EDUCATION:

Bachelor’s degree in Safety Management, Safety Engineering, Occupational Safety & Health, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Management, Risk Management, or related discipline

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Five (5) years or more of experience in safety and/or facilities management that includes experience in emergency management, environmental safety, and life safety

KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS / ABILITIES:

• Must have the ability to clearly communicate verbally, in person, and in writing with patients, families/agencies and the health care team.
• Must possess a sense of urgency and make sound decisions.
• Must be a critical thinker and is solution oriented.
• Computer skills with demonstration of skill and competence in use of Microsoft Office applications required.
• Responsible for setting a strong example of safety by working safely and utilizing personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:

• This position requires travel, therefore, will be exposed to weather and road conditions.
• Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job.
• Exposed to a normal office environment.
• Must be able to carry up to 25 pounds of material and various types of equipment.
• Travel to other facilities in personal vehicle is required.
• Subject to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions
• May be subject to hazards (e.g., chemicals, mechanical conditions, etc.) and atmospheric conditions (e.g., dust, fumes, etc.)

• Manages safety programs and compliance for the Joint Commission, DNV, OSHA, EPA, federal, state, and local AHJ’s, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Compliance, Construction Safety, and Operations activities to maintain constant readiness for surveys and inspections; serves as a safety point of contact during federal, state, local and organizational surveys, and inspections.
• Manages construction safety activities; assess patient and team member safety of projects and recommends infection control practices to ensure safety during construction, renovation, demolition, and maintenance activities. Prior to vendors or contactors beginning work at Advocate facilities, the Facility Safety Officer provides training, and orientation regarding safety, infection control, asbestos, logistics, and operations.
• Act as first responder for incidents at facility; maintains constant on-call response readiness and serve in multiple roles during incident command events at facility and corporate level.
• Interfaces with administration and department leadership to proactively perform risk assessments and discuss impacts to operational changes that impact patient safety, teammate safety, visitor safety, and life safety.
• Initiate and disseminate PCRA (Pre-Construction Risk Assessment), ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) and ILSM (Interim Life Safety Measures) documentation for projects at multiple facilities. Act as liaison between facility administration, Clinical Departments, and Planning Designing Construction teams, providing communication to ensure overall safety of the environment for patients, teammates, visitors, vendors, and contractors.
• Generate and submit physical environment reports, safety reports, risk assessments, and any corrective action plans from regulatory and Accreditation surveys (Joint Commission, DHSR, CMS, CARF, CAP, CLIA) to Advocate Leadership and appropriate departments. Educate and coordinate corrective actions for any deficiencies identified during surveys, inspections, and assessments.
• Inspects patient care and non-patient care departments, public spaces, and construction sites to ensure safe environment and compliance with applicable codes and regulations.
• Develop, implement, and maintain documents, policies, procedures, and risk assessments for safety programs, assist with standardizing reports, programs, and processes at the facility and corporate level.
• Manage and oversee the Accreditation Environment of Care (TJC), and/or Physical Environment (DNV) Safety programs for multiple facilities. Act as liaison for all chapters (Safety, Security, Hazardous Materials/Waste, Clinical Engineering, Fire Safety and Utilities) within the program. Coordinate and chair the Environment of Care or Physical Environment Committee, maintain committee agendas and minutes, communicate safety updates to committee.
• Manages and completes various inspections of the physical environment, performs weekly safety rounds of departments and grounds, creates work orders and purchase orders to address deficiencies and corrective actions.
• Assist with proper handling, storage, documenting, inspecting, and transportation of hazardous waste/materials within facilities. Respond to hazardous material spills and emergencies.
• Works collaboratively with other service lines to accomplish initiatives impacting patient care, patient safety, teammates, contractors, and visitor safety.
• Implement and oversee special projects as directed by Safety Leadership and Facility Administration.
• Presents safety programs, safety updates, and/or training to leadership, physicians, vendors/contractors, and teammates.
• Assist with product recalls by distributing approved internal product safety alerts and auditing of the facilities recall program yearly.
• Support Advocate Teammate Health and Occupational Safety regarding injury/illness prevention and corrective actions to lower injury rates and prevent future teammate injuries by changing/modifying operational processes and spaces.
• Assist Facilities with eyewash compliance by ensuring risk assessments are conducted and OSHA regulatory requirements are completed by departments with eyewash stations.
• Assist with the Fire Drill process for teammates, patients, and visitors