Patient Family Relations Specialist

General Summary/ Overview
The Patient Family Relations Specialist is responsible for emails, visits and correspondence to serve as a liaison between patients, loved ones, and staff in acknowledging and responding to feedback (complaints, grievances, compliments) and other requests in a compassionate and supportive manner. The focus of this position is to support patient rights, patient and family needs, and to assist in resolving feedback concerns and highlighting feedback compliments. This role embodies the institution's commitment to a strong patient and family centered culture and service excellence. The PFR specialist reports to the Senior Manager, Patient and Family Relations.
Because this role in an active change management environment, the senior specialist will need to demonstrate maturity, flexibility, and open mindedness as the contours of this position will actively evolve over time.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
Provides in person support of Patient and Family Relations for the needs of patients and loved ones, concerns, or complaints at AMC hospitals. Meets patients and families in the ED, inpatient units, and the PFR office.
With guidance from the Sr. Manager, Patient and Family Relations, conducts timely investigations and responses to patient concerns, complaints, grievances, including interviewing staff and reviewing medical records. Facilitates effective communication between patients, families, and staff to enhance patient/family-centered care and ensure common goals.
Mediates and mitigates expectations to promote satisfaction, ensure quality and safety, and minimize the risk of adversarial outcomes.
Supports patients and families in understanding patient rights and responsibilities, responds to patient complaints or concerns in accordance with DPH, CMS and The Joint Commission regulatory standards for patient complaints and grievances.
Participates in family meetings and Apology and Disclosure conversations as requested. Serves as a resource to care teams in managing challenging behaviors and patient dismissals.
Documents information regarding patient and/or staff concerns and requests in confidential department database and disseminates data to appropriate leadership staff for quality assurance purposes.
Uses department database to meet regulatory requirements for CMS, DPH and The Joint Commission for grievance/complaint management and resolution process.
Rounds with patients and loved ones to obtain preemptive feedback regarding the inpatient hospital experience (when appropriate and aligned with hospital safety policies).
Prepares formal correspondence and documentation (both patient-facing and internally) such as letters, messages, and reports, with efficiency and accuracy.
Identifies patterns of service breakdowns and escalates to senior manager to share with Patient Experience measurement and improvement team.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) - Demonstrate a commitment to supporting MGB DEI initiatives, using the organizational tools and training provided to help identify and dismantle systemic racism within departmental processes, and all other forms of possible discrimination.
Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications: (Must be realistic, neither overstated nor understated, and related to the essential functions of the job.)

• Manages a timely investigation and response to all patient concerns/complaints/grievances for clinical service areas including interviewing staff and reviewing medical records. Facilitates effective communication between patients, families, and providers to enhance patient/family-centered care and ensure common goals. Negotiate and mitigate expectations to promote satisfaction, ensure quality and safety, and minimize the risk of adversarial outcomes.
• Provide consultation for professional staff and hospital regarding disclosure in collaboration with Risk Management.
• Responds to requests for intervention to assist in managing difficult patient/family situations. Collaborates with clinical service area management and administrative leadership, frontline staff, or other hospital services to provide real-time support and/or improvement strategies to reach effective resolution. Accessible by pager during Family Center's hours of operation.
• Documents information regarding patient and/or staff concerns and requests in the department database and disseminates data to appropriate leadership staff for quality assurance purposes. Generates specific reports to highlight clinical service areas' opportunities for improvement efforts, including progress, obstacles, and trends in compliment/complaint data. Review data to identify trends in collaboration with clinical and administrative leadership to develop strategies to improve quality and satisfaction and reduce risk and liability. Utilizes data management system to meet regulatory requirements for CMS, DPH, and JCAH for complaint management and resolution process.
• Drafts formal responses on behalf of senior clinical and administrative leadership (including the CEO, COO, CM,O and CNO) in writing to patients and families to compassionately relay regret for their perceived poor experience and inform them of how their feedback is being utilized to implement beneficial practice changes. Meet regulatory compliance requirements for CMS 42 CFR 482.13 for investigating and responding to most informal grievances in 7 days.
• Conducts rounds with patients/families in assigned clinical areas to obtain preemptive feedback regarding the inpatient hospital experience.
• Proactively monitors trends in patient/family concerns/complaints to identify systematic, process, or cultural barriers to the delivery of patient/family-centered care. Seeks opportunities for appropriate patient participation in the development of institutional improvement strategies.
• Assists with the development and implementation of service improvement initiatives (organizational and area-specific) within clinical service areas.
• Develops appropriate resolutions with Risk Management staff to effectively manage patient incidents and prevent adversarial outcomes.
• Provides training/education in clinical service areas and throughout the institution on effective tools for establishing interpersonal connections with patients and families. Identifies opportunities for staff education and facilitates competency learning of clinicians, administrative management, and staff in customer service improvement. Connects patients and families with appropriate hospital services and resources (i.e., social work, interpreter services, chaplaincy, library services, etc.).
• Educates and markets the Center for Patients and Families services to leadership and frontline staff, including patient consultation and intervention, compliment/complaint facilitation, written responses, amenity services, staff training, and patient satisfaction and project improvement support.
• Provides coverage for other service lines as needed to cover vacations, evening, and weekend shifts.
• Maintains department service standards with attention to staff teamwork, communication, cultural respect, and time/priority management.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Qualifications: (Must be realistic, neither overstated nor understated, and related to the essential functions of the job.)

• Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, human services, or related field preferred.

• 3-5 years of experience in a healthcare setting, or other industry with relevant skills and competencies.

• A combination of education and experience may be substituted for requirements.

Skills/Abilities/Competencies: (Must be realistic, neither overstated nor understated, and related to the essential functions of the job.)

• Ability to communicate, verbally and in writing, clearly, compassionately, sensitively and in a health literate way, with colleagues, patients and their loved ones, in a complex clinical environment.

• Flexible thinker, with ability to advocate for patients and families in a complex clinical environment, balancing the needs of the care team.

• Excellent interpersonal service skills with demonstrated qualities of compassion, respect, calm demeanor, and strong emotional self-regulation via phone and in person, while assisting a wide range of customers with varying needs and concerns.

• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills; ability to effectively communicate with all levels of the organization (senior management and physician leadership to front-line staff)

• Superior organizational skills, with the ability to function independently and effectively in a changing environment, develop timelines and meet deadlines.

• Ability to continuously respect and value diversity.

• Excellent mediation skills in a diverse and multicultural environment.

• Experience managing multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment, prioritizing and meeting deadlines.

• High level of sensitivity to confidential information.

• Exhibits excellent organizational skills.

• Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills.

• Experience working with data and data tracking.

• Computer Skills: Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Supervisory Resonsibilities: List the number of FTEs supervised.

• No direct reports; may indirectly provide leadership and guidance to less seasoned and new staff.

Fiscal Responsibility: Indicate financial "scope" information, i.e.: size of budget, volume, revenue, etc.

• No direct budgetary responsibility.

• Demonstrates fiscal responsibility by effectively using Mass General Brigham resources.

Working Conditions: Describe the conditions in which the work is performed.

• The duties require daily use of computer, telephone, printer and fax machine.

• The employee is frequently required to sit; talk, hear, use hands to finger; handle; or feel; reach with hands and arms, and is occasionally required to stand and walk.

• The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 5 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close and distance vision, and depth perception.

• Possible local travel to Mass General Brigham sites.

The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.