Manager, Risk and Patient Safety

at  Health Services NB

Position Type:
Permanent
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Closing date:
2024-05-16
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Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Medavie Health Services (MHS) that manages and operates ground ambulance, air medical transport and the medical communications operations in Nova Scotia through a performance-based contract with the provincial government’s Emergency Health Services (EHS) Operations division and the Department of Health and Wellness. As well, EMC operates TeleHealth/811 medical communications for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for the Department of Health.
We access all communities in Nova Scotia in a timely and efficient manner with our fleet of more than 180 ambulances and support vehicles operating out of 60+ stations. We respond to 165,000+ calls annually across the province, which are actively managed through the EHS Operations Medical Communications Centre, the hub of all emergency (911) and non-emergency (hospital transfers) medical calls.
The EHS Operations LifeFlight program provides even greater accessibility by responding to patients on scene or through inter-facility transports by our critical care team via helicopter, fixed wing, or ground ambulance.
In addition, paramedics in Nova Scotia participate in various programs both urban and rural such as community-based paramedic programs, collaborative emergency centres, and emergency preparedness and special operations, to name a few.
There are lots of opportunities waiting for you in Nova Scotia. Apply now to learn more about our service and available positions.
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Reporting to the Senior Manager of Clinical Services, Risk Management and Compliance, the incumbent is responsible to lead the risk management program, which includes policy oversight, issues management and an organizational enterprise risk management strategy. This manager will also lead EMC’s compliance program, including monitoring and initiatives to ensure EMC meets and exceeds contractual, legislative and other compliance requirements. The Manager works closely with all levels of the organization to promote a coordinated and continuous approach to risk management-related activities in order to reduce EMC exposure to risks that could adversely affect the safety of patients, employees and the public as well as risk to the organization. The Manager ensures risk programs and projects are developed and implemented collaboratively across all EMC Divisions and Operations. This position oversees a large, provincial-scope portfolio that is critical for EMC to meet legislative, contractual and business requirements.
The Manager will work closely with divisional leadership, Clinical Services, EHS Operations, System Performance, Medical Communications Centre, Safety, LifeFlight and Human Resources leadership teams, EHS Medical Directors, as well as other key internal and external stakeholders.
As an employee of EMC we are accountable to our patients and coworkers by participating in and supporting all safety related initiatives, as well as acting in a manner that fosters a culture that focuses on patient safety and a safe and respectful workplace.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The position entails, but is not limited to the following:

Risk Management

• Overall provincial responsibility to lead EMC in the area of risk management, ensuring compliance with accreditation and legislative requirements.
• Lead all aspects of comprehensive safety incident management, such as: identification, investigation, follow-up of incidents; proactive approach to prevention; insurance claims; coordination of organizational use of the issues management system; associated portfolio enterprise risk register; communication; education; policies; and trending and dissemination of information and relevant statistics/reports for improvement; and provision of clinical risk-related consultation.
• Lead all aspects of review and disclosure of patient safety incidents processes, including but not limited to: review of patient safety incidents; serious reportable events; quality review recommendation tracking; communication; education; policies; analysis and use of data, and relevant statistics/ reports, trends and action plans for improvement.
• Ensure risk management processes and methods are well established, current and integrated throughout the organization.
• Serve as business owner of EMC’s electronic Occurrence Reporting (eOR) system, providing leadership and direction for maintenance and improvements. Chair the eOR Advisory Committee to obtain input from across EMC on eOR processes and improvements.
• Support the provincial operations of the organization by leading and participating in professional conduct reviews on complex and serious cases, authoring advisories for time sensitive issues, and guiding leaders from Operations and other EMC Division on investigation methods.
• Manage Major Event Response investigations, working with the Executive Director, Senior Manager and investigators. May be required to respond to provide leadership for major events after hours.
• React to urgent issues, make decisions and advise staff and senior leadership as necessary (e.g., clinical, operational and safety advisories).

Patient Relations and Patient Safety

• Develop and lead EMC in the area of patient relations, ensuring compliance with accreditation requirements, alignment with the organization’s engagement plan and achievement of patient centered care.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive patient relations strategy which focuses on client and family centered care, including but not limited to: engaging and partnering with patients in a number of ways (e.g. patient and family advisors, quality initiatives, focus groups, use of patient voice); related policies, procedures and processes; and development and implementation of action plans.
• Lead patient feedback process, including: facilitation of complaints and compliments; analysis and use of data, and relevant statistics/ reports, trends and action plans for improvement.

