Patient Representative

Position Profile Humber River Health. Lighting New Ways In Healthcare.   Since opening our doors in 2015 as North America’s first fully digital hospital, we remain unwavering in our belief that we can change the hospital where we work, the community where we live, and the world of healthcare beyond our borders. Serving a community of 850,000 residents in North West Toronto, Equity Inclusivity and active participation in the North West Toronto Ontario Health Team are key initiatives important to our Team.  At Humber River Health, we use a custom combination of technology and clinical expertise to rebuild elements of care. We make technology work for staff and physicians; giving them more time to spend with patients, to eliminate inefficiencies, and to reduce the chance of errors. Humber River Health is formally affiliated with both the University of Toronto and Queen’s University and committed to becoming a community academic hospital. Clinical Excellence, Optimizing Care through Technology and Community Connection frame our Research Strategy.   At Humber River Health, we’re not hoping for a renaissance, we are making it happen. As part of our dynamic team, you can lead the way, as we continue our journey towards high reliability care Join our team as we work together to deliver compassionate care that is responsive to the healthcare needs of our community.   We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Patient Representative, Patient Relations to join our Patient Safety, Quality & Risk team. Our Patient Represetnative will support the triage (log, prioritize and distribute patient and family concerns and complaints.      Employment Status: Temporary Full-time Duration: May 2027 Reporting Relationship: Director, Quality & Patient SafetyLocation: Humber River Health - Wilson SiteHours of work:  DaysEmployee group: Non union     Responsibilities: Serve as a central point of contact for patients and families seeking to raise concerns, express feedback, or navigate hospital services. Document patient and family compliments and concerns that come in by phone, web form, email, and in-person Prioritize (triage) and facilitate communication between patients/families and care teams to address concerns and clarify information as needed. Create and distribute patient/family response letters and acknowledgement of concerns/complements Mediate and resolve conflicts, ensuring issues are handled with empathy and professionalism. Coordinate patient/family meetings (e.g. critical incidents, disclosures) Collaborate with departments (e.g., risk, patient safety, quality improvement, clinical teams) to investigate complaints and identify quality improvement opportunities. Coordinate and distribute reports for quality improvement (descriptive statistics, trends, etc.) Support policy and procedure development related to patient feedback and service recovery Patient Advocacy Advise, coach, and support program and clinical staff (e.g. Occupational Health & Safety, clinical and support staff, finance, facility/equipment) with best practices and escalation processes to address patient care issues Educate staff on patient rights, communication strategies, and service recovery best practices. Conduct preparatory meetings for internal teams (e.g. physicians and administrative leaders) Assist patients/families understand/navigate the health system and care process Actively listen to patient/family concerns and link to internal and external resources Champion a culture of kindness, inclusion, and accountability Attend quarterly Quality Improvement Plann meetings chaired by the Quality & Patient Safety team Set up and run biweekly meetings with high-needs programs (e.g. Emergency Department) Flag potential claims risks to the Manager, Risk & Controls, as patient relations cases develop into medical legal cases Attend multi-departmental system reviews to analyze root causes of complex cases and potential quality improvement strategies Appropriately provide an overview of legislative and regulatory rights to patients/families as requested Inform patients and families that lawyers and paralegals are not permitted to attend patient relations meetings Recognize and maintain appropriate communication between all parties, recognizing that all information is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and will be included in Remind patients/families that recordings are not permitted in family meetings without permission of all individuals involved in the meeting Once recognizing a trend in patient relations cases (e.g. insights from disclosure meetings), escalate trends to the leadership for quality improvement purposes Have an excellent understanding and operationalizing of the Lock Box procedure Support patients/families with access to their health records using appropriate consent/permission forms De-escalate patients/families during and after meetings using various techniques (e.g. Gentle Persuasion Approaches, or others as appropriate) Prepare bi-annual Patient Relations Reports for Board Quality Assurance Committee   Qualifications: Degree in Social Work or Nursing discipline required Ontario Patient Relations Associations (OPRA) membership in good standing preferred Minimum two years’ experience in Social Work or Nursing required, preferably in a hospital setting. Demonstrated skills in MS Office applications including Word, Outlook, Excel. Meditech experience preferred. Demonstrated understanding and application of Health Quality Ontario’s (HQO) Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) Strong active listening, empathy, negotiation, conflict management, tact and diplomacy, mediation, problem solving skills Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution, and communication skills with a high level of emotional intelligence Demonstrated knowledge of relevant legislation and legal frameworks including Patients First Act, Public Hospitals Act, Excellent Care For All Act, Health Quality Ontario’s Quality Improvement Plan, Freedom of Information and Personal Privacy Act, Personal Health Information Protection Act, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Quality of Care Information Protection Act, Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario’s Patient Ombudsman, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Occupational Health & Safety Act, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, Corporate operational policies and procedures, College of Nurses of Ontario, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Ministry of Health. Excellent attendance and discipline free record required An understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion principles as they relate to health practices is an asset. Humber River Health values lived and learned experiences in addressing systemic barriers and advancing inclusive practices.   Why choose Humber River Health?   At Humber River Health, our staff, physicians, and volunteers are lighting new ways in healthcare. We are proud to be recognized as a part of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc. We support employees by providing evidence-based leadership and cultivating a culture that consistently wows with our unwavering commitment to Staff, Physician and Volunteer engagement. We are a member of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and are deeply involved in research and academic collaboration. We are dedicated to high-quality patient care and demonstrate our values of compassion, professionalism, and respect.   Humber River Health is committed to creating an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace that reflects the diversity of our communities. Guided by our strategic direction to embed equity, diversity and inclusion in everything we do - and to address systemic barriers - we foster a culture where everyone feels respected, valued and empowered to contribute.   We welcome applications from individuals of all equity-deserving groups, including Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, persons living with disabilities, women, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and seniors. We recognize that diverse identities and perspectives strengthen our ability to deliver safe, innovative and compassionate care.   As an equal opportunity employer, Humber River Health complies with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other protected ground.   Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process and employment. Please contact our recruitment team to discuss your needs confidentially.