Safety Consultant

It's More Than a Job, It's a Calling!

Position: Safety Consultant

Location: Good Samaritan hospital; Downers Grove, and Sherman hospital; Elgin, IL. – Will split time between these sites.

Full Time; Monday-Friday, 1st Shift

Major Responsibilities:

• Acts as the principal safety and Physical Environment regulatory standards representative to leaders, visitors, team members and contractors at assigned locations.
• Escorts regulatory agency personnel during compliance inspections. Serves as chair of the Physical Environment (PE)/Environment of Care (EC) Committee and associated sub-committees and directs the activities of both. Responsible for meeting documentation such as scheduling, agendas, minutes, follow up and others as needed.
• Serves as the Safety Officer at assigned locations.
• Ensures regulatory compliance and performs audits of the following safety and regulatory activities: Physical Environment Management System/Environment of Care Program.
• Provides team member and contractor safety education Reviews and evaluates all safety data to identify safety trends, deficiencies and corrective actions. Develops and evaluates plans for the following sections in the PE and EC: Safety, Security, Hazardous Materials and Waste, Medical Equipment, Life/Fire Safety, Utilities, Emergency Preparedness.
• Leads life Safety initiatives including Above Ceiling Permitting Process, Hot Work Permitting Process, ILSM (Interim Life Safety Management) documentation and process.
• Provides construction related education and compliance oversight.
• Acts as the hospital safety/regulatory primary point of contact and as liaison with federal, state, county and local fire department officials.
• Responsible for compliance with the regulatory requirements of such agencies as Department of Public Health, DNV, Joint Commission, CMS, EPA, OSHA and local authorities having jurisdiction.
• Develop solutions as required to maintain compliance.
• Serves as primary source of safety technical knowledge and as safety and PE/EC regulatory consultant to related committees, hospital and department leaders and other sites; directs the development of hospital and system wide safety policies and procedures in conjunction with these groups.
• Directs the development, implementation and evaluation for effectiveness of corrective action plans by affected departments, teams and committees for deficiencies and trends identified in the PE/EC programs.
• Provide and direct ongoing monitoring of the physical environment through regularly scheduled rounding and inspections to ensure a safe environment.
• Acts as the subject matter expert in the electronic rounding platform, including scheduling, trending and analysis of data, communication with department leaders and reporting to the PE/EC Committees and Quality Committees.
• Supports Quality initiatives by developing reports, analyses and actions required for the Physical Environment.
• Coordinates the development of and presentation to the site PE/EC Committees.
• Ensures reports are prepared by the respective leaders for Safety, Security, Hazardous Materials and Waste, Medical Equipment, Utilities, Fire/Life Safety and Emergency Management.
• Develops and provides education for the Physical Environment: Annual safety training for all team members. New team member orientation/training as required. Facilities and Construction related training as required, including Contractor's annual orientation.

Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required:

• Health Care Facility Manager (CHFM) certification issued by the American Hospital Association (AHA), OR Safety Professional (CSP) certification issued by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), OR Health Care Environmental Manager (HEM) certification issued by the ECRI Institute's Center for Healthcare Environmental Management (CHEM).

Education Required:

• Bachelor's Degree in Building & Construction, Engineering, Health Care Administration, Safety, Facilities Maintenance, Regulatory Science, or related field

Experience Required:

• Typically requires 5 years of experience in in Facilities or related field.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Critical thinking and independent decision making.
• Clear and concise communications.
• Ability to operate computer and computer software programs.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, lift, squat, bend, reach above shoulders, and twist frequently throughout the workday.
• Must be able to lift up to 10 lbs. regularly and up to 50 lbs. occasionally.
• May be exposed to mechanical, electrical, chemical, and radiation hazards as well as blood and body fluids; therefore, personal protective equipment must be worn as necessary.
• Position requires occasional travel; therefore, may be exposed to road and weather hazards.
• Must have functional speech, vision, smell, touch and hearing.
• Must be physically able to wear and function in a Level C protective suit for training, simulation and actual responses to decontamination needs.
• Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.