Health System Analyst SME

Gritter Francona is looking for a Health System Analyst SME that will provide senior-level healthcare systems analysis, business process analysis, clinical workflow, and operational expertise to support the design, implementation, evaluation, and scaling of an Elevated Risk Care Management (ERCM) Pilot focused on improving coordination and effectiveness of suicide prevention-related care for Veterans at elevated risk.

The Health Systems Analyst SME will support the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in analyzing current-state and future-state healthcare processes, identifying operational gaps, designing improved business processes, and supporting implementation of sustainable workflows. The SME will apply extensive knowledge of VHA clinical and business operations to ensure that the ERCM model is practical, effective, scalable, and appropriately integrated into existing healthcare processes.

The Health Systems Analyst SME will work closely with Government program leads, VHA clinical and operational stakeholders, pilot sites, Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) teams, Mental Health Treatment Coordinators (MHTCs), suicide prevention personnel, and other clinical teams throughout the Concept, Explore, Design, Implement, Evaluate, and Spread phases.

Key Responsibilities

Health Systems Analysis

• Provide senior-level health systems analysis expertise supporting VHA program design, implementation, and continuous improvement.
• Analyze existing VHA clinical, administrative, operational, and business processes to identify gaps, inefficiencies, duplication, and opportunities for improvement.
• Conduct current-state and future-state assessments of healthcare processes relevant to Elevated Risk Care Management.
• Evaluate how proposed changes may affect clinical operations, care coordination, staffing, workflows, technology, reporting, and organizational responsibilities.
• Identify dependencies among clinical, administrative, business, and operational processes.
• Translate complex operational requirements into practical business and workflow solutions.
• Provide recommendations to Government leadership regarding process redesign, system integration, and operational improvements.
• Support continuous analysis of healthcare processes in response to policy, organizational, clinical, or operational changes.

Business Process Development and Redesign

• Assist VHA in developing new business processes and redesigning existing processes to support ERCM objectives.
• Document current-state and future-state processes, workflows, roles, responsibilities, decision points, and handoffs.
• Identify opportunities to streamline care coordination and improve accountability for follow-up of Veterans at elevated risk.
• Evaluate opportunities to minimize redundant outreach and improve coordination among BHIP teams, MHTCs, suicide prevention teams, and other clinical teams.
• Develop business process maps, workflow diagrams, requirements documentation, standard operating procedures, and other process artifacts.
• Facilitate process redesign sessions with clinical and operational stakeholders.
• Validate proposed processes with affected stakeholders and incorporate feedback into final designs.
• Develop recommendations for sustainable business processes that can be replicated across VHA facilities.

Elevated Risk Care Management Pilot Support

• Provide health systems expertise throughout development and implementation of the ERCM operating model.
• Analyze workflows associated with Veterans identified through multiple pathways, including REACH VET, Risk ID, PDE, SPED, post-event outreach, and Veterans Crisis Line-related requests.
• Identify opportunities to centralize or better coordinate follow-up activities for high-risk Veterans.
• Assess current processes for referrals, notifications, outreach, follow-up, care coordination, escalation, and documentation.
• Identify gaps or inconsistencies in existing processes that may result in redundant outreach, missed handoffs, or unclear responsibility.
• Recommend future-state workflows that improve coordination, continuity, and accountability.
• Support validation and implementation of redesigned workflows at the three pilot sites.
• Document site-specific variations and identify which adaptations may be appropriate for broader VHA implementation.

VHA Clinical and Business Operations

• Apply extensive knowledge of VHA medical center operations to support program design and implementation.
• Analyze relationships among national VHA policies, VISN-level operations, medical center processes, and local clinical workflows.
• Provide expertise regarding clinical and business processes within VHA.
• Assess how ERCM implementation interacts with existing VHA programs, services, and operational structures.
• Support coordination across clinical and administrative services to ensure integrated implementation.
• Identify operational requirements and barriers that may affect implementation success.
• Provide recommendations that account for the complexity and variability of VHA healthcare environments.

VISN and Medical Center Coordination

• Apply working knowledge of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) and their relationship to VHA medical center operations.
• Support implementation planning across multiple VHA facilities and organizational levels.
• Assess operational differences among facilities and recommend appropriate implementation approaches.
• Facilitate coordination between national program leadership, VISN stakeholders, medical center leadership, and local clinical teams.
• Support site readiness assessments and implementation planning for participating pilot locations.
• Identify opportunities to leverage existing VHA structures, resources, and governance processes to support implementation and sustainment.

Clinical Workflow and Operational Integration

• Analyze clinical workflows associated with suicide prevention, behavioral health, care management, and follow-up of high-risk Veterans.
• Collaborate with BHIP teams, MHTCs, suicide prevention personnel, and other clinical stakeholders to understand current workflows and operational challenges.
• Develop and validate future-state clinical workflows.
• Assess impacts of workflow changes on providers, care coordinators, administrative staff, and Veterans.
• Identify opportunities to improve handoffs, communication, accountability, and care coordination.
• Ensure proposed processes are practical within actual VHA clinical environments.
• Support development of workflow guidance, job aids, standard operating procedures, and implementation resources.

