Director – Patient Safety

Department Overview

The Director of Patient Safety oversees the team responsible for managing the patient safety program. This leadership role is essential in centering patients and supporting staff during challenging circumstances, while advancing OHSU’s commitment to improving patient safety, the culture of safety, eliminating preventable harm, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

This role collaborates closely with departments and leaders at all levels across the organization, requiring the ability to build strong, trust-based relationships. They work with others toward a systematic implementation of effective practices designed to reduce error, create reliable systems, identify improvement opportunities, mitigate risk, and improve patient outcomes. The Director provides direct support and guidance to patient safety specialists, offering clinical insight to help non-clinical team members navigate complex situations with empathy and clarity.

In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations, the Director contributes strategic insight to drive system-wide improvement. They help align organizational initiatives with culture of safety and preventable harm goals and ensure that policies and processes reflect the needs and voices of patients across the health system. They provide leadership and direction for the patient safety program as well as safety components of the strategic plan.They are responsible for educating clinical and hospital staff on system-based design and error prevention, provides safety consultation to management and staff, disseminates best practices and safety information to others, and acts as a change agent to support the implementation of effective patient safety strategies within the organization. They oversee the administration of our periodic Culture of Safety Survey and coordinates the subsequent action plans in collaboration with the executive teamTo succeed in this role, the director must lead with empathy, act with fairness, and communicate with transparency. This position serves as a role model for being objective, supportive, and people-focused, helping ensure that every patient is treated with dignity and that OHSU consistently upholds its core values.

Function/Duties of Position

Operations

• Serve as a subject matter expert on patient safety, culture of safety, and safety science, guiding teams across the organization through training, consultation, and policy interpretation, especially as related to the strategic plan and associated goals and tactics
• Lead the Patient Safety team, directing the work and providing supervision. 
• Provide patient safety leadership in assessing the safety of new equipment and technology, clinical risk management, and medication safety.
• Ensure all patient safety events, root cause analyses, and quality-of-care concerns are managed in compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, state and federal laws, and OHSU policies.
• Organize and lead the Patient Safety Review Committee
• Ensure patient safety team representation on the Medication Safety Committee, Infection Prevention & Control Committee, and the Value Analysis Committee
• Provide clinical insight to support non-clinical staff in navigating complex patient situations and patient safety concerns.
• Develop and manage standard workflows to support consistent processes for patient safety event evaluation and investigation.
• Collaborate with departments such as Risk Management, Legal, Patient Relations, Regulatory Affairs, Infection Control, and Public Safety to strengthen patient safety, institutional transparency, and cross-team coordination.
• Participate in policy development, review, and implementation related to patient safety and organizational standards, and help socialize changes across teams.

Data and Insights

• Develop, monitor, and manage the operating budget related to patient safety, culture of safety, patient safety structural measure compliance, etc., including variance reporting and financial performance tracking.
• Lead development and reporting of the patient safety team’s annual report and other requested reporting through the OHSU Management System and to the UHS board.
• Provide institutional perspectives and insights to help align system-wide initiatives with patient safety and preventable harm goals.
• Analyze trends in patient safety events to identify areas for improvement and share findings with leadership to guide strategic decision-making.
• Create clear and accessible reports, presentations, and educational materials that inform and engage stakeholders across the organization.

Team Support

• Oversee and mentor a multidisciplinary patient safety team.
• Hold regular check-ins, provide timely feedback, and support professional growth through coaching conversations, including GROW discussions.
• Foster and cultivate a team culture rooted in empathy, transparency, collaboration, and accountability.
• Engage team members in identifying operational improvements that enhance experiences for patients, families, and staff.
• Promote team well-being, resilience, and a shared sense of purpose in alignment with OHSU’s mission and values

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Social Work, Nursing, or another related field.
• 5 years of experience in patient safety, or a related field
• 3 years of experience managing multidisciplinary teams 
• Strong understanding of CMS Conditions of Participation and patient safety regulations
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive or complex situations with empathy, fairness, and professionalism
• Demonstrated experience in cultural competency and humility, working with diverse populations (patients, students, employees, community members at large)

Job Related Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Competencies):

• Strong working knowledge of OHSU policies related to Patient Safety, grounded in federal and state law and DNV regulatory requirements
  • Includes familiarity with CMS Conditions of Participation (as described in DNV NIAHO Standards)
• Deep understanding of organizational leadership principles, including change management, team dynamics, and collaboration across complex systems
• Excellent leadership and innovation skills, with the ability to contribute to and create new ideas, standard workflows, and policies that support and socialize patient rights and responsibilities

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Social Work or Nursing.
• RN (with active license) or other licensed clinician with acute care experience CPHQ, or CPPS

Additional Details

This is a hybrid (on-site and remote) working position with flexible scheduling. Typical schedule is Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM PST.

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact [email protected]