Clinical Quality Improvement Specialist
2 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46204/Hybrid
12+ Months Contract

Approximately 85% of in-state travel throughout Indiana will be required with approx. 1 day/week in the Indianapolis office
Occasional out-of-state, overnight travel may be necessary.
Candidates required to reside in District 5, Central Indiana - Counties in D5 include Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson and Shelby. Please confirm which county candidate resides in.

BS in Nursing (BSN), or other similar cert. combined with Hospital experience, prefer Bachelor’s degree, supplemented with 3-5 years of previous hospital and quality improvement job-related exp. Ideal candidate also has either CPHQ or Lean Six Sigma.

Job description

Clinical Quality Improvement Specialist

Job Summary This position serves in a dual role involving direct in person coordination with hospital facilities to enhance both National

Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) automated hospital reporting along with pediatric readiness capabilities within hospital networks and facilities located in Indiana. This position promotes best practicesand quality improvement processes in both hospital reporting importance for the automation transition and pediatric preparedness programs/initiatives. The position serves in coordinating the development of statewide guidelines, aiding hospitals into an automated platform for hospital reporting, educational modules, and quality improvement resources/tools utilizing federal and national recommendations/guidance, evidence-based guidelines and best practices specific to the delivery of hospital facility key elements reporting along with pediatric emergency care. The position also serves as a resource and technical advisor to, pre-hospital agencies, hospitals, other healthcare practitioners as well as non-health care entities within our state to ensure hospital facility needs are adequately addressed.

Education and/or Work Experience

Registered Nurse (RN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or other similar certification combined with Hospital experience, preferred Bachelor’s degree, supplemented with 3-5 years of previous hospital and quality improvement job-related experience. Ideal candidate also has either CPHQ or Lean Six Sigma

 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with development and launching of a state/jurisdiction capacity system that includes near-time bed capacity counts for the state’s/jurisdiction’s acute care hospitals, including critical access hospitals.
• Must be able to manage user account and security parameters for access to the web-based dashboard to coordinate daily, surge, and crisis needs.
• Help coordinate emergency department data, organized per NHSN definitions to Hospital Capacity Data Store at least twice per day on an ongoing basis. Data would include emergency department (ED) census, ED Admitted census (boarding) and ED pressure indicator by count of all patients in the ED that have a physician assigned. 
• Create possible items listed below to support the states'/jurisdiction’s ongoing participation in the NHSN Connectivity Initiative, such as:
• Develop communications and training materials for onboarding identified stakeholders and hospital users. 
• Provide training and onboarding services to participating hospitals and stakeholders.
• Work with the state’s/jurisdiction's hospitals to collect necessary information for dashboard development and implementation.
• Provide a common framework of data elements to include on the dashboard and in the data feed.
• Facilitate the gathering and engagement of hospitals’ technical staff to work on automated and secured data feeds per specifications supported by the web-based application.
• Assist the state/jurisdiction to advise on shared governance model(s) for discussions and decision-making to support this work.
• Testing and validation of data feeds; and draft progress milestone for inclusion in progress report/lessons learned.
• Manages the participation and permission process/clearances (to send data to NHSN) of participating hospitals. Also provides permission to allow for use of state’s/jurisdiction’s data in conjunction with other participating entities for research and emergency planning by the state and federal health partners.

• Obtain signed commitment from acute care hospitals in the state/jurisdiction to participate in the project through an

established participation agreement.

• Provide ongoing instructions and serve as key resource to

assist with the scaling of the CDC NHSN Connectivity Initiative

to other states/jurisdictions; and help to ensure that all terms

of the CDC funding agreement are met.

• Facilitates efforts to improve clinical and service outcomes

throughout the state as related to pediatric emergency care,

utilizing federal/national guidance (including but not limited to

the American Academy of Pediatrics, Assistant Secretary for

Preparedness & Response, Centers for Disease Control,

Emergency Medical Services for Children, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission).

• Works with Indiana Emergency Departments to assess areas of

need, conduct gap analyses, communicate pediatric standards

and disseminate resources as appropriate.

• Develops and facilitates bi-monthly State Pediatric Emergency

Care Workgroup meetings and actively assumes project

leadership responsibilities through planning, coordination of

workgroup activities and development of tools, educational

modules, and resources for workgroup review.

• Participates as a team member on hospital site visits conducted

throughout the state, to assess compliance with pediatric

emergency care requirements and regulations using defined

checklists; provides verbal and written assessment of hospital

strengths/weaknesses; outlines recommendations and other

key subject matter expertise as appropriate; shares applicable

resources and technical guidance with hospitals as needed.

• Develops documents annually to promote quality improvement

practices as related to pediatric emergency care documents,

and development of a quality improvement plan.

• Engages in and demonstrates self-development in clinical and

professional knowledge base in the areas of pediatric

emergency management, quality improvement processes,

communication, and awareness of trends in the healthcare

environment.

• Utilizes data to identify trends, draw appropriate conclusions

and make recommendations; develops data reports for

decision-makers to support conclusions and

recommendations; reports should communicate any limitations

of the analyses.

• Facilitates efforts to improve clinical and service outcomes

throughout the state as related to pediatric emergency care,

utilizing federal/national guidance (including but not limited to

the American Academy of Pediatrics, Assistant Secretary for

Preparedness & Response, Centers for Disease Control,

Emergency Medical Services for Children, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission).

• Works with Indiana Emergency Departments to assess areas of

need, conduct gap analyses, communicate pediatric standards

and disseminate resources as appropriate.

• Develops and facilitates bi-monthly State Pediatric Emergency

Care Workgroup meetings and actively assumes project

leadership responsibilities through planning, coordination of

workgroup activities and development of tools, educational

modules, and resources for workgroup review.

• Participates as a team member on hospital site visits conducted

throughout the state, to assess compliance with pediatric

emergency care requirements and regulations using defined

checklists; provides verbal and written assessment of hospital

strengths/weaknesses; outlines recommendations and other

key subject matter expertise as appropriate; shares applicable

resources and technical guidance with hospitals as needed.

• Develops documents annually to promote quality improvement

practices as related to pediatric emergency care documents,

and development of a quality improvement plan.

• Engages in and demonstrates self-development in clinical and

professional knowledge base in the areas of pediatric

emergency management, quality improvement processes,

communication, and awareness of trends in the healthcare

environment.

• Utilizes data to identify trends, draw appropriate conclusions,

and make recommendations; develops data reports for

decision-makers to support conclusions and recommendations;

reports should communicate any limitations of the analyses.

• Other duties as required.

 

Computer Skills

Microsoft Teams, Power BI, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word,

Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Basic Keyboarding Skills, Web[1]based meeting and learning management systems, REDCap

 

Computation Ability

 Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete

variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability

to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram,

or schedule form.

 

Qualifications

▪ Ability to maintain accuracy and consistency

▪ Ability to finish tasks in a timely manner

▪ Ability to function independently, manage own time/work tasks

▪ Ability to maintain confidentiality

▪ Ability to interact with internal and external constituents

▪ Ability to work as an effective team member

▪ Ability to organize workflow

▪ Ability to plan, coordinate, and develop multiple projects

▪ Ability to analyze and interpret data

▪ Ability to compile complex reports and develop presentations

▪ Ability to compose letters and memorandums

▪ Ability to negotiate, persuade and establish direction

▪ Skilled job requiring high level of adaptability and interpersonal

skills

▪ Must be able to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, and

adapt to changing priorities

 

Travel

▪ In-state travel will be required as needed and out of state

overnight may be necessary.

▪ Expect ~85% of work week traveling around state of Indiana