Facilities Environmental Safety Specialist

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

Position: Facilities Environmental Safety Specialist

Location: Lutheran General hospital; Park Ridge, IL.

Full Time; 1st Shift, Monday-Friday

~Some travel required for additional sites and off-sites

Major Responsibilities:

• Manage and oversee portions of the Accreditation Environment of Care (TJC), and/or Physical Environment (DNV) Safety programs for multiple Advocate facilities. Act as liaison for all chapters (Safety, Security, Hazardous Materials/Waste, Clinical Engineering, Fire Safety and Utilities) within the program. Coordinate and chair the Environment of Care or Physical Environment Committee, maintain committee agendas and minutes, communicate safety updates to committee.  Assists with, Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA), Environmental Compliance (EPA), Construction Safety, and Operations activities to maintain constant readiness for surveys and inspections; serves as a safety point of contact during federal, state, local and organizational surveys, and inspections.   Supports regulatory agency personnel during compliance inspections. 
• Interfaces with Advocate Facility Administration and Department Leadership to oversee special projects as directed by Safety Leadership and Facility Administration. Presents safety programs, safety updates, and/or training to leadership, physicians, vendors/contractors, and teammates. Discuss safety and risk assessment impacts to operational changes that has effect on patient safety, teammate safety, visitor safety, and life safety.   
• Initiate and disseminate PCRA (Pre-Construction Risk Assessment), ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) and ILSM (Interim Life Safety Measures) documentation for projects at multiple facilities. Act as liaison between Advocate Facility Administration, Clinical Departments, and Planning Designing Construction teams, providing communication to ensure overall safety of the environment for patients, teammates, visitors, vendors, and contractors  
• Generate and submit physical environment reports, safety reports, risk assessments, and any corrective action plans from regulatory and Accreditation surveys (Joint Commission, DNV, DHSR, CMS, CARF, CAP, CLIA) to Leadership and appropriate departments. Educate and coordinate corrective actions for any deficiencies identified during surveys, inspections, and assessments.  
• Manages and completes various internal inspections of the physical environment, performs safety rounds of departments and grounds, creates work orders and purchase orders to address deficiencies and corrective actions.   
• Assist with proper handling, storage, documenting, inspecting, and transportation of hazardous waste/materials within facilities. Respond to hazardous material spills and emergencies.   
• Works collaboratively with other service lines to accomplish initiatives impacting patient care, patient safety, teammates, contractors, and visitor safety. To include but not limited to injury/illness prevention and corrective actions, eyewash compliance, product recalls, fire drills. 
• Act as first responder for incidents at facility; maintains constant on-call response readiness and serve in multiple roles during incident command events at facility and corporate level 

Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required:

• None

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience 

Experience Required:

• ​2-4 years or more of experience in safety and/or facilities management that includes experience in emergency management, environmental safety, and life safety. ​ 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• ​​Must have the ability to clearly communicate verbally, in person, and in writing with patients, families/agencies and the health care team. 
• Must possess a sense of urgency and make sound decisions.   
• Responsible for setting a strong example of safety by working safely and utilizing personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately.   
• Critical thinking and independent decision making and is solution oriented.  
• Ability to operate computer and computer software programs 

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• ​​​This position requires travel, therefore, will be exposed to weather and road conditions. ​​ 
• Travel to other facilities in a personal vehicle is required.  
• Must be able to sit, stand, walk, lift, squat, bend, reach above shoulders, and twist frequently throughout the workday.  
• Must have functional speech, vision, smell, touch and hearing.  
• ​​Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job. ​ 
• ​​Exposed to a normal office environment.​ 
• ​​Must be able to lift up to 10 lbs. regularly and up to 50 lbs. occasionally. 
• ​Subject to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions 
• ​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.  
• ​Must be physically able to wear and function in a Level C protective suit for training, simulation and actual responses to decontamination needs.  

Preferred Job Requirements:

• ​​Health Care Environmental Manager (HEM) certification issued by the ECRI, Institute's Center for Healthcare Environmental Management (CHEM), Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygiene (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) or other related industry certifications are highly preferred 

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.