Sr. Improvement Specialist

UPMC; Erie (Erie County); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

UPMC is seeking a Sr. Improvement Specialist to support Ambulatory Sites within RHS, EPN, GLPP, and Kane.

The role involves on-site work with travel to Venango, Clarion, and occasional Erie sites, focusing on patient-centered improvement, documentation efficiency, and compliance with measures. Responsibilities include leading system-level improvements, analyzing data, coordinating with leadership, and guiding teams through change using TPS/Lean/PDSA methods.

Qualifications

• Ambulatory care background required.
• Experience with EMR systems preferred.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Proficient in data analysis and reporting.
• Knowledge of PCMH attestations and quality measures.
• Experience with health plan and value-based care monitoring.
• Ability to support physicians and staff to improve efficiency and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate improvement skills using UPMC model to drive system-level improvements.
• Measure and analyze data to identify the real problems to solve.
• Assess readiness and identify strategies to achieve goals.
• Communicate improvements to teams, managers, and leadership.
• Lead special projects and related duties as needed.
• Align improvement work with patient-centeredness, efficiency, and safety.
• Coordinate assessment of current processes and design testing models.
• Provide leadership in the absence of the Director and may manage staff.
• Present accomplishments to regional and national forums.

Skills

Ambulatory care

EMR training

Problem solving

Data analytics

PCMH support and attestations

Health plan monitoring

Value-based care reporting

Job description

UPMC is seeking a Sr. Improvement Specialist to support Ambulatory Sites within Regional Health Services (RHS), Erie Physician Network (EPN), Great Lakes Physician Practice (GLPP), and Kane. On-Site Primary Work location is 3163 PA 257
Seneca, PA 16346 with the opportunity to work remotely within reasonable travel distance (2.5 hours) of Venango and Clarion counties. This full-time position will work day-shift, Monday through Friday. Travel to ambulatory sites within Venango and Clarion counties will be required to provide on-site practice support. Occasional travel to Erie may also be required. We are seeking candidates with experience or familiarity in the following areas:

• Ambulatory Care background
• EMR training and/or education experience
• Problem solving
• Data analytics
• PCMH support and attestations
• Health plan and value based care monitoring and reporting
• Supporting Physicians and Clinical staff to see patients more efficiently while ensuring documentation workflows are compliant and meet required measures
  

Purpose:
This position is responsible for contributing to hospital and departmental quality initiatives. This involves performing the assessment and analysis of operations and processes. Additionally, the Senior Improvement Specialist works collaboratively with staff and leadership to design and implement improvements and innovations across their hospital(s). Their work is focused on hospital quality initiatives. In order to achieve defined outcomes the senior improvement specialist engenders commitment, fosters cultural changes, disseminates information and provides support for behavioral and process changes. The overarching focus of the senior improvement specialists work is patient centeredness, staff vitality, process efficiency and waste reduction and safe and reliable patient care.

Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate exceptional improvement skills using the UPMC improvement model to drive system level improvement.
• Measures and analyzes data to understand and interpret information to focus on the right problem to solve.
• Assess hospital/facility/departmental readiness and identifies strategies to achieve goals.
• Effectively communicates improvements that are made to work teams, staff, managers and administrators throughout the organization.
• When assigned, completes special projects and performs other related duties according to agreed upon goals and parameters.
• Works to ensure that quality improvement and innovation work remains focused on one more of the following goals: patient centeredness, staff vitality, process efficiency and waste reduction and safe and reliable patient care.
• Effectively coordinates the assessment of current operational processes.
• Designs models for testing various approaches and evaluating effectiveness.
• Acts as a lead in absence of the Director.
• May manage direct reports.
• Maintains accountability for ongoing self-development activities especially related to presentation facilitation, change management and application of quality improvement activities.
• Skilled with representing UPMC by presenting accomplishments to regional and national forms.
• Strategizes and drives Quality/Improvement agenda.
• Leads and engages teams across the hospital and interacts with all levels of executives at times directing to look at alternative more efficient/effective approaches.
• Assures project management skills are utilized to lead progress towards goals by collecting accurate, timely data to display the quality, cost and service outcomes.
• Leads improvement utilizing various approaches such as TPS/Lean/PDSA or others as appropriate.
• Creates a supportive environment in the department, hospital or service line where improvement is being done that is sensitive to address the issues and needs of that area by regularly consulting with the Executive Sponsor, Director and front line staff.
• Partners with hospital and divisional leaders to implement and deploy system and local change.
• Utilized expert engagement approaches to drive change.