Perioperative Specialist

St. Catherine of Siena Hospital is a proud member of Catholic Health and has served the residents of the Smithtown area for more than 50 years. St. Catherine’s is located on the north shore of Long Island in Smithtown. The campus is comprised of 296-bed not-for-profit community hospital; a 240-bed nursing and rehabilitation care center; and a 60,000 square foot medical office building. Our nurses, physicians, and support staff are devoted to providing advance health care in an environment of compassion to our patients, their families, and our community. Our Mission is to create an environment of healing and compassion, to offer care to those in need and to provide a spirit of mutual respect while upholding our religious mission.

St. Catherine of Siena Hospital is dedicated to providing a supportive environment, committed to the highest standards of patient care, where health care professionals can develop their expertise and strengthen their credentials. Our primary focus is the way we treat and serve our communities. We work collaboratively to provide compassionate care and utilize evidence based practice to improve outcomes – to every patient, every time.

Position Summary:

The Periop Specialist supports the Director of Perioperative Services by leading data collection, tracking, and analysis efforts across Perioperative Services. This role designs and maintains systems and dashboards that allow leadership to monitor performance, identify trends, and drive continuous quality improvement. The Specialist assists departmental leadership in ensuring compliance with regulatory and accrediting oversight agencies, supports investigative and review processes in accordance with federal, state, and hospital guidelines, and partners closely with service line leaders to translate data into actionable improvement initiatives. Adheres to hospital/department policies and procedures and all applicable regulatory requirements. Demonstrates and promotes service excellence at all times.

Responsibilities: 

• Perform ongoing data collection, chart and case abstraction, and medical record review across Perioperative Services according to established schedules and prioritized departmental needs.
• Develop, maintain, and update quality and performance dashboards and scorecards to monitor key perioperative metrics, including but not limited to:
  • Surgical site infection rates
  • On-time first-case starts
  • Operating room turnover times
  • Case cancellations and delays
  • Instrument and equipment-related events
  • Patient safety events
  • Other identified quality and performance indicators
• Collaborate with the Director of Perioperative Services and service line leadership to develop, evaluate, and revise meaningful quality and performance indicators.
• Assist with the compilation, validation, and submission of data for internal reporting and external regulatory, accreditation, benchmarking, and clinical registry requirements, including applicable submissions to The Joint Commission, New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), and national clinical registries.
• Support Perioperative Services in maintaining compliance with applicable federal and state regulations, accreditation standards, and organizational policies.
• Provide technical assistance, education, and training to perioperative staff related to documentation requirements, data entry, quality processes, and performance improvement workflows.
• Assist with incident investigations, root cause analyses, and reviews of serious or reportable events in accordance with federal, state, regulatory, and hospital requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with external agencies, regulatory organizations, vendors, and other relevant partners.
• Participate in hospital committees, quality improvement initiatives, and professional organizations or forums relevant to perioperative services and quality management.
• Maintain organized, accurate, and audit-ready documentation related to quality improvement initiatives, investigations, data collection, regulatory reporting, and performance monitoring.
• Monitor quality and performance data to identify significant trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement; communicate findings and recommendations to the Director and Perioperative Services leadership.
• Provide regular data summaries, reports, and performance updates to leadership to support operational decision-making and continuous quality improvement.
• Assist the Director of Perioperative Services with preparation for internal and external audits, regulatory reviews, and accreditation surveys.
• Remain current on regulatory, accreditation, reporting, and documentation requirements affecting Perioperative Services and communicate relevant changes to appropriate stakeholders.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director of Perioperative Services, consistent with demonstrated competencies, qualifications, and scope of practice.

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Registered Nurse (RN) required; Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred
• Active New York State RN license.
• Perioperative certification (e.g., CNOR) or quality-focused certification (e.g., CPHQ) preferred
• 3–5 years of clinical experience in a Perioperative Services setting required.
• Prior experience with quality improvement, data analytics, performance improvement, or regulatory/accreditation processes strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of quality and performance improvement (PI) methodologies preferred.
• Familiarity with relevant regulatory and accrediting standards, including The Joint Commission, New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) standards preferred.
• Experience developing dashboards, reports, or other data-driven tools preferred.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data to support quality improvement and operational decision-making.

This range serves as a good faith estimate and actual pay will encompass a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience. The salary range or rate listed does not include any differential pay or other forms of compensation that may be applicable to this job and it does not include the value of benefits.

At Catholic Health, we believe in a people-first approach. In addition to the estimated base pay provided, employees are eligible for generous benefits packages, generous tuition assistance, a defined benefit pension plan, and a culture that supports professional and educational growth.