Senior Director, Patient Safety and Quality

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization providing adult cancer treatment and groundbreaking research focused on cancer and infectious diseases. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington.

 

With a track record of global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines, Fred Hutch has earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures to the world’s deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

 

At Fred Hutch we value collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity and respect. These values are grounded in and expressed through the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our mission is directly tied to the humanity, dignity and inherent value of each employee, patient, community member and supporter. Our commitment to learning across our differences and similarities make us stronger. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems. Fred Hutch is in pursuit of becoming an anti-racist organization. We are committed to ensuring that all candidates hired share our commitment to diversity, anti-racism and inclusion.

 

Under the general direction of the VP of Quality, Safety & Value, the Senior Director of Patient Safety and Quality serves as an advisor and key subject matter expert to Fred Hutch’s Senior Leadership team in all aspects of patient safety, infection prevention, quality improvement, and accreditation and regulatory affairs.

 

The Senior Director leads initiatives related to patient safety, quality improvement, public reporting requirements and accreditation/regulatory affairs functions at all Fred Hutch Cancer Center sites of care, including the ambulatory main campus, community sites, proton center, and inpatient hospital.  The role serves as a key liaison for patient safety and quality improvement in the joint oncology program with UW Medical Center. The Senior Director provides leadership for annual quality planning and continuous performance improvement processes, including oversight of measurement strategy and data stewardship for the Quality Indicators Dashboard and accountability for public reporting requirements.

 

This position will build relationships to collaborate and influence leaders and front-line staff across multiple departments within Fred Hutch and the University of Washington. The Senior Director works with minimal supervision to lead complex, multidisciplinary work groups in support of a just culture, provision of safe patient care, and compliance with all accreditation and regulatory requirements.

• Provide leadership for and oversee the operations of assigned functions (Patient Safety, Infection Prevention, Community Quality, Quality Improvement, and Accreditation & Regulatory Affairs) to assure provision of safe, high-quality services through direct ongoing supervision of senior managers in each department
• Collaborate with various functional areas across the organization (i.e., IT, Operations, and Medical Staff) to advance Fred Hutch’s strategic plan and set departmental goals for assigned functional areas.
• Develop and manage effective monitoring systems to assure compliance with the Fred Hutch Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Plan. Support the identification of quality improvement opportunities and lead execution of initiatives to advance quality across various institute of medicine (IOM) domains (safe, timely, equitable, efficient, patient centered).
• Lead and participate in enterprise-wide Joint Oncology Program Patient Safety and Quality Improvement (QI) efforts, producing measurable impact to patient quality of care.
• Collaborate and influence staff and physicians across the enterprise to improve engagement in quality improvement activities and facilitate participation in local QI efforts.
• Ensure Fred Hutch remains compliant with all applicable clinical regulatory and accreditation standards (including but not limited to Department of Health, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, The Joint Commission, Commission on Cancer and Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy) through continuous readiness programming, maintenance of designated accreditation applications, education of Fred Hutch employees and medical staff, and completion of survey follow up activities as required.
• Drive patient safety and quality improvement initiatives that influence Fred Hutch’s performance in national ratings and rankings (i.e. Vizient, US News and World Report, CMS).
• Oversee financial management of assigned departments including developing and monitoring budgets, productivity measures, and other internal controls to ensure performance targets are attained. Assist managers in developing corrective action plans and provide direction and accountability in monitoring progress toward defined targets.
• Organize and lead Executive Patient Safety Rounds to engage and educate Fred Hutch Board members and executive leaders on safety and quality issues throughout the organization.
• Represent Fred Hutch quality division in local and national committees such as C4QI and ADCC.
• Leads measurement and improvement of Fred Hutch’s safety culture in collaboration with senior executive leadership and front line staff.

 

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a related health care field of study.
• 7-10+ years in a healthcare setting.
• 5+ years in progressive leadership roles managing teams (lead, supervisor, manager, director).
• Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) or equivalent certifications.
• Progressive leadership experience with demonstrated success in managing multiple functional areas to produce results and the ability to mentor and develop direct reports.  
• Experience in patient safety, quality improvement, health care accreditation and regulatory standards (TJC, DOH, CoC and FACT), public/external quality reporting, patient care delivery systems and work flows, strategic planning, budgeting, and financial administration.
• Expertise in application of HPI Press Ganey’s Serious Safety Event Classification, High Reliability Principals, Just Culture and patient safety and quality improvement methodologies including Root Cause Analysis/Causal Analysis, Failure Modes Effects Analysis, IHI Model for Improvement and PDSA/DMAIC.
• Excellent communication, listening, and interpersonal skills with the ability to lead self and others through change.
• Must be able to present information in a clear and concise manner, tailored to various audiences, including at the executive and board level.
• Expertise in national quality indicators and benchmarks, including but not limited to Vizient, US News and World Report, CMS, WSHA, AHRQ and NDNQI metrics.
• Demonstrated skills in health measurement, data analysis and interpretation and continuous quality improvement tools and methodologies.  
• Intermediate to advanced experience with Microsoft Office products: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Ability to learn other specialized programs/software packages as required.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Licensed as a clinical professional (i.e. RN, MD, PT, OT, RT, PharmD) with oncology experience.
• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) or equivalent certifications.
• Working knowledge of Epic Electronic Medical Record.
• Previous experience working in oncology, an academic medical center, or in a multi-site healthcare system.
• Leading change, achieving measurable impact across large scale QI interventions.

 

A statement describing your commitment and contributions toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in your career or that will be made through your work at Fred Hutch is requested of all finalists.

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The annual base salary range for this position is from $186,888.00 to $311,459.20 and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.  This position may be eligible for relocation assistance.

 

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (12-22 days per year), paid sick leave (12-25 days per year), paid holidays (13 days per year), paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks), and partially paid sabbatical leave (up to 6 months).  

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) Employer. We are committed to cultivating a workplace in which diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, disability (physical or mental), marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology, or membership in any other legally protected class. We are an Affirmative Action employer. We encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds to apply and desire priority referrals of protected veterans. If due to a disability you need assistance/and or a reasonable accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to Human Resources at hrops@fredhutch.org or by calling 206-667-4700.