Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

The Program Manager, Quality reflects the mission, vision, and values of Northwestern Medicine, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines, and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

Responsible for planning and coordinating all or a portion of the overall operations of the Quality program for a specific operating unit at the direction of the Director of Quality. Coordinates and leads the quality endeavor, coordinates with peers, and is responsible for implementation and follow up as outlined in the annual quality plan, ongoing priorities of leadership and quality committees, and compliance with relevant standards monitored by The Joint Commission (TJC) and other agencies.
This position will advance the use of quality evaluation and improvement strategies to achieve key organizational goals in quality and patient safety. The Program Manager partners with administrative, physician, nursing, ancillary leadership, and other system function teams to advance the quality agenda through the development and implementation of plans and strategies that facilitate the achievement of strategic organizational goals.

Responsibilities:

Implement effective quality planning

• Design quality plans, programs and policies, peer review, and best practices in partnership with senior medical and operational leaders.
• Lead the department to identify quality opportunities and concerns, in collaboration with the Director of Quality.
• Facilitate the implementation of systems and processes that promote a fair and just culture and improve patient care.

Provide leadership and operational implementation of assigned Clinical Quality activities

• Conduct detailed, sophisticated, accurate and creative analyses of data at NMHC and outside NMHC (e.g. benchmarks, comparative data) to identify quality opportunities.

• Develop, conduct, implement and improve process improvement activities to improve high quality& high-reliability healthcare.
• Identify and utilize appropriate quality metrics to evaluate project or performance success based on stated purpose and needed outcomes.
• Advance performance compared to appropriate external benchmarks and optimize process and outcome metrics.
• Coordinate organizational responses to regulatory standards related to quality such as Joint Commission, CMS QAPI, etc.
• Provide oversight for CMS data submission and ensure compliance with all CMS data requirements (e.g. validation, etc.)

Support NM quality program

• Share quality activities across NMHC and coordinate collaborative NMHC quality efforts as assigned.
• Maintain a current understanding of quality theory, measures, methods, standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in the development, review, and revision of policies and procedures that affect quality.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with other departments including, but not limited to, Accreditation and Compliance, Risk Management, Patient Safety, Process Improvement, Clinical Documentation, and Nursing, Medical Staff, Pharmacy, and other disciplines.
• Continuously evaluate and improve the quality program based on internal needs and external requirements and standards.

Support effective department operations and growth, and personal development

• Support, coach, teach, mentor, monitor and evaluate the work of others conducting quality work (as directed) and personally conduct, coordinate, facilitate, and participate in quality assessments, improvement efforts, committees, etc.
• Assist Director to recruit, manage, mentor, coach, and develop staff to optimal professional effectiveness and engagement.
• Oversee effective use of budget and other resources as delegated. Will supervise projects with organizational impact, and intermittent staff assignments.
• Responsible for self-development and professional engagement, including knowledge of the literature and attendance at professional meetings, preparation of manuscripts, posters and presentations, involvement of with local and national task forces as relevant.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing or Allied Health Profession or a Master’s degree in a healthcare related field
• 5 years of work experience, with 4 years in a healthcare setting, and 3 years of quality, patient safety, or relevant experience
• Advanced competence with Excel and data analysis
• Mastery of performance improvement methodologies (i.e. DMAIC), analytic tools and methods, including implementation with measurable results
• Highly effective and experienced at facilitation of teams including complex multi-disciplinary projects
• Knowledgeable and skilled at managing disparate perspectives and conflict
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Expert knowledge of quality and patient safety, quality measures and measurement, relevant statistical tools, and associated methodologies (e.g., RCA, FMEA, DMAIC, and NM Toolkit).

Preferred:

• Master’s degree
• Clinical experience 
• Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) or Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) or other evidence of advanced commitment to profession.
• Familiarity with major sources of measures, literature, and quality- and patient-safety-related federal and state policy.
• Experience with clinical outcomes, safety, and patient satisfaction data

Additional Information

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.