Patient Relations Specialist

GENERAL SUMMARY:

Serves as the primary coordinator for patient and family feedback related to service quality and care experience at KRMC. Facilitates the grievance process in compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, conducts investigations, supports conflict resolution, and partners with departments to ensure timely and effective resolution of concerns. Provides reporting, trend analysis, and education to support patient experience improvement across the organization.

PRINCIPAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. *Commits to the KRMC mission, vision, values and goals and consistently demonstrates our core values.

2. *Coordinates the full lifecycle of patient and family concerns, including intake, clarification, documentation, investigation, and timely resolution in accordance with CMS grievance requirements and KRMC policies.

3. *Leads the KRMC Grievance Committee by preparing agendas, presenting case summaries, documenting committee actions, and ensuring follow-up activities are completed and communication to appropriate stakeholders.

4. *Promotes knowledge of process improvement principles, tools and methods to facilitate change management activities.

5. *Reports on KRMC organizational feedback data to leadership and staff.

6. *Engages patients and families to clarify concerns, gather relevant information, and develop appropriate plans to address issues while ensuring timely communication and follow-up.

7. *Determines complaint versus grievance status, ensures regulatory timelines are met, and coordinates all follow-up actions with departments and leaders.

8. Analyze trends in patient feedback and grievance data, identifies patterns or emerging issues, and partners with departments to develop targeted action plans that improve service quality and patient experience. Facilitates understanding of KRMC's policies, procedures, and services to patients/families as well as visitors.

9. Works with all involved parties to establish an avenue for negotiation to occur and to diminish emotion and hostility between parties.

10. *Conducts thorough cross-departmental investigations by gathering statements, reviewing documentation, interviewing involved staff, and synthesizing information to determine appropriate outcomes that meet regulatory and organizational standards.

11. *Exercises discretion and critical thinking in the investigation of complaints and the determination of outcomes ensuring organization and regulatory requirements are satisfied.

12. *Gathers information to develop a complete perspective of an identified issue; has the authority to conduct cross-departmental investigations and formulate recommendations regarding patient issues.

13. Collaborates and shares appropriate information with other departments and hospital representatives as needed.

14. Educates staff and leaders on grievance processes, communication strategies, and conflict resolution, providing coaching and support to strengthen organizational responsiveness and consistency.*Strives to meet the legitimate interest of the patient, considering the organization's interests to improve the relationship between the hospital and the patient/community.

15. *Maintains accurate, timely documentation in the feedback management system and ensures all follow-up actions, communications, and regulatory requirements are completed and recorded appropriately.

16. *Prepares and delivers reports and presentations for leadership and committees, translating complex feedback data into clear insights and actionable recommendations.

17. Participates in risk assessments, gap analyses, and process improvement initiatives, contributing patient experience insights to support organizational safety, quality, and regulatory readiness. Maintains information in accordance with KRMC procedures related to confidentiality and retention of records.

18. Maintains professional growth and development through seminars, workshops, and professional affiliations to keep abreast of latest trends in field of expertise.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Associate's degree in healthcare-related field required. Minimum of five (5) years of experience in a healthcare setting required. Experience in patient experience, quality, safety, risk management, or service recovery preferred. Experience with conflict resolution and complaint management preferred. Bachelor's degree in a healthcare-related field preferred.