Senior Patient Relations Specialist

Akron Children's Hospital; Akron (OH); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Akron Children's Hospital is seeking a Senior Patient Relations Specialist to serve as a liaison between patient families and the health care system, addressing concerns and guiding resolutions to ensure an outstanding patient experience. This role involves collaboration with clinical and operational leaders to investigate concerns, identify opportunities for improvement, and facilitate timely resolutions.

You will investigate complaints, collaborate with clinical and non-clinical teams,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is preferred.
• 3 years of relevant experience required; 5 years preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to speak to large groups is preferred.
• CMS regulations and TJC standards knowledge required.
• Experience in healthcare settings is required.

Responsibilities

• Manages the complaint and grievance worklist in the tracking system, ensuring timely resolutions.
• Investigates complaints by interviewing families and reviewing records; coordinates with leaders.
• Facilitates service recovery to restore confidence and support a great patient experience.
• Serves as senior resource on healthcare services, patient rights, policies for staff and families.
• Leads staff in assessing and responding to patient concerns; escalation point.
• Maintains confidential records of interactions, grievances, and resolutions.
• Flags situations needing higher-level intervention with Risk Manager or Quality.
• Tracks trends to identify systemic issues; supports quality improvement reporting.
• Performs proactive rounding with clinical and non-clinical teams to prevent escalations.
• Develops and delivers training to enhance patient relations skills.
• Mentors staff and participates in committees; presents grievances and resolutions.
• Acts as Section 1557 Coordinator; performs other duties as assigned.

Skills

Communication

Public speaking

Conflict resolution

Interdepartmental collaboration

Healthcare experience

CMS regulations knowledge

MS Office proficiency

EMR systems (EPIC) experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Healthcare, Communications, Psychology, or related field

Tools

EPIC EMR

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Job description

Full-Time, Day Shift

Monday - Friday 8 - 4:30 pm

Hybrid

Summary:

The Senior Patient Relations Specialist serves as a liaison between patient families and the health care system to address patient care concerns, complaints, and grievances to provide an outstanding patient experience. This position collaborates with clinical and operational leaders to investigate concerns, identify opportunities for improvement, and facilitate the timely resolution of complaints and grievances. The Senior Patient Relations Specialist supports the organization's commitment to family-centered care by fostering effective communication, service excellence, and continuous quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• 1. Manages the complaint and grievance worklist throughout the investigation and resolution process in the tracking system. Ensures grievances are resolved in a timely manner consistent with regulatory standards and guidelines.
• 2. Investigates complaints and grievances by interviewing patients and family members, reviewing concerns with clinical or operational leadership, and reviewing medical records as needed. Collaborates with leaders to identify appropriate resolution strategies and respond to patients and families verbally and in writing as required.
• 3. Facilitates service recovery efforts to address concerns, restore patient/family confidence, and support an outstanding patient experience. Provides supportive counseling, de-escalation, and crisis intervention to staff and families to assist in conflict resolution.
• 4. Serves as a senior resource on healthcare services, patient rights, policies, and procedures for ACH employees, patients, and families. Enhances understanding, engagement, and effective communication across the patient care experience.
• 5. Acts as a lead resource to hospital staff for assessing, investigating, and responding to patient care concerns and complaints. Serves as a point of escalation for concerns that cannot be resolved effectively within the originating area.
• 6. Maintains up-to-date, accurate, and confidential records of patient/family interactions, grievances, and resolutions. Ensures documentation supports regulatory requirements, organizational policy, and effective follow-up.
• 7. Identifies situations requiring additional support or higher-level intervention and engages the Risk Manager and/or Quality Department as appropriate. Leverages available resources to address complex complaints and support timely resolution.
• 8. Tracks, trends, and analyzes patient concerns to identify systemic issues and recommend process improvements. Assists with the preparation of related reports and supports initiatives focused on quality improvement and patient experience.
• 9. Conducts proactive rounding to foster relationships and identify situations with potential for escalation. Works closely with clinical and non-clinical teams, including nursing, medical staff, administration, and social workers, to address and resolve patient grievances and improve the patient experience.
• 10. Develops and facilitates training initiatives to enhance patient relations skills and equip staff with tools to engage effectively with patients and families. Supports staff in addressing concerns to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care.
• 11. Provides mentorship to the Patient Relations Specialist and participates in hospital committees and process improvement initiatives. Presents grievances and resolutions to the organization's Grievance Committee consistent with applicable policy and regulatory requirements and may facilitate discussion regarding appropriate resolution strategies.
• 12. Functions as the organization's Section 1557 Coordinator. Performs other duties as assigned.

Technical Expertise

• 1. Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.
• 2. Demonstrated ability at speaking in front of large groups is preferred.
• 3. Proficient in conflict resolution and working in emotionally charged situations.
• 4. Experience collaborating and communicating with all professional levels within an organization is required.
• 5. Experience in healthcare is required.
• 6. Knowledge of CMS regulations and TJC standards applicable to complaint and grievance resolution is required
• 7. Proficiency in MS Office (Outlook, Excel, Word) or similar software is required.
• 8. Experience in EPIC or other electronic medical records system is preferred.

Education and Experience

• 1. Education: Bachelor's degree in Healthcare, Communications, Psychology, or related field is strongly preferred.
• 2. Licensure: None
• 3. Certification: None
• 4. Years of relevant experience: 3 years is required; 5 years is preferred.
• 5. Years of supervisory experience: None

Full Time

FTE: 1.000000

Status: Fixed Hybrid