Director Quality & Outcomes

At Houston Methodist, the Director Quality & Outcomes position is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction, oversight, and coordination of quality functions that may include but are not limited to patient safety, clinical outcomes, risk management, infection control, performance improvement, quality issues, external reporting, and regulatory compliance. This position regularly collaborates with medical staff, hospital leadership, and outside agents to collect and analyze hospital data, implement strategies and manage outcomes to provide cost effective, quality safe healthcare delivery.
The Director position responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the department staff, ensuring quality, productivity, functional excellence and efficiency to accomplish strategic and operational objectives. In addition, this position is accountable for employee engagement, adequate staffing levels, budget development and compliance, staffing decisions such as hiring and terminating employment, coaching and counseling employees on work related performance, and developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and effective work environment. This position also ensures training, monitoring and operations initiatives are implemented which secure compliance with ethical and legal business practices and accreditation/regulatory/government regulations.
PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Directs, develops and implements strategic and operational/high level projects and processes either through independent/highly autonomous work or through the facilitation of work teams to enable the effective and efficient completion of objectives.

• Oversees management of and ensures development for staff to meet overall objectives in terms of quality, service and cost effectiveness. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help others strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a problem. Directs management responsibilities of selection, scheduling, supervision, retention, and evaluation of employees.

• Meets or exceeds threshold goal for department turnover and/or system metrics on employee engagement indicators.

• Provides leadership and communication to maintain a competent and engaged employee group by conducting regular department meetings to review policies and procedures and operational matters, rounding on all employees, completing performance appraisals, conducting new hire feedback sessions, coaching/corrective counseling, and providing recognition/commendations to achieve desired outcomes.

• Identifies opportunities and takes action to build strategic relationships between one's area and other areas, teams, departments, and units to achieve business goals. Drives the promotion of teamwork within and between departments; participates and/or leads and facilitates department process improvements as needed.

• Communicates effectively with all levels of staff, physicians, and external groups including regulators, payors, and accrediting bodies.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Oversees department operations, designated projects, schedules and activities as needed to ensure that goals or objectives are accomplished within the prescribed time frame. Sets priorities and functional standards, giving direction to staff as necessary to ensure the best possible delivery of service and high customer/patient satisfaction.

• Drives department service standards and activities to impact department and/or system score for patient/customer-based satisfaction, through role modeling and fostering accountability. Serves and actively participates on various entity committees as a voice for the department.

• Leads entity-wide effort to educate organization regarding performance improvement philosophy, methodology, tools, techniques and emerging trends. Provides organizational leadership in clinical process improvement. Supports departmental quality resources as entity expert and partner along with supporting system-wide strategic plan.

• Facilitates summary reports of key performance improvement/patient safety activities, actions, outcomes and trends for appropriate committees.

• Collaborates with senior management to develop and analyze meaningful outcomes reporting to improve and innovate care delivery. Utilizes benchmarking data and best practices to partner in the delivery of high quality and cost effective patient care which is in concert with the philosophy of the organization.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Ensures a safe and effective working environment; monitors and/or revises the department safety plan and/or any specific accreditation/regulatory required safety guidelines. Responsible for staff maintenance of credentials and competencies, per accrediting/ licensing agency and/or department guidelines as applicable.

• Employs a proactive approach in the optimization of safe outcomes and information systems by monitoring and improving the department workflow and enhancing operations, using peer-to-peer accountability and identifying solutions via collaboration. Implements process improvements utilizing tools such as lean principles. Role models situational awareness, using teachable moments to improve safety.

• Responsible for employee compliance to policies and procedures and performs associated actions upon non-compliance (i.e., licensure/certification compliance, focal point review requirements, disaster plan, in-services, influenza immunization, wage and hour, standard hours, timely termination submission, timely timecard approval, etc.).

• Develops and continuously oversees the entity-wide performance improvement/patient safety program to optimize program effectiveness, goal achievements, contemporary state of the art practices, and regulatory compliance.

• Oversees leadership of RCA, FMEA, and other complex problem-solving groups and with monitoring the follow up and action plans.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops and manages department operational and capital budgets, approvals, and ongoing maintenance of the department(s), ensuring operation in a cost-effective manner. Proactively identifies and plans for capital needs related to current equipment and future department projects. Ensures staffing plans and schedules meet department needs that reflect understanding of the importance of cost-effectiveness.

• Creates department strategies to achieve financial target and staffing needs, through optimizing productivity, supply/resource efficiency, minimizing incidental overtime and overtime percentage, and other areas according to department specifications.

• Collaborates with stakeholders on performance improvement activities that effectively reduce exposure to pay for performance penalties.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies and implements innovative solutions for practice or workflow changes to improve department, entity or system operations by leading unit projects and/or other department/ system-directed activities. Proactively leads task forces and committees. May represent HM at assigned community or professional organization meetings.

• Drives change initiatives, maintaining effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment; adjusts effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures. Partners effectively with stakeholders as appropriate.

• Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates My Development plan on an on-going basis. Conducts conversations with staff on their development.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive; the employee will also perform other reasonably related business/job duties as assigned. Houston Methodist reserves the right to revise job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.
EDUCATION

• Master's or higher degree in a related field

• Bachelor's or master's degree in nursing strongly preferred

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Five years of management experience in a healthcare environment; for internals, three years management experience in healthcare with HM performance that demonstrates leadership responsibility

• Two years of experience in hospital Quality/Performance Improvement with demonstrated experience in understanding and executing performance improvement concepts and activities and regulatory surveys preparation

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - REQUIRED

• CPHQ - Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) OR
• CPPS - Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CBPPS) OR
• HACP - Healthcare Accreditation Certification Program (CIHQ) OR
• Other nationally recognized certification in quality, patient safety, regulatory, risk, or related area

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS - PREFERRED

• RN - Registered Nurse - Texas State Licensure and/or Compact State Licensure within 60 days OR
• RN-Temp - Registered Nurse - Temporary State Licensure within 60 days

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations

• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job . click apply for full job details