Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Job Description

Reporting to the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Christ Hospital Health Network, the vice president and chief operating officer (COO) is responsible for the effective and efficient operations of the Network, which includes all hospitals, ambulatory outpatient centers, service lines, outpatient/ ambulatory hospital-based outpatient services, and other business operations.

The COO serves as a key advisor, trusted consultant, confidante, and partner to the CEO and other senior executives and physician leaders. This individual is the highest-ranking executive in the absence of the CEO. As a key member of the executive team, the COO will interact with the board and with medical staff leaders across The Christ Hospital Health Network. He or she will be a key participant in executive-level performance improvement, strategic planning, operational planning, and policy development committees.

The COO will oversee 11 direct reports: the network executive director for patient and guest services, and network directors for surgical services, radiology services, facility planning and real estate, facilities and construction, plant operations and maintenance, safety and security, pharmacy services, laboratory services, environmental services, and rehabilitation services. He or she will be responsible for ensuring that financial goals are met in support of an organization with net revenues of more than $1.4 billion, and will participate in the development of operational and capital budgets for his or her departments, as well as playing a significant role in the development of the Network's budget and monitoring productivity and cost-effectiveness.

The COO is responsible for establishing operational excellence and transformational activities that incorporate best practices in clinical and operational areas, improving patient/guest experiences, enhancing patient/physician and staff satisfaction, and fostering positive physician engagement and relationships, to enhance operations. He or she will provide administrative and financial oversight for the development and deployment of high-quality, cost-effective, clinically and operationally integrated services that meet the needs of the communities served and will oversee the development of operating plans consistent with meeting these objectives. The COO will also be tasked with integrating operational processes across The Christ Hospital Health Network to support achievement of the Network's strategic goals.

The COO will ensure, using data and appropriate management systems and tools, that best practices for process improvement and measurement are utilized to improve operations, and that the operational resources of The Christ Hospital Health Network are focused on optimally providing services. He or she will exercise management authority over the organizational functions necessary to optimally carry out core business operations; this will either be done directly or through the delegation of responsibility to other management staff, operating leaders, or colleagues. In addition, the COO will work collaboratively with the president of the employed physician network (TCHP) to ensure that the business operations of TCHP are operationally aligned with the Network to enable the Network to achieve financial, experiential, and cost efficiency goals.

The COO must be a credible, customer-focused, and financially astute executive who understands the mission of a large, quaternary, integrated healthcare network and can ensure that exceptional resources are devoted to executing on improvements in patient safety, experience, and clinical excellence, bringing evidence-based, dynamic operational and clinical processes to bear on the organization and enhancing operational excellence throughout the organization. This role requires both a strategic and operational mindset, as well as a continually evolving perspective to see issues in the broadest possible terms.

In order to achieve the goals of this position, the COO will be responsible for:

1. Planning and developing operational strategies that are focused on the successful achievement of goals over a long horizon;
2. Assisting with the operational support of service line product/portfolio strategies, balancing community needs with viable operating performance;
3. Developing leaders, emerging leaders, and strategic positions capable of sustaining, growing, and perpetuating the enterprise;
4. Recruiting and retaining key operational leaders, including developing leaders and creating robust succession plans.

Responsibilities

Strategic/Administrative

1. Serving as a key participant in the strategic and operational planning processes
2. Evaluating the future direction of facility operations and clinical programs, and implementing processes to provide an extraordinary patient, physician, and staff experience within the Network's provided services
3. Evaluating, assessing, and implementing the structure of the organization
4. Assessing and nurturing the development of the management and physician leadership teams in a way that encourages physician relationships and enhances the ability of the organization to meet its long- and short-term objectives
5. Developing succession plans for leaders at the director and management levels in order to ensure that the Network is well prepared for the future
6. Supporting and nurturing a culture that is highly accountable and performance driven, by developing talented, action-oriented operations teams that are recognized for responsiveness, innovation, outstanding performance, collaboration, and the ability to implement change
7. Developing and fostering relationships with the medical staff, with the objective of ensuring physician loyalty and clinical collaboration
8. Participating in key administrative and medical staff committees, including attendance at the Medical Executive Committee
9. Attending and providing relevant reports at hospital board of directors and committee meetings at the request of the CEO

Finance

1. Implementing, strategizing, and operationalizing processes that achieve and maintain necessary operating cash flow margins
2. Overseeing the development and execution of annual operating budgets for assigned areas, including the evaluation of budget effectiveness, variance analyses, corrective action planning, and overall margin sustainment
3. Reviewing, negotiating, and approving contracts, in conjunction with the CFO and CEO
4. Overseeing the development of short- and long-term capital budgets, including processes for the determination of disbursement of funds, in collaboration with the CFO
5. Evaluating and developing a system for prioritizing the growing capital needs of the Network, in collaboration with the executive team
6. Providing leadership to ensure that operational excellence, the efficient use of resources, and programmatic improvements occur throughout the organization
7. Developing, submitting, and participating in the approval process for capital expense budgets for assigned service areas

Operations

1. Developing and implementing the operational plans for providing clinical and operational services across the organization
2. Ensuring that services across the organization are delivered with consistent high quality and effectiveness/efficiencies
3. Reviewing operations on an ongoing basis, and benchmarking services against rigorous national standards
4. Developing new operational programs as needs emerge and as growth demands, in order to enhance market share and sustain financial growth
5. Providing leadership and support to efforts underway to address the challenges of the increasing demands of efficient operations, putting into place people, processes, behaviors, and structures that will significantly enhance efficiencies and improve safety throughout the organization
6. Serving as a liaison to the medical staff, and engaging the medical staff leaders in operational planning and decision making
7. Overseeing efforts to enhance customer experience in all areas of the organization, in order to achieve targeted results
8. Leveraging the excellence culture of the organization to bolster the Network's work to become better known as the preferred work environment for employees of choice
9. Ensuring that satisfaction, quality processes, and metrics are developed and routinely updated - this includes processes and metrics for patient experience; patient, visitor, and employee safety; and cost-effective care

Quality/Regulatory

1. Implementing effective ongoing programs to measure, assess, and improve the quality of operations, including transformational efforts to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the provision of services across the organization
2. Ensuring that facilities and operations are in compliance with all regulatory requirements, including but not limited to The Joint Commission, CMS, and OSHA
3. Leading organizational business transformation efforts
4. Establishing an effective onboarding process that ensures compliance with established standards for key operational leaders
5. Developing and maintaining an effective competency assessment program for operations that ensures the safe and effective provision of services throughout the organization
6. Ensuring the establishment of an ongoing and systematic performance improvement plan for assigned areas
7. Utilizing data in problem-solving approaches
8. Supporting activities that remove barriers that hinder staff in effectively and ef