Senior Communications Specialist - LGH/Full Time Days (Active EMT-I Cert. or Hig
Centra Health, Lynchburg, VA, United States
Overview
The Senior Communication Specialist is an advanced healthcare communications professional responsible for overseeing complex, high-acuity clinical and operational communications across the health system. This role serves as a critical command-and-control function, coordinating emergency response, patient flow, transport logistics, telemetry alerts, and critical clinical notifications. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the incumbent applies advanced clinical knowledge, expert communication skills, and independent judgment to prioritize competing demands, mitigate operational and patient safety risks, and ensure continuity of care.
The Senior Communication Specialist collaborates closely with clinical teams, command center leadership, and external agencies to support regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, and system-wide operational efficiency in a fast-paced, 24/7 healthcare environment.
Responsibilities
Serve as the senior-level coordination hub for all high-acuity clinical, emergency, and operational communications across the health system, ensuring accurate, timely, and prioritized information flow.
Receive, assess, triage, and manage complex clinical communications, alarms, telemetry alerts, and emergency notifications using advanced clinical knowledge and established protocols.
Provide continuous monitoring of patient EKGs and cardiac rhythms, recognizing abnormal findings and initiating immediate escalation in accordance with clinical and regulatory standards.
Exercise independent judgment to prioritize competing demands, deploy appropriate resources, and resolve communication and operational issues in real time.
Coordinate and dispatch internal and external clinical resources, including transport, emergency services, and specialty teams, to support patient care and throughput.
Act as a senior escalation point and subject matter expert for staff, providing guidance, mentoring, and real-time decision support.
Maintain situational awareness of hospital capacity, staffing, transport availability, and system constraints to proactively support command center and leadership decision-making.
Utilize advanced communication technologies, including CAD systems, telephony, radio, paging, secure messaging, telemetry platforms, and EHR systems.
Ensure all communications, clinical notifications, and dispatch actions are accurately documented in real time and comply with legal, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
Identify system risks, communication failures, and workflow inefficiencies; escalate concerns and recommend corrective actions to leadership.
Support emergency preparedness, disaster response, surge operations, and special events by coordinating communications and resource deployment.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary clinical teams, leadership, and external agencies to ensure seamless coordination of care across the continuum.
Participate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, procedures, and quality improvement initiatives related to medical communications and command center operations.
Provide training, onboarding support, and competency validation for staff as assigned.
Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, ADA, and organizational policies, safeguarding patient privacy and confidentiality at all times.
Demonstrate leadership, professionalism, and composure in high-stress, time-sensitive situations while supporting patient safety and organizational priorities.
Other Functions
Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
High school diploma or equivalent required; associate’s degree or higher in healthcare, emergency services, communications, or a related field strongly preferred.
Active EMT-Intermediate (EMT-I) certification or higher (AEMT, Paramedic) required, with demonstrated ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge in a medical communications or command center environment
Demonstrated advanced knowledge of medical terminology, emergency protocols, and clinical workflows, including escalation of time-sensitive and high-risk clinical events.
Proven ability to monitor, interpret, and escalate EKG and cardiac rhythm data in accordance with clinical protocols and scope of practice.
Strong critical-thinking and decision-making skills, with the ability to independently prioritize, triage, and manage multiple complex situations simultaneously.
Knowledge of and compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, ADA, and applicable accreditation and regulatory standards.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and healthcare communication technologies; ability to rapidly adapt to new systems and workflows.
Availability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call, as required in a 24/7 healthcare operation.
Preferred Qualifications
Previous progressive experience in medical communications, emergency medical dispatch, healthcare command center operations, telemetry monitoring, or a comparable high-acuity healthcare setting
Travel Required
Travel is expected to be between 0% - 10% of the time.
Work Environment
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The setting for this role will include office and healthcare settings. Exposure to controlled temperature environments, both hot and cold, is to be expected.
Workplace Exposure
The normal work routine involves no exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues. Persons who perform these duties are not called upon as part of their employment to perform or assist in emergency medical care or first aid or to be potentially exposed in some other way.
Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate with others. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, demonstrate hand and finger dexterity in the course of their work, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities.
