Patient Relations Rep

About the Role

The Patient Relations/Interpreter Representative works with hospital staff to deliver compassionate, patient-centered care, aligning with the hospital’s Mission, Vision, and customer satisfaction goals. This role proactively prevents patient complaints, responds to inquiries via phone, in person, or in writing, and follows state and federal guidelines for complaint and grievance management. The Representative maintains complete records for patient rounds and complaint resolution while facilitating communication between patients, families, healthcare providers, and hospital personnel who speak different languages.

Medical interpreter skills include cultural competency, respect for all parties, and mastery of medical and colloquial terminology to ensure accurate communication and mutual trust in healthcare provision.

Responsibilities

• Maintains utmost level of confidentiality at all times.
• Adheres to hospital policies and procedures.
• Demonstrates ethical business practices and personal actions that align with corporate compliance and integrity guidelines.
• Ensures families receive all necessary information regarding hospital care services.
• Directs inquiries to appropriate staff for follow-up and resolution.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with Clinical Directors of assigned floors/units, fostering open communication.
• Identifies potentially dissatisfied customers and gathers information about their needs on behalf of the hospital, representing the hospital courteously and diplomatically.
• Follows strict compliance with complaint and grievance regulations and standards.
• Gathers and analyzes customer expectations and needs, reporting trends regularly to assist in decision-making.
• Reviews Patient Experience Data provided by a private surveyor company.
• Assists in communication processes to help all parties understand care decisions and options.
• Interprets medical/healthcare information and instructions from English into Spanish for Spanish-speaking patients and families.
• Interprets questions from Spanish-speaking families to physicians and other healthcare personnel.
• Performs sight translation for consents, protocols, discharge orders, etc., between English and Spanish.
• Sensitizes hospital employees to the specialized healthcare needs of Hispanic/Latino patients and their families.
• Attends Interdisciplinary Patient Care meetings to identify potential issues.
• Facilitates in-services, training, new employee orientation, and staff information sessions on customer service.
• Manages Reward and Recognition programs and employee activities (e.g., Fun Bunch, Clara Spirit, Kudos from families, suggestion boxes).
• Assists the Coordinator and Director with the grievance process and quality control efforts using the Midas feedback system.
• Maintains an accurate database of each encounter handled by Interpretation Services.
• Covers for other representatives in their absence and conducts rounds if unavailable.
• Attends weekly department meetings to discuss changes, updates, or concerns, ensuring communication and consistency within the department.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university; or Associate’s Degree with one to two years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Familiarity with basic medical terminology in both Spanish and English.
• Medical terminology background is a plus.

No Texas or Federal License for Medical Interpreters is currently required.