Senior Patient Safety Risk Manager

Primary Purpose

The Senior Patient Safety Clinical Risk Manager leads patient safety and risk management efforts across the health system, collaborating with leadership to implement a comprehensive safety program. Responsibilities include investigating safety events of all harm levels, conducting root cause analyses, and ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations in grievance investigations. The role supports high‑reliability program initiatives, including the use of Just Culture principles, identifies improvement opportunities using industry‑standard tools, and independently leads risk mitigation projects. Additionally, this professional facilitates medical event disclosure conversations, mentors peers, and builds strong relationships with clinical and operational leaders to enhance safety culture.

Location: Parkland Support Serv Bldg A

Minimum Specifications

• Bachelor's degree in nursing, clinical, or healthcare related field of study from an accredited college or university.

Preferred Education

• Master's degree in Nursing, Healthcare Risk Management, Patient Safety, Human Factors Engineering, Jurisprudence, Juris Doctor, or a related field of study from an accredited institution.

Experience

• Eight (8) years of clinical or healthcare experience in an acute care setting.
• Four (4) years leading projects related to risk management and/or patient safety in an acute care facility.
• Must have successfully led projects related to patient safety improvement or healthcare risk management.

Equivalent Education and/or Experience

• A combination of education and experience in a highly complex system may substitute for years of experience.

Certification/Registration/Licensure

• Certification, registration, or licensure related to clinical degree must be current and maintained, AND
• Either Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) or Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM) from the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM).

Skills or Special Abilities

• Ability to independently prioritize, plan, and facilitate multiple investigations and projects of varying complexity.
• Self‑starter with strong critical thinking, able to work autonomously and collaboratively within interdisciplinary teams.
• Skilled in delivering presentations to healthcare executives and workforce members at all levels.
• Expertise in maintaining organized, professionally written investigative files while ensuring confidentiality.
• Ability to foster respectful, collegial, and effective working relationships with physicians, employees, patients, and external stakeholders.
• Strong managerial skills, including problem‑solving, negotiation, conflict resolution, and effective team facilitation.
• Capacity to remain flexible and responsive to emerging issues within the health system.
• Demonstrated ability to apply investigative skills and critical thinking in high‑stakes environments.
• Skilled at identifying and implementing improvements that enhance patient safety and operational efficiency.
• Experience in developing policies and procedures while ensuring alignment with healthcare regulations.
• Demonstrates Parkland Health ICARE Values and supports its Mission, Vision, and overall organizational goals as well as Just Culture and High Reliability principles.

Responsibilities

Clinical Risk Management

• Conduct and oversee investigations related to patient safety events, including cause analysis and SBAR reviews.
• Lead case investigations in accordance with criteria published by The Joint Commission, National Quality Forum, Texas Department of State Health Services, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ensuring compliance with standard operating procedures.
• Identify and elevate clinical care deviations and patient rights concerns that present safety or legal risks.
• Facilitate disclosure conversations, coaching providers and operational leaders for patient discussions.
• Manage quality‑of‑care grievances, ensuring timely responses and compliance with regulatory standards.
• Investigate and report equipment‑related safety events according to regulations established by the Safe Medical Device Act.
• Stay current with healthcare risk management trends, integrating best practices into system‑wide efforts.

Patient Safety

• Implement and support High Reliability Organization and Just Culture principles across the health system.
• Manage and assess safety posts, identifying trends and escalating critical cases.
• Analyze investigation outcomes to identify patterns and improvement opportunities.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships, providing regular updates and educational insights.
• Conduct weekly rounding to reinforce shared learnings and engage frontline staff.
• Lead and participate in patient safety initiatives aimed at reducing harm and improving outcomes.

Quality of Care Grievances

• Independently manage complex, high‑sensitivity patient grievances, ensuring thorough investigations.
• Draft regulatory‑compliant response letters for quality‑of‑care grievances.
• Ensure CMS compliance by tracking and closing grievances within required timelines.
• Utilize and manage complaint tracking systems to monitor grievance resolutions effectively.

Job Accountabilities

• Identify ways to improve work processes and customer satisfaction, recommend, implement, and monitor results in support of departmental and organization goals.
• Stay abreast of latest developments, advancements, and trends in the field through seminars, professional journals, organizations, and certifications, integrating knowledge into work practices.
• Maintain knowledge of applicable rules, regulations, policies, laws, and guidelines that impact the area, develop effective internal controls to promote adherence, and seek guidance as needed to ensure understanding.

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