Communications Specialist- Lynchburg General Hospital- Limbo

The Communication Specialist serves as a critical hub for clinical and operational communications within the healthcare system. This role is responsible for receiving, prioritizing, coordinating, and dispatching medical communications and resources to support patient care, emergency response, and hospital operations. The position requires advanced knowledge of medical terminology, clinical workflows, emergency protocols, and communication systems to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant information exchange across multiple departments and external agencies. The incumbent functions in a fast-paced, high-acuity environment, exercising sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism while supporting patient safety, operational efficiency, and regulatory standards.

Essential Duties 

• Serve as the primary coordination hub for all incoming and outgoing clinical, emergency, and operational communications across the health system, ensuring timely, accurate, and prioritized information flow.
• Receive, assess, triage, and prioritize high-acuity calls, alarms, and electronic requests using advanced clinical knowledge, medical terminology, and established emergency protocols. 
• Coordinate and dispatch appropriate clinical, transport, and emergency resources, exercising independent judgment to manage competing priorities and rapidly evolving situations.
• Monitor patient status updates, critical test results, and urgent clinical notifications, ensuring escalation to appropriate providers and leadership in accordance with policy and regulatory requirements.
• Utilize multiple communication platforms and medical dispatch systems (CAD, telephony, radios, paging, secure messaging, and EHR interfaces) to support patient care, throughput, and emergency response.
• Act as a liaison between clinical teams, command center leadership, transport services, public safety agencies, and external healthcare partners to ensure seamless coordination of care.
• Maintain situational awareness of hospital capacity, staffing, transport availability, and system constraints to proactively support operational decision-making.
• Apply EMT-level clinical assessment skills, when applicable, to support medical prioritization, patient safety, and appropriate resource deployment.
• Ensure all communications, dispatch actions, and patient-related activities are accurately documented in real time and meet regulatory, accreditation, and legal standards.
• Identify communication failures, delays, or system risks and escalate concerns to leadership with recommended corrective actions.
• Support emergency preparedness, disaster response, and surge operations by coordinating communications and resources during critical events.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and compliance with HIPAA, EMTALA, ADA, and organizational policies at all times.
• Demonstrate professionalism, composure, and leadership in high-stress situations while consistently supporting patient safety and organizational priorities.
• Utilize cardiac monitoring system to observe, identify, and communicate changes in patient EKG rhythms to appropriate clinical personnel. 

Other Functions:

• Cover phone lines or alarms for other command center areas if need should arise.

• Computer usage and multitasking to set priorities.

• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Monitor Radio Frequencies
• Activate Trauma Alerts

Required Qualifications:

• High School graduate or GED.
• EMT-B or higher level 
• Experience operating complex phone system/radio system.
• Must complete ECG Interpretation and Dysrhythmia class before orientation completion 
• Availability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call as required in a 24/7 operational environment.
• Strong critical-thinking skills with the ability to prioritize, triage, and manage multiple high-risk situations simultaneously while maintaining accuracy and professionalism.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1-year experience in pre-hospital field or Dispatching experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency in medical terminology, emergency protocols, and clinical workflows across inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care settings.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and healthcare communication technologies; ability to adapt quickly to new systems and workflows.
• 3–5 years of experience in medical communications, emergency medical dispatch, healthcare command center operations, telemetry monitoring, or a related high-acuity healthcare environment
• Telemetry certification
• Advanced experience using computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, multi-line telephony, radio communications, secure messaging platforms, and electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Salary Range: $20.47 - $29.69 / Hour