Compliance

• Ensure relevant reporting to senior leadership, regulators, government, Medavie Health Services and other required stakeholders (e.g., legal and insurance representatives) is complete, accurate and timely.
• Lead EMC’s Policy Advisory Group, ensuring all of EMC’s policies are up-to-date, accurate and meaningful. Collaborate with MHS and EHS on their policy development that directly impacts EMC.
• Lead the coordination and tracking of internal, external and government audits across the organization to ensure completion.
• Serve as a key lead on the EMC Privacy Management Committee, to improve privacy, confidentiality and data security within EMC, working closely with the TeleHealth Manager of Quality and Privacy.
• Manage requests for information received from external agencies (e.g. FOIPOP)

Departmental, Divisional and Organizational Management and Leadership

• Ensure the effective management of direct human and financial resources by setting and evaluating staff performance targets, promoting diversity and a healthy, respectful workplace, demonstrating the leadership competencies, respecting company human resources practices, promoting teamwork and individual development, maintaining internal communication, monitoring budget and expenditures, adhering to procurement guidelines, and forecasting budget requirements for the fiscal year.
• Lead a team to achieve the goals of this portfolio, ensuring their collaboration and continued development in their roles.
• Lead special projects and support Medavie Health Services (MHS) on projects, as required.

Qualifications and Requirements:
Education & Experience:
Master’s / degree in a health administration or related field required. A combination of education and experience may also be acceptable to the employer.
A diploma/certificate in Risk Management or similar is considered a strong asset.
Minimum of five (5) years’ experience with managing/leading people, strategic and business planning, priority setting and experience and expertise in the portfolio areas required.

Risk management experience required.

• Experience in conducting investigations is required.

Five (5) years’ or greater experience working as a healthcare clinician is a strong asset.

Experience in the operations of a high performance ambulance system an asset.

• Experience with database utilization and management experience with quality management, research and/or risk management an asset.
• Understanding of contract compliance and management and government regulation an asset.
• Experience in project management an asset.
• Experience in policy design and development an asset.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Must have a thorough knowledge of organization policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated experience with managing large projects.
• Strong negotiation and dispute resolution skills and demonstrated leadership of motivating team members by example.
• Has excellent time management and project management skills to meet all deadlines on schedule; sees challenges coming and makes decisions on resourcing, timing or scope to ensure projects and programs are successful.
• Strong understanding of confidentiality and privacy, including current legislative requirements.
• Able to exercise independent judgment and problem solve with discretion.
• Effective written, oral, and presentation skills.
• Exercises a significant degree of discretion in the decision making process.
• Possesses the ability to work independently as well as within a team environment.
• Proficient time management skills to meet deadlines on schedule.
• Possess strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proficient in the use of computers and information systems, including Microsoft office applications.
• Skills in research methods and design.
• Knowledge and/or expertise in EMS management, information technology, finance, and human resources.

Physical Requirements:
Physical Environment and Effort
Located in a comfortable office environment with frequent opportunity to move about, occasionally must travel by car or plane. For on-call and operational requirements, may be required to respond to sites or scenes. Work in these locations requires additional physical efforts than the office environment.
Sensory Attention
Regular need for reading, studying, observing, and listening (e.g. reading and typing emails, listening to others on the telephone and in meetings. Occasionally the need becomes one of giving very close attention.

Cognitive Pressures

• Frequent pressure from internal and government deadlines and need for timely responses
• Regularly need to critically appraise research findings and synthesize into clinical recommendations that apply to the EMC setting

• Operational and on-call requires time sensitive critical decision-making, during nights, weekends and holidays. Requires clarity of thought and gathering of best information to make decisions that can have direct impact on service delivery, patient care and/or investigations

• Emergency Medical Care falls under the Nova Scotia provincial protocol for mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination. In accordance with this mandate, subject to any approved accommodation, all new employees hired or existing employees (applying for new positions), will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For clarity, “fully vaccinated” means 14 days or more after receiving the number of doses or combination of doses of a vaccine approved by Health Canada or local public health agencies in the jurisdiction in which they will be employed.
  Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the citizens we serve. We are committed to building an inclusive team that represents a variety of backgrounds, cultures, races, perspectives and skills. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates including women, persons of any sexual orientations and gender identities and/or expressions, Indigenous persons, African Canadians, other racialized groups, persons with disabilities. Candidates who identify as being from any of these groups are encouraged to voluntarily self-identify.
  Company Overview
  Emergency Medical Care Inc.
  (EMC) is a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Medavie Health Services (formerly Medavie EMS Inc.), a member of the Medavie Blue Cross Group of Companies. We delivery a high quality pre-hospital care program to Nova Scotians every day through a long-term performance-based contract with the provincial government’s Emergency Health Services (EHS) division. We achieve this through the more than 1,600 employees who work with us, including highly-trained paramedics, nurses, medical communication officers, support employees and our leadership team.
  Thanks for your interest in working on our team! If you experience any technical issues throughout the application process, please email:
  EMC.Recruitment@emci.ca
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Please refer the Job description for details