Counsel, Associate

The Wright Center; Scranton (Lackawanna County); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wright Center seeks an Associate Counsel to coordinate non-clinical compliance, risk management, and HIPAA privacy across the organization. You will work with the SVP & General Counsel to mitigate legal risk and promote accountability.

Responsibilities include leading staff training on HIPAA, HIPAA-related programs, and facilitating external reporting, as well as supporting litigation with in-house counsel. Strong negotiation and leadership skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree required.
• Member of the Pennsylvania Bar.
• An additional advanced degree in Health Care Administration, Business Administration or related field is preferred.
• Healthcare experience in a law firm or in-house is preferred; clinical experience is a plus.
• Minimum of 2 years relevant experience required; 5-7 years preferred.
• HIPAA Privacy Certification preferred.
• Compliance experience preferred.
• Proven track record of strong negotiation, communication, organizational and people management skills and the ability to influence, collaborate and build relationships.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the Google platform.

Responsibilities

• Gain and maintain in-depth knowledge of both organizations and their activities to ensure non-clinical compliance, insurance and risk management oversight.
• Develop solutions and lead any required remediation of compliance or integrity gaps to completion.
• Oversee training and/or educational programs for all staff on a yearly basis (e.g. courses, videos, and conferences).
• Ensure that any matter potentially requiring external reporting is communicated to SVP & General Counsel.
• Support litigation matters in conjunction with In-House Counsel and General Counsel.
• Promote a culture of reporting all safe events and lead quality improvement and QA efforts via the PDSA process.
• Ensure requests for protected health information are legally valid and produced in compliance with legal obligations.
• Create/implement policy and training programs for staff who access and enter information in MEDENT about proper documentation in patient charts.
• Maintain current knowledge of applicable federal and state laws, including privacy laws, and monitor advancements in information privacy technologies.
• Collaborate with department leaders to solve problems involving legal or risk management implications.
• Oversee the administration of the incidents submitted through SAFE Reporting and disseminate learning.
• Collaborate to ensure regular reporting of SAFE events to Executive Management and Boards.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Negotiation

Communication

Organizational skills

People management

Leadership

Problem-solving

Verbal communication

Written communication

Team player

Time management

Education

Juris Doctor

Pennsylvania Bar

HIPAA Privacy Certification

Tools

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Google Workspace

Job description

Description

JOB SUMMARY

This position works closely with SVP & General Counsel to coordinate all activities linked to the detection, identification and mitigation of legal risk. In addition to handling various legal matter on behalf of the corporation this position also oversees all non-clinical legal compliance and risk management for WCGME and TWCCH, including but not limited to HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance and Safe Event Reporting. This position is also responsible for implementing and/or conducting all related staff and contractor trainings to promote our culture of accountability and high integrity in everything we do.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Associate Counsel reports to the SVP Enterprise Integrity, Chief Legal & Governance Officer. This position has no direct reports.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS

While living and demonstrating our Core Values, the Associate Counsel will:

• Gain and maintain in-depth knowledge of both organizations and their respective activities in order to ensure adequate non-clinical compliance, insurance and risk management oversight and resources as the organization evolves
• Develop solutions and lead any required remediation of compliance or integrity gaps to completion.
• Oversee training and/or educational programs for all staff on a yearly basis (e.g. courses, videos, and conferences) for all required areas of focus (such as HIPAA, HITECH, OSHA, etc.)
• Ensure that any matter potentially requiring external reporting is communicated to SVP & General Counsel
• Support litigation matters in conjunction with In-House Counsel and General Counsel
• Spreading the culture of transparently and courageously reporting all safe events and championing the PDSA process to continually enhance quality improvement and quality assurance efforts
• Ensure that all requests for protected health information are legally valid and produced by TWCCH in compliance with legal obligations
• Create/implement policy and training programs for staff who access and enter information in MEDENT about proper documentation in patient charts
• Ensure medical malpractice insurance coverage and medical licenses are current for all providers.
• Establish and maintain a mechanism to track access to protected health information (PHI) within the company, and as required by law, to allow qualified individuals to review reports on such activity; develop a random audit process and report template
• Maintain current knowledge of applicable federal and state laws, including but not limited to privacy laws, and monitor advancements in information privacy technologies to ensure organizational adaptation and compliance
• Collaborate with department leaders in solving problems involving legal or risk management implications
• Oversee the administration (investigation, conclusion and reporting) of the incidents submitted through the SAFE Reporting system along with the organization-wide spread of learning from each report
• Collaborate with appropriate departments to ensure the regular and systematic reporting of SAFE events to Executive Management, the GMEC and Patient Safety & Quality Committees of the organization(s) and Boards of Directors
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Meet The Wright Center for Community Health and its affiliated entity The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education EOS© People Analyzer Tool
• Buy in and experience working in the EOS® model (strongly preferred)
• Mission-oriented; represents the enterprise in a professional manner while demonstrating organizational pride
• Juris Doctor degree required.
• Member of the Pennsylvania Bar.
• An additional advanced degree in Health Care Administration, Business Administration or related field is preferred.
• Healthcare experience in a law firm or in-house is preferred, clinical experience is a plus.
• Minimum of 2 years relevant experience required; 5-7 years preferred.
• HIPAA Privacy Certification preferred
• Compliance experience preferred
• Proven track record of strong negotiation, communication, organizational and people management skills and the ability to influence, collaborate and build relationships 3
• Superb organizational, time management, and multitasking skills.
• Strong leadership capabilities with demonstrated ability to motivate staff toward change
• Excellent skills in problem-solving and improvement, leading and coaching others, verbal and written communication
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the Google platform
• Must be a team player who is responsible, reliable, task oriented and punctual
• Must be able to perform effectively in a fast-paced environment with many changing priorities
• Must be professional and customer service oriented to deliver excellence
• Ability to work independently
• Willingness to work a flexible schedule
• Some regional travel required