Quality and Risk Specialist RN / Nurse

Quality and Risk Specialist

Full-Time Critical Access Hospital New Mexico

Pay: $30-$40/hour for Licensed Counselor $40-$60/hour for RN

A Critical Access Hospital located approximately one hour west of Albuquerque, New Mexico is seeking a Quality and Risk Specialist to support quality improvement, patient safety, regulatory compliance, accreditation readiness, and risk management initiatives across the organization.

This highly collaborative position works closely with executive leadership, nursing, medical staff, department directors, and operational teams to promote continuous survey readiness, performance improvement, patient safety, and organizational compliance.

Compensation & Benefits

• Licensed Counselor: $30-$40 per hour
• Registered Nurse: $40-$60 per hour
• $15,000 sign-on bonus
• Up to $5,000 relocation assistance
• Temporary housing or fuel stipend for qualifying employees residing more than 65 miles from the facility, subject to availability
• Medical and dental benefits plus voluntary vision coverage
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match up to 3.5%
• Paid time off and sick leave
• Tuition reimbursement for approved programs
• Certification reimbursement for approved job-specific certifications
• Employee Assistance Program and additional voluntary benefits

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate and support hospital-wide Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) activities
• Assist departments with performance improvement initiatives, corrective action plans, and follow-up monitoring
• Track quality metrics, dashboards, regulatory indicators, and patient safety data
• Coordinate incident reporting and event management processes
• Review occurrence reports and escalate high-risk concerns to leadership
• Assist with investigations involving adverse events, near misses, grievances, and patient safety concerns
• Support Root Cause Analyses (RCA), focused reviews, and risk mitigation initiatives
• Assist with ongoing readiness for CMS, The Joint Commission, Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation, and state regulatory requirements
• Coordinate tracers, mock surveys, rounding, compliance audits, and other survey-readiness activities
• Track regulatory findings, corrective action plans, and sustainability monitoring
• Support policy review and revisions to maintain regulatory alignment
• Prepare reports, dashboards, committee materials, meeting minutes, and executive summaries
• Assist with peer review tracking, FPPE/OPPE administrative support, and provider quality documentation
• Support staff education related to patient safety, event reporting, regulatory compliance, and quality improvement
• Collaborate across departments to promote a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required
• Current professional licensure as applicable to the candidate's clinical background
• Minimum of 3 years of healthcare experience
• Strong organizational, analytical, critical-thinking, and communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound professional judgment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in quality improvement, accreditation, compliance, patient safety, or risk management
• Experience in a Critical Access Hospital or similar healthcare environment
• Knowledge of CMS Conditions of Participation, The Joint Commission, and/or Critical Access Hospital standards
• Experience with incident reporting systems, regulatory surveys, and performance improvement methodologies
• Healthcare quality, patient safety, or risk management certification such as CPHQ, CPPS, or CPHRM is a plus

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced healthcare professional who wants to play an integral role in quality, patient safety, regulatory readiness, and organizational improvement.

Apply today to learn more about this opportunity.