Director of Risk Management

Catholic Health Services; West Islip (NY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Catholic Health is seeking a Director of Risk Management to provide strategic leadership for a comprehensive risk management and patient safety program across its Long Island system. The role emphasizes culture of safety, education, and proactive process improvements within an acute care environment.

The candidate will lead investigations, coordinate regulatory responses, and manage high-stakes claims, with an emphasis on collaboration with executive leadership and clinical teams.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in relevant field; CPHRM highly preferred.
• Active RN, PA, or other licensed clinical credential required.
• Minimum of 5+ years in acute care nursing with healthcare risk management experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive risk-reduction initiatives and safety strategies across the organization.
• Oversee investigations and Root Cause Analyses for adverse events and safety incidents.
• Coordinate regulatory communications and responses to The Joint Commission and Department of Health deficiencies.
• Support claims management, including Workers' Compensation coordination and stakeholder communications.

Skills

Risk management

Regulatory compliance

Root Cause Analysis

Leadership

Communication

Education

Master's degree in relevant field

CPHRM preferred

Tools

Audit & quality systems

Job description

Overview

Catholic Health is one of Long Island’s finest health and human services agencies. Our health system has over 16,000 employees, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home health service, hospice and a network of physician practices across the island.

At Catholic Health, our primary focus is the way we treat and serve our communities. We work collaboratively to provide compassionate care and utilize evidence based practice to improve outcomes – to every patient, every time.

We are committed to caring for Long Island. Be a part of our team of healthcare heroes and discover why Catholic Health was named Long Island's Top Workplace!

Job Details

The Director of Risk Management provides strategic leadership and operational direction for a comprehensive Risk Management and High Reliability Patient Safety Program. This role promotes a culture of safety for patients and staff while ensuring effective mitigation of institutional risk through education, training, investigation, and proactive process improvements.

Key Responsibilities

Risk Management & Patient Safety Leadership

• Implement and maintain comprehensive risk-reduction initiatives and evidence-based safety strategies across the entity.

• Stay current with industry literature and evidence-based medicine to recommend risk-reduction and quality improvement strategies to executive leadership and the Board Performance Improvement (PI) Committee.

• Identify and implement strategies to enhance patient safety, focusing on teamwork, communication, and system-wide improvement processes.

• Gather, analyze, and monitor quality and patient outcome indicators to identify risk trends and opportunities for clinical care improvement.

Regulatory & Incident Management

• Coordinate and manage thorough investigations and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for adverse events and safety incidents.

• Manage communications and responses for regulatory bodies, including The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Department of Health (DOH), including drafting formal responses to Statements of Deficiencies.

• Enter occurrence reports and claims notifications into tracking systems in a timely manner.

• Assist in the resolution and mitigation of patient complaints and coordinate institutional responses.

Claims & Claims Management

• Monitor high-risk medical malpractice cases under the direction of the VP of Risk Management and present cases at quarterly claims meetings.

• Coordinate and communicate with health professionals, defense counsel, and relevant stakeholders regarding the investigation and resolution of potential claims.

• Coordinate Workers' Compensation cases and attend claims meetings to develop strategies that enhance occupational health programs and reduce workplace injuries.

Operational & Administrative Support

• Participate in credentials review processes for applicants as needed.

• Participate in the Hospital On-Call rotation.

• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Requirements

Education & Credentials

• Education: Master's degree in relevant field highly preferred. CPHRM highly preferred.

• Licensure: Valid RN, PA, or other licensed clinical professional credential required.

Experience & Skills

• Experience: Minimum of 5+ years of acute care hospital nursing (or equivalent clinical experience) required. At least 5 years of healthcare risk management and regulatory experience preferred.

• Regulatory Expertise: Demonstrated experience with TJC, Department of Health regulations, and writing official responses to Statements of Deficiencies.

• Clinical Investigations: Proven track record of coordinating and leading Root Cause Analyses (RCA) and complex clinical investigations.

• Core Competencies: Meticulous detail orientation with strong organizational, written, and verbal communication skills across multidisciplinary clinical teams.

Salary Range

USD $175,000.00 - USD $200,000.00 /Yr.

This range serves as a good faith estimate and actual pay will encompass a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience. The salary range or rate listed does not include any bonuses/incentive, or other forms of compensation that may be applicable to this job and it does not include the value of benefits.

At Catholic Health, we believe in a people-first approach. In addition to the estimated base pay provided, Catholic Health offers generous benefits packages, generous tuition assistance, a defined benefit pension plan, and a culture that supports professional and educational growth.