Patient Advocate

Duties and Responsibilities

• Facilitates resolution of complaints/grievances/requests by patients and visitors, coordinating with care providers and leadership.
• Documents patient/visitor complaint information into hospital database.
• Complies with state and federal regulations regarding the investigation and resolution of patient/family complaints.
• Conducts daily rounds on hospital units to assess patient and visitor satisfaction, proactive service recovery and patient safety.
• Composes letters and/or emails to patients, visitors, physicians and leadership to ensure compliance with the BID-Plymouth grievance policy.
• Interacts positively with all staff by rounding and offering assistance in relation to improving customer service.
• Assists the Patient Relations/Service Excellence Manager with implementation and monitoring of new and current regulations.
• Under the guidance of the Patient Relations Manager, contributes to patient satisfaction and implementing quality and service-oriented programs to facilitate a positive experience for patients, families, visitors and staff.
• Serves as a resource and support for physicians, staff and leadership in establishing an environment of proactive service recovery efforts.
• Collaborates with unit leadership to meet and/or exceed customer service and quality outcomes.
• Interacts with patients and family members, provides emotional support and facilitates their access to hospital resources.
• Captures and coordinates family meetings as needed in response to patients’ grievances.
• Reports findings and recommendations to leadership for corrective measures and actions.
• Participates in the development of hospital policies and procedures.
• Participates in the execution of Service Excellence programs and Culture to impact the overall Customer Satisfaction and Experience.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Possess strong customer service skills/interpersonal interactions with physicians/hospital leadership; ability to handle difficult and angry people constructively.
• Excellent analytical skills, including analysis, organizing and troubleshooting.
• Proficient in Windows-based operating software/systems and all Microsoft applications.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; presentation skills.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Must work in conjunction with staff in a supportive way to troubleshoot and resolve issues.
• Must be visible to staff, offering support and modeling service behaviors and concern resolution processes.
• Must be able to address difficult, awkward situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Must be a team player and have proven success applying a team approach to obtain resolution to an issue or successfully accomplish a goal.
• Must be an informed regulatory healthcare representative for the patient and organization; must be able to communicate patient and visitor rights and responsibilities to patients, family members and staff.
• Expertise in Patient Rights, CMS regulations, TJC/CMS standards, complaint/grievance management.
• Experience in supporting culture change and developing service delivery initiatives.
• Progressive experience in deploying process improvement, change management and project management initiatives.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required.

De-escalation Training

• Preferred Bachelor’s degree in healthcare related field.

Pay Range

$54,080.00 USD - $74,880.00 USD