Problem Diagnosis and Process Improvement

• Diagnose current operational and business process problems using structured analytical approaches.
• Identify root causes of process inefficiencies, delays, duplication, gaps, and inconsistent outcomes.
• Develop process improvement recommendations based on data, stakeholder input, operational experience, and applicable policy.
• Establish mechanisms for monitoring redesigned processes to determine whether they remain effective.
• Analyze implementation results and recommend corrective actions when processes do not achieve desired outcomes.
• Support continuous process improvement throughout the pilot lifecycle.

Implementation and Change Support

• Support implementation of redesigned business and clinical processes at pilot sites.
• Assess organizational and operational readiness for implementation.
• Identify implementation barriers, dependencies, risks, and resource requirements.
• Work with change management and implementation personnel to support adoption of new workflows.
• Provide technical and operational input to training development and implementation materials.
• Support site onboarding, workflow validation, implementation monitoring, and stabilization.
• Document lessons learned and recommended refinements to improve future implementation.

Evaluation and Performance Monitoring

• Support development of measures to assess process effectiveness, implementation performance, workflow adoption, and operational outcomes.
• Collaborate with evaluation specialists to ensure business process changes can be appropriately measured.
• Monitor redesigned processes and identify trends, gaps, and areas requiring improvement.
• Support development of dashboards, performance reports, workflow metrics, and other monitoring tools.
• Analyze pilot-site results and identify process changes associated with improved outcomes.
• Provide health systems expertise to the formal evaluation of the ERCM Pilot.
• Support development of evidence-based recommendations for refinement and scale.

Policy and Organizational Change Analysis

• Assess the impact of changes in VHA policies, organizational structures, clinical practices, and operational requirements on existing processes.
• Conduct ongoing analysis to determine whether business processes remain aligned with current VHA requirements.
• Identify necessary workflow or process modifications resulting from policy or organizational changes.
• Communicate potential operational impacts to Government program leads and stakeholders.
• Support development of recommendations to maintain process effectiveness and compliance.

Affiliated Health Care Education Systems

• Apply experience working with or within affiliated healthcare education systems to support coordination among VHA clinical operations, academic affiliates, and other healthcare education partners.
• Assess how program implementation may affect clinical education, training, professional development, and affiliated care environments.
• Support stakeholder engagement with academic and affiliated healthcare organizations when applicable.
• Incorporate relevant education-system considerations into workflow and implementation planning.

National Scale and Transition Planning

• Support development of scalable business and clinical processes for phased national implementation.
• Identify characteristics of pilot environments that may affect successful expansion.
• Recommend approaches for adapting the ERCM model to different VHA medical centers and operational environments.
• Support development of implementation toolkits, workflow standards, process documentation, readiness assessments, and transition materials.
• Assist with development of an action plan for phased national rollout.
• Support identification of appropriate initial expansion sites based on operational similarity, readiness, and capacity.
• Provide recommendations for sustainment and ongoing process monitoring following national implementation.

Stakeholder Coordination and Technical Support

• Work closely with Government program leads and designated VHA stakeholders.
• Participate in Integrated Project Team (IPT) meetings, working sessions, process-mapping activities, implementation reviews, and leadership briefings.
• Facilitate discussions among clinical, operational, administrative, and business stakeholders.
• Provide expert recommendations regarding healthcare system processes, workflows, and operational integration.
• Prepare technical reports, process maps, briefing materials, decision documents, and other deliverables suitable for executive and operational use.
• Maintain documentation of current-state assessments, future-state designs, process decisions, risks, recommendations, and lessons learned.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution in healthcare administration, health systems management, public health, business administration, health services, organizational management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in health systems analysis, healthcare operations, business process analysis, healthcare transformation, or a related discipline.
• Extensive experience with clinical and business processes within VHA.
• Experience with VHA medical center operations.
• Working knowledge of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) and their relationship to VHA medical center operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience directly supporting theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA) or Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
• Experience with major VHA programs such as:
• Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)
• Mental Health
• Residential Rehabilitation
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Prosthetics
• Telehealth
• Women’s Health
• Specialty Care
• Veterans Homelessness
• Geriatrics and Extended Care
• Experience supporting suicide prevention, behavioral health, care management, or high-risk Veteran populations.
• Familiarity with VA suicide prevention processes, including REACH VET, Risk ID, PDE, SPED, post-event outreach, and Veterans Crisis Line-related requests.
• Experience working with BHIP teams, MHTCs, suicide prevention personnel, or other multidisciplinary VHA clinical teams.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Training & Development