Information Liaison - Surgery, Full-time, Rotating - Northwestern Memorial Healthcare

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Schedule: Rotating, Monday through Friday 7am-3:30pm; will rotate to different shifts, weekends, and holidays based on department needs.

The Information Liaison-Surgery reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate in-depth working knowledge and expertise with clinical based computer systems.
• Accurately schedules surgical cases manually and or in computer to generate preferences for necessary surgeon-specific instrumentation (case cart system).
• Receives and makes changes to OR schedule according to established procedures.
• Reviews and updates next day surgical schedule with anesthesia and OR charge personnel.
• Ensures adequate supply and distribution of OR daily schedules (within Surgical Services).
• Reviews scheduling codes for procedures and ensures that CSS staff receive accurate preferences.
• Ensures nightly update and duplication of OR schedule for all pavilions.
• Sends for patients according to established standards and subsequent patients as requested then communicates to surgical services staff using the appropriate systems.
• Ensures inpatient arrival to pre-op holding areas through monitoring of transport tracking System and outpatient arrival at Center (checks patient tracking system to see patients have arrived against the time the patients are scheduled to arrive)
• Communicate arrival with charge nurse.
• Coordinates and prioritizes dispatch of work assignments related to patient and specimen transport, phone communications, and equipment delivery.
• Coordination of patient flow and other duties as needed.
• Executes nightly schedule changes.
• Monitors automated system for timely OR room turnover.
• Receives and enters surgical services staff call-ins for automated manager notification.
• Effects timely notification of on-call teams and other support service needs.
• Prepares daily nursing staffing roster by specialty and coordinates with daily OR schedule for OR room assignments.
• Prepares daily and weekend on-call nursing sheets and ensures completeness.
• Prepares next day equipment list for ORA staff to complete.
• Initiates patient belongings list and assigns to ORA staff.
• Answers and directs telephone calls to appropriate areas.
• Communicates patients leaving the OR (directs) to family waiting room and nursing units.
• Requests admitting to create active account as necessary.
• Orders and maintains sufficient inventory of office supplies and printed forms and coffee supplies.
• Assist with bringing patients back from reception to the pre-op room if requested.
• Retrieves lab results on demand from hospital data base system.
• Orders specialty beds as needed to facilitate patient needs.
• Institutes call tree for on-call staff, operation triage, and other emergent situations as necessary and escalates appropriately and timely.
• Checks patients in and enters next days cases into system.
• Provide assistance and directions to volunteers.
• Ensure patient charts are together for the next day.
• Order unit supplies.
• Maintain waiting room area, coffee and vending machine area
•  Supplies for visitors.
• Responds to Emergency Call light by transporting Cardiac Crash cart to appropriate OR, and notify managers of situation.
• Maintains and updates Nursing Staff Directory (address and home/cell phone numbers).
• Maintains and updates triage list.
• Enters broken equipment into data base for repair and ensures broken pagers are replaced.
• Facilitates communication between OR, Pre and Post-op.
• Receives and directs calls from physician offices and patients.
• Monitors and audits charges (SIA reports).
• Notifies patient billing of any errors.
• Ensures correct patient encounters in order to facilitate correct patient charges.
• Ensuring all patients have been charged appropriately.
• Visitor & Vendor coordination.
• Confirm access approvals in place according to policies.
• Maintain access approval paperwork for vendors and visitors.
• Checks and orders disposable scrubs as necessary
• Assist Hospital Transportation staff in checking off and picking up specimens.
• Orders unit supplies.
• Support nursing staff scheduling using hospital dedicated scheduling system. 
• Incumbents train new hires to ensure that all essential functions, policies and procedures are understood and followed.
• Documents pertinent information for management follow-up to promote favorable outcomes and avoidance of rework.
• Collects data for department quality management.
• Requires sound knowledge of daily Surgical Services policies and procedures and operating service priorities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: The Information Liaison for Surgical Services coordinates and performs functions related to scheduling and sending of cases, control desk coordinator activities, registration of patients, unit communication coordination, completes patient charges, runs unit reports, and acts as gatekeeper for surgical services. This position supports timely, quality, efficient services to all internal and external customers of the operating room.

AA/EOE.

Required:

• High school graduate.
• Medical terminology.
• Basic personal computer knowledge.
• Types a minimum of 30 WPM.

Preferred:

• College level experience or diploma.
• Previous hospital experience preferred.
• Team work group experience.
• Telephone and face-to-face customer service experience.

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.