Patient Experience Program Mgr-Specialist

In 2020 united in a fierce commitment to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional patient experience Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan Health came together as natural partners to build a new health system centered around the patient: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Our combined system builds upon the scale and expertise of our nearly 300 sites of care including 11 hospitals and nearly 5000 physicians and providers. Together we are empowered to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

This job is responsible for providing professional expertise and guidance to employees, healthcare providers and site-based leadership in support of the creation of a strong and sustainable culture of patient-centered care that helps to deliver on Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s (VMFH) mission to keep people and communities healthy and lead to better performance outcomes for the organization. Work focuses on change that will bring about higher clinical quality and efficiency, a safer patient environment, heightened employee engagement, improved financial results and greater competitive advantage. Inasmuch as patient experience is a mission-critical key to the future success of the organization, work goes beyond clinical experience of care to all interactions and touch points, with focus on alignment across all segments of the continuum and the spaces in between.

An incumbent makes rounds at the assigned VMFH hospitals, medical centers and/or Franciscan Medical Group (FMG) clinic(s) to observe current services/processes, gather service-related data from staff/patients, and to provide training/feedback based on best practices and/or new organizational initiatives. Work includes: 1) serving as liaison with clinical operations to understand needs, facilitate improvements and lead to engagements that are optimal for both the patient and organization; 2) overseeing the site-based patient advocacy function to include compliance with Federal, State and local civil rights laws and regulations; 3) facilitating/coordinating site-based process improvement teams; 4) communicating best practices for improving patient experience results; and 5) raising awareness of the patient experience to facilitate cultural change; and 6) supervising the assigned Patient Advocate.

Contacts are at all levels, requiring diplomacy, tact, and the ability to persuade and motivate employees, healthcare providers and higher-level management to make sustained improvements which lead to enhancement of the patient experience. Work requires strong communication skills and the ability to make effective training presentations to groups or in one-on-one situations. An incumbent applies knowledge of patient experience concepts/standards and service quality improvement measures to support data-driven experience/quality improvement initiatives and programs. Also requires knowledge of the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicate Services) value-based purchasing concepts and CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) comparative reporting measures.

Education/Work Experience Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, organizational development or a healthcare-related field and four years of related work experience that demonstrates the attainment of the requisite job knowledge, skills/abilities.
Or, any equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Licensure/Certification:
Current Certified Patient Experience Professional preferred.
Current Licensure as a Registered Nurse in the state of Washington is strongly preferred.