The Expected Physical Workload Is Expected To Be
Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
This role is expected to use the following machines, tools, and equipment:
Computer, Radio, Phone, Fax, Scanner, Printer, Alarm Panels
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The Senior Communication Specialist is an advanced healthcare communications professional responsible for overseeing complex, high-acuity clinical and operational communications across the health system. This role serves as a critical command-and-control function, coordinating emergency response, patient flow, transport logistics, telemetry alerts, and critical clinical notifications. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the incumbent applies advanced clinical knowledge, expert communication skills, and independent judgment to prioritize competing demands, mitigate operational and patient safety risks, and ensure continuity of care.
The Senior Communication Specialist collaborates closely with clinical teams, command center leadership, and external agencies to support regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, and system-wide operational efficiency in a fast-paced, 24/7 healthcare environment.
Responsibilities
Serve as the senior-level coordination hub for all high-acuity clinical, emergency, and operational communications across the health system, ensuring accurate, timely, and prioritized information flow.
Receive, assess, triage, and manage complex clinical communications, alarms, telemetry alerts, and emergency notifications using advanced clinical knowledge and established protocols.
Provide continuous monitoring of patient EKGs and cardiac rhythms, recognizing abnormal findings and initiating immediate escalation in accordance with clinical and regulatory standards.
Exercise independent judgment to prioritize competing demands, deploy appropriate resources, and resolve communication and operational issues in real time.
Coordinate and dispatch internal and external clinical resources, including transport, emergency services, and specialty teams, to support patient care and throughput.
Act as a senior escalation point and subject matter expert for staff, providing guidance, mentoring, and real-time decision support.
Maintain situational awareness of hospital capacity, staffing, transport availability, and system constraints to proactively support command center and leadership decision-making.
Utilize advanced communication technologies, including CAD systems, telephony, radio, paging, secure messaging, telemetry platforms, and EHR systems.
Ensure all communications, clinical notifications, and dispatch actions are accurately documented in real time and comply with legal, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
Identify system risks, communication failures, and workflow inefficiencies; escalate concerns and recommend corrective actions to leadership.
Support emergency preparedness, disaster response, surge operations, and special events by coordinating communications and resource deployment.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary clinical teams, leadership, and external agencies to ensure seamless coordination of care across the continuum.
Participate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, procedures, and quality improvement initiatives related to medical communications and command center operations.
Provide training, onboarding support, and competency validation for staff as assigned.
Maintain strict compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, ADA, and organizational policies, safeguarding patient privacy and confidentiality at all times.
Demonstrate leadership, professionalism, and composure in high-stress, time-sensitive situations while supporting patient safety and organizational priorities.
Other Functions
Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
High school diploma or equivalent required; associate’s degree or higher in healthcare, emergency services, communications, or a related field strongly preferred.
Active EMT-Intermediate (EMT-I) certification or higher (AEMT, Paramedic) required, with demonstrated ability to apply advanced clinical knowledge in a medical communications or command center environment
Demonstrated advanced knowledge of medical terminology, emergency protocols, and clinical workflows, including escalation of time-sensitive and high-risk clinical events.
Proven ability to monitor, interpret, and escalate EKG and cardiac rhythm data in accordance with clinical protocols and scope of practice.
Strong critical-thinking and decision-making skills, with the ability to independently prioritize, triage, and manage multiple complex situations simultaneously.
Knowledge of and compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, ADA, and applicable accreditation and regulatory standards.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and healthcare communication technologies; ability to rapidly adapt to new systems and workflows.
Availability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call, as required in a 24/7 healthcare operation.
Preferred Qualifications
Previous progressive experience in medical communications, emergency medical dispatch, healthcare command center operations, telemetry monitoring, or a comparable high-acuity healthcare setting
Travel Required
Travel is expected to be between 0% - 10% of the time.
Work Environment
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The setting for this role will include office and healthcare settings. Exposure to controlled temperature environments, both hot and cold, is to be expected.
Workplace Exposure
The normal work routine involves no exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues. Persons who perform these duties are not called upon as part of their employment to perform or assist in emergency medical care or first aid or to be potentially exposed in some other way.
Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate with others. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, demonstrate hand and finger dexterity in the course of their work, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities.
The Expected Physical Workload Is Expected To Be
Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
This role is expected to use the following machines, tools, and equipment:
Computer, Radio, Phone, Fax, Scanner, Printer, Alarm Panels
#J-18808-Ljbffr