ensuring that the patient experience at Covenant HealthCare reflects the organizational mission.

The Patient Experience Specialist demonstrates excellent customer service performance in that his/her attitude and actions are at all times consistent with the standards contained in the Vision, Mission and Values of Covenant HealthCare and the commitment to Extraordinary Care for Every Generation.

Responsibilities

• Synthesizes patient experience/HCAHPS performance and feedback from a variety of sources, and identifies challenges and barriers to improvement in order to create appropriate interventions and provide support to achieve patient experience improvement goals.
• Actively rounds in patient care settings to observe interactions with patients and families, to speak with patients and families regarding their experiences and to assess the physical appearance of the environment (neatness of bulletin boards, signage, clutter, etc.) to assist leadership in identifying opportunities to enhance customer service.
• Tracks and monitors performance to goals as the basis for developing recommendations for continuous HCAHPS and Press Ganey score improvement.
• Reports findings and progress in the form of formal oral and written presentations to the senior leaders, physicians, department managers/directors and other members of the care team.
• Collaborates with department leadership to interpret HCAHPS & Press Ganey data/reports and provides guidance regarding performance improvement initiatives and best practices.
• Understands and analyzes the organization's patient experience data and uses this data to provide in-depth, proactive consultation, coaching and direction to directors, managers, physicians and staff in service improvement methods
• Manages the Service Recovery program and coaches staff in successful service recovery approaches.
• Serves as a visible and enthusiastic champion in providing day to day leadership in implementing patient experience improvement initiatives.
• Recruits and maintains an active patient/family advisory council to provide detailed patient experience feedback.
• Ensures appropriate employee and department recognition of patient experience excellence through use of internal recognition programs and development of informal approaches to team and unit recognition
• Working with senior leadership and department leadership teams, continuously evaluates progress and identifies and mitigates barriers to success in order to achieve targeted results.
• Provide change management and team-building support to leaders.

Qualifications

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelors Degree in Communications, Healthcare Administration, Business, or related fields.
• Masters preferred
• 3 years experience in healthcare with emphasis on customer service and the patient experience.
• Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP) designation preferred.
• Experience in leading and facilitating teams and work groups.
• Experience in implementing quality/performance improvement programs in a complex organization.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Demonstrated understanding of customer service and patient experience concepts, and HCAHPS requirements
• Knowledge of statistical analysis.
• Demonstrated understanding of effective organizational change processes.
• Project a positive, enthusiastic and energetic image.
• Strong oral and written communications skills.
• Demonstrate collaborative leadership practices, and goal setting
• Operational proficiency in computer data analysis, presentation and general communication applications.
• Ability to research, analyze and interpret data, and identify and problem solve issues by proposing courses of action.
• Skill in interpreting and applying Press Ganey and HCAHPS survey processes.
• Strong interpersonal skills with physicians, leadership, staff and community resources.
• Ability to effectively interface with physicians, leaders and staff to develop actionable plans to provide value to patients and their families, and enhance the Covenant patient experience.
• Ability to establish and carry through on strong collaborative relationships and work relationships
• Ability to teach and coach customer service principles
• Ability to influence physicians, leaders and staff to improvement

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Ability to maintain punctual attendance consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards.
• Frequent lifting up to 10 lbs.
• Frequent standing, walking, sitting, talking, hearing, near vision, midrange vision and far vision.
• Occasional lifting up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, twisting, reaching, handling, feeling, depth perception, color vision and field of vision.