Posted: 11-Apr-26
Location: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Categories:
Internal Number: 94114
Penn State Health - Hershey Medical Center
Location: US:PA: Hershey
Work Type: Full Time
FTE: 1.00
Shift: Day
Hours: Office Hours
Recruiter Contact: Taryn Blydenburgh at tblydenburgh@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
SUMMARY OF POSITION:
Lead patient safety at scale in one of the nation?s most complex academic care environments. Join Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center as Director of Patient Safety and drive enterprise-wide strategy across a Level I Trauma Center and academic medical center known for high-acuity, high-impact care. This is a highly visible leadership role for an experienced patient safety expert ready to influence outcomes, culture, and system performance. Reporting in close partnership with the Chief Quality Officer and collaborating with the Chief Medical Officer, this leader sets the strategic direction for the Department of Patient Safety?advancing a culture of safety, high reliability, and continuous learning across the organization. You will lead and evolve a comprehensive patient safety program, overseeing event review, root cause analysis (RCA), serious safety event reduction, and proactive risk identification. This role partners across clinical departments, nursing, medical staff, and executive leadership to drive alignment, accountability, and measurable improvement in patient outcomes. The Director will play a critical role in embedding Just Culture principles, strengthening safety behaviors, and building a system of sustained learning in collaboration with Human Resources and Learning & Leadership Development. This includes developing leaders at all levels to recognize risk, respond effectively, and continuously improve care delivery. This is an ideal opportunity for a patient safety leader with experience in complex or academic healthcare settings who excels in influencing physician-led environments, navigating matrixed systems, and translating data into action.
KEY IMPACT AREAS
Strategic Patient Safety Leadership Define and execute system-wide patient safety strategy aligned with organizational goals, regulatory standards, and high reliability principles. Culture of Safety & High Reliability Advance Just Culture, safety event reporting, and leader accountability to strengthen a transparent, learning-focused environment. Event Review & Risk Reduction Oversee RCA, event investigation, and harm reduction strategies to decrease serious safety events and improve patient outcomes. Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with nursing, physicians, operations, and executive leadership to drive alignment and standardization across departments and service lines. System Learning & Leader Development Build infrastructure for sustained learning, integrating safety principles into leadership development and frontline practice.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Experienced healthcare leader with a background in:
- Patient Safety, Quality, or Risk Management leadership
- Academic medical centers or complex health systems
- Event investigation, RCA, and safety program development
- High Reliability Organization (HRO) and Just Culture frameworks
- Influencing physician-led, matrixed organizations
- Data-driven decision-making and performance improvement
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION(S):
- Bachelor's degree required (clinical discipline strongly preferred).
- Five (5) years of leadership or management experience.
- Seven (7) years' related experience, of which three (3) years must be in a role focused on patient safety program development and/or implementation required.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATION(S):
- Master's degree in healthcare administration, nursing, public health, quality, or related field.
- Certification in Patient Safety (CPPS) or equivalent.
- Experience in an academic medical center or teaching hospital.
- Experience working with residency/fellowship programs or faculty governance structures.
WHY PENN STATE HEALTH?
Penn State Health offers exceptional opportunities to learn and grow, exposure to a wide patient population, and the ability to provide individualized, innovative, and specialized care to patients in the community.
Penn State Health offers an exceptional benefits package including medical, dental and vision with no waiting period as well as a Total Rewards Program that highlights a few of the many additional offerings below:
- Be Well with Employee Wellness Programs, and Fitness Discounts (University Fitness Center, Peloton).
- Be Balanced with Generous Paid Time Off, Personal Time, and Paid Parental Leave.
- Be Secured with Retirement, Extended Illness Bank, Life Insurance, and Identity Theft Protection.
- Be Rewarded with Competitive Pay, Tuition Reimbursement, and PAWS UP employee recognition program.
- Be Supported by the HR Solution Center, Learning and Organizational Development and Virtual Benefits Orientation, Employee Exclusive Concierge Service for scheduling.
WHY PENN STATE HEALTH MILTON HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER?
Penn State Hershey Medical Center is Central Pennsylvania?s only Academic Medical Center, Level 1 Regional Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, and Tertiary Care Provider. As a four-time Magnet-designated hospital, Hershey Medical Center values the hard work and dedication that our employees exhibit every day. Through our core values of Respect, Integrity, Teamwork, and Excellence, our employees are a team committed to compassionate care for our diverse patient population, our community and each other. As a valued team member, we promote continued professional development, specialty certification, continuing education, and career growth.
YOU TAKE CARE OF THEM. WE?LL TAKE CARE OF YOU. State-of-the-art equipment, endless learning, and a culture of excellence ? that?s Penn State Health. But what makes our healthcare award-winning? That?s all you.
This job posting is a general outline of duties performed and is not to be misconstrued as encompassing all duties performed within the position. Eligibility for shift differential pay based on the terms outlined in company policy or union contract. All individuals (including current employees) selected for a position will undergo a background check appropriate for the position's responsibilities.
Penn State Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected class including disability or veteran status. Penn State Health?s policies and objectives are in direct compliance with all federal and state constitutional provisions, laws, regulations, guidelines, and executive orders that prohibit or outlaw discrimination.
Union: Non Bargained