In 2020 united in a fierce commitment to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional patient experience Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan Health came together as natural partners to build a new health system centered around the patient: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Our combined system builds upon the scale and expertise of our nearly 300 sites of care including 11 hospitals and nearly 5000 physicians and providers. Together we are empowered to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our communities.
The Perinatal Safety Specialist is responsible for the implementation, promotion, support and oversight of perinatal patient safety and quality of care initiatives and programs across the designated facilities. This specialized nursing role combines clinical expertise with a focus on patient safety to provide high-quality care and support to pregnant women and their families, adhering to departmental, institutional, regional and Federal clinical and ethical standards. The perinatal safety nurse will participate in quality improvement initiatives to enhance perinatal care processes and outcomes, contributing to a culture of safety within the healthcare facility.
The primary responsibility of the perinatal patient safety nurse is to promote safe care for mothers and babies by keeping patient safety as a focus of all unit operations and clinical practices.
ESSENTIAL KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
● Ensures all care providers in assigned facilities adhere to national clinical standards and principles and practice of safety.
● Serves as a patient safety advocate and clinical role model in perinatal nursing obstetrics:
○ Keeps staff up to date on Perinatal Safety Initiatives, including education, training, implementation, policies.
○ Keeps abreast of changing national standards of clinical practice and the CommonSpirit Health Perinatal Safety Initiatives.
○ Disseminates pertinent safety and specialty related information.
○ Participates in patient safety or administrative rounding.
○ Presents patient and staff safety concerns to appropriate clinical forums
○ Participates in and contributes to departmental performance review activities by identifying issues and assisting with gathering and evaluating data, including corporate data entry.
○ Assists and supports the healthcare team when an adverse event or untoward outcome occurs.
○ Develops and supports the implementation of education/action plans to address events that are reported in the event reporting system.
● Implements and supports patient safety and quality of care initiatives:
○ Collaborates with clinical and administrative leadership to deliver survey results to participants. Works with
clinical and administrative leadership to address themes and issues identified by the survey ○ Promotes, assists and supports competency based education. Performs periodic follow-up to confirm that clinicians have completed their education
○ Implements and supports Perinatal Safety initiatives as identified by Clinical Leadership
● Monitors clinical outcomes:
○ Abstracts, records, analyses and reports Perinatal Safety data per CommonSpirit Health guidelines ○ Assesses the documentation of charts reviewed and provides feedback to clinicians.
○ Encourages staff to identify and report adverse events and near-misses
○ Performs collaborative reviews of adverse occurrences and near-misses. Incorporates findings into educational efforts.
○ Participates in Event Investigation Analysis (EIA)
○ Coordinates and evaluates briefing, debriefing and analysis of selected charts with healthcare team members.
○ Contributes to Fetal Monitor (EFM) strip reviews and provide staff with feedback on findings
● Facilitates interdisciplinary communication and education:
○ Provides regular patient safety educational programs for staff.
○ Facilitates clinical drills for high-risk situations; tracks and reports attendance
○ Promotes the adoption of briefing and debriefing skills across disciplines
○ Fosters and promotes participation by all clinicians in educational programs and clinical drills. ○ Facilitates and supports teamwork-training programs for all department members.
○ Attends and actively contributes to Perinatal Safety network workgroups, conference calls, regional meetings and annual summit
○ Partners with hospital informatics department to ensure the EHR aligns with current perinatal safety initiatives
○ Partners with the IT department to ensure smooth integrations.
○ Ensures data/information is current with regulatory agency standards as well as best practice standards for service areas.
Required Licensure and Certifications: