Description

Quality Management - Acute | Full Time | Day Shift | 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
*Eligible for competitive relocation assistance.

Lead Quality Excellence Across a High-Performing Health System

Lexington Health is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Quality Management - Acute Care to lead quality, patient safety, performance improvement, infection prevention, regulatory readiness, and clinical documentation initiatives across Lexington Medical Center.

This is an opportunity to join a high-performing organization with a strong culture of clinical excellence and a well-established commitment to quality and patient safety. In this role, you will partner closely with executive leadership, physicians, nursing leaders, and multidisciplinary teams to translate data, evidence, and insights into meaningful improvements in patient outcomes and the delivery of care.

The Director will lead a well-resourced Quality department with dedicated professionals, analysts, technology, and data capabilities that support organization-wide quality and performance improvement efforts. This strong infrastructure allows the leader in this role to focus on strategy, collaboration, innovation, and sustainable results while working alongside an engaged team that is committed to making a difference.

A Leadership Opportunity with Meaningful Impact

Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, nearly 80 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals, and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina.

Lexington Health has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare and was the first in South Carolina to achieve Magnet with Distinction status for excellence in nursing care. The organization is consistently recognized among the best in the Columbia Metro area by U.S. News & World Report.

With more than 4,000 babies delivered and 35,000 surgeries performed annually, Lexington Health provides a complex and dynamic environment in which quality leaders can have a significant system-wide impact. The organization is also home to an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence, the state's first HeartCARE Center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, and an Alzheimer's care center.

Live, Work and Thrive in the Midlands

Located in West Columbia in the heart of South Carolina's Midlands, Lexington Health offers an opportunity to build a career in a growing and vibrant region while enjoying the quality of life that makes South Carolina an attractive place to live.

The Columbia metropolitan area combines the energy and amenities of a capital city with a welcoming, community-oriented atmosphere. The Midlands offers a diverse mix of neighborhoods and communities, excellent outdoor recreation, a thriving food and arts scene, and easy access to the beaches, mountains, and other destinations throughout the Southeast.

For those relocating to the area, the Columbia region offers the opportunity to enjoy a lower cost of living than many major U.S. metropolitan areas while remaining within a growing and increasingly dynamic healthcare market. Whether you prefer an urban setting, a suburban community, or a more relaxed lifestyle, the Midlands offers a range of places to call home.

For a leader who is passionate about improving health care quality, developing people, partnering across disciplines, and using data to drive change, this role offers the opportunity to shape quality strategy and influence outcomes across a leading hospital while building a career and life in one of South Carolina's most dynamic regions.

Job Summary:

The Director of Quality Management - Acute Care directs department activities, which includes quality data management and analysis, initiation of evidence based practices, identification of required education of clinical staff and leadership and oversight of compliance with regulatory standards (DNV, CMS, DHEC, Leapfrog). Responsible for planning, developing, maintaining and evaluating the hospital-wide quality management and infection prevention and control programs. Responsible for oversight of the acute hospital Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) program.  Collaborates with system-wide hospital leadership to ensure the quality improvement goals and metrics are aligned with the goals of the organization. Offers strategic direction and leadership to achieve quality excellence.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum Education: Master's Degree in Nursing, Healthcare Admin, or Related Field
• Minimum Years of Experience: 5 Years of quality and patient safety/performance improvement leadership or hospital management, in an acute care facility.
• Required Certifications/Licensure: Currently Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN) by the State Board of Nursing for South Carolina; Current CPHQ certification or received within 12 months of employment.
• Required Training: Knowledgeable of regulatory and accrediting agencies' requirements, experience with Midas preferred

Essential Functions:

• Provides direction and supervision of quality and infection control team members, activities, systems, and services.
• Directly accountable for organizing and leading external regulatory surveys such as DNV, DHEC, CMS, and Leapfrog Safety reporting.
• Tracks performance relative to national benchmarks providing feedback/date to leadership and guidance toward effective performance improvement interventions.
• Contributes to teamwork and creates harmonious, effective and positive working relationships with others. Maintains confidentiality.
• Leads/supports multidisciplinary teams to prepare measures and related results to assign priority recommendations to executive leadership.
• Ensures a standardized communication process for strategy and engagement, as well as communication/collaboration across the continuum for each service line to identify process gaps which may affect quality outcomes. Shares evidence based practices across with multidisciplinary teams and medical staff committees.
• Outstanding leadership, communication, collaboration, and change management skills required as this role oversees organizational performance improvement as well as performance improvement and peer review for all medical staff departments and committees.
• Shares knowledge with others and promotes growth and development of others.
• Develops and revises policies and procedures necessary to support quality improvement.
• Develops department(s) goals which are aligned with the LMC System Strategic Plan and Priorities.
• Works closely with Risk Management Department, Nursing Leadership and Medical Staff to identify opportunities for improvements related to patient safety.
• Provides direct leadership for quality management and infection control team members and informal/indirect leadership to LMC leaders/team members engaged in quality initiatives.
• Identifies educational needs which are data driven and outcomes based for clinical staff and collaborates with educators/mentors to create/implement solutions.
• Embodies the behaviors, philosophy, and values which serve to uphold the ideals and enhance the image of Lexington Medical Center.
• Participates in hospital medical staff committee meetings and promotes performance improvement initiatives.
• Teaches appropriate stakeholders how to collect and maintain appropriate metrics, values, and registry data to assure/validate process improvements and outcomes.
• Attends and serves on professional civic service organizations as hospital representative.
• Responsible for own professional growth and development.
• Functions as a professional role model for other staff.
• Promotes research and data analysis.
• Assesses human resource needs; plans and evaluates employee activities to ensure safe, effective and fiscally sound operations.
• Develops standards of performance for staff within the department, conducts performance appraisals and oversees disciplinary actions within the department.
• Responsible for development and adherence of FTE budget.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Knowledgeable of HR processes and uses HR personnel appropriately.
• Promotes continual learning environment which provides opportunities for the continued professional development and broadened clinical knowledge of staff
• Works closely with the medical staff, hospital departments and administration to coordinate regulatory compliance and coordinates surveys.
• Implements measures to assure productivity and efficient use of resources within department
• Provides guidance for material resources with appropriate consideration for patient/staff needs, hospital policies and procedures and budgetary constraints.
• Responsible for the development and adherence to operating and capital budget based on projected needs and constraints.
• Evaluates and monitors the utilization of appropriate resources based on analysis of needs.
• Keeps abreast of current trends and innovations in resources through benchmarking and other cooperative activities.
• Implements systems to streamline and provide efficiency related to data management and analysis.
• Identifies opportunities to improve patient care, health care practice and interaction with health care partners; and initiates and/or participates in development of action plans to achieve desired outcomes.
• Coordinates organization-wide PI Plan and updates leadership on achievements routinely.
• Works closely with other healthcare leaders to establish quality indicators and to implement measures to achieve goals.
• Evaluates programs and effects changes as needed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Utilizes resources within the department to provide structure for flow of information and desired initiatives between hospital leaders, clinical nurse experts and quality management team members.
• Communicates effectively throughout the health care system.
• Excellent presentation skills and able to modify presentations appropriately based upon audience.
• Directs the preparation and maintenance of departmental reports.
• Prepares quality reports for leadership, medical staff, board and various committees.
• Directs the flow of quality information to the appropriate department or committee or to administration according to the hospital Performance Improvement Plan.
• Keeps VP, other Executive Leadership and team members informed of Regulatory updates/standards changes (CMS, DNV, SCDHEC, Leapfrog).
• Maintains efficient flow of communication throughout services by keeping staff informed of organizational issues.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned or requested.

We are committed to offering quality, cost-effective benefits choices for our benefit eligible employees and their families:

• Day ONE medical, dental and life insurance benefits
• Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Employees are eligible for enrollment into the 403(b) match plan day one.  LHI matches dollar for dollar up to 6%.
• Employer paid life insurance – equal to 1x salary
• Employee may elect supplemental life insurance with low cost premiums up to 3x salary
• Adoption assistance
• LHI provides its full-time employees employer paid short-term disability and long-term disability coverage after 90 days of eligible employment
• Tuition reimbursement
• Student loan forgiveness

Equal Opportunity Employer
It is the policy of Lexington Health to provide equal opportunity of employment for all individuals, and to remain compliant with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Lexington Health strives to provide a discrimination-free environment, and to recruit, select, on-board, and employ all employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including but not limited to, lactation. Lexington Health endeavors to upgrade and promote employees from within the hospital where possible and consistent with the employee’s desires and abilities and the hospital’s needs.