Director of Mechanical Circulatory - Surgery

Job Description

UC Health is hiring a full-time Mechanical Circulatory Support Director for the Surgery Department at the UC Medical Center.

At UC Health, we're proud to have the best and brightest teams and clinicians collaborating toward our common purpose: to advance healing and reduce suffering.

As the region's adult academic health system, we strive for innovation and provide world-class care for not only our community, but patients from all over the world. Join our team and you'll be able to develop your skills, grow your career, build relationships with your peers and patients, and help us be a source of hope for our friends and neighbors.

UC Health is committed to providing an inclusive, equitable and diverse place of employment.

The Director of Mechanical Circulatory Support is a member of the leadership team of the system, reporting to the Vice President of Perioperative Services. Responsibilities include establishing strategic direction for the Perfusion, ECMO, and LVAD programs to include oversight and support on administrative requirements, operations and projects, including financial and contractual for areas of responsibility. Accountability for standards of operational best practices, regulations, and guidelines to ensure quality and safety. The Director of Mechanical Circulatory Support will develop collaborative relationships with the hospitals across the region to facilitate optimal patient care.

Responsibilities

Strategic Planning/Driving for Results

• Collaboratively works with the VP of Perioperative Services and other system leaders, site leaders, and direct reports to set meaningful performance objectives and identifies measures for evaluating goal achievement.
• Provides executive leadership and oversight for Perfusion, ECMO, and LVAD programs
• Serves as key advisor to the VP of Perioperative Services in ongoing operations, administrative oversight (HR related items, policies and SOPs, budget, and contracts), and strategy of UC Health, to include but not limited to the development of business opportunities, financial oversight, setting strategy and goals.
• Responsible for collaborating proactively with appropriate medical staff, or other UC Health departments - establishing structure and processes to engage staff to influence practice environment; develop management structures and processes to achieve consistency and alignment.
• Promotes excellence in programs and processes the impact of business and patient outcomes.
• Delegates the administrative authority, responsibility and accountability to accomplish all assigned and related duties necessary to ensure conformity to institutional, regulatory, professional and accrediting agency standards governing patient care practices and delivery of patient care. Ensures compliance to federal, state, and local regulatory standards.

Executive Presence/Leadership

• Has executive presence that establishes credibility and trustworthiness.
• Demonstrates Emotional Intelligence that establishes and sustains trusting relationships by accurately perceiving and interpreting one's own and others' emotions and behavior in the context of the environment.
• Approaches challenges with a strategic mindset and promotes best practices for team performance improvement.
• Assumes a leadership role, in partnership with physicians and UCMC leaders in managing the operational effectiveness of the department provided across the care delivery continuum and within the larger organization.
• Ability to execute operational plan and strategies within the Perfusion, ECMO, and LVAD programs to support the appropriate structure.
• Creates accountability that ensures those responsible for implementing an initiative have role clarity and accountability for required actions as well as the authority to act in a way consistent with organizational values.

Communication/Inspiring Others

• Initiates and engages in critical conversations respectfully. Values others opinions. Responds to communication in a timely manner.
• Establishes two-way communication to convey strategies and operational plans in a manner that engages and energizes the multi-disciplinary team.
• Actively participates in system and site leadership meetings as relevant for the Perfusion, ECMO, and LVAD programs.
• Identifies change opportunities. Proactively recognizes the need for innovation or improvement and initiatives efforts to explore alternative solutions. Catalyst for change. Takes action to improve organizational culture, processes, and services; translates new ideas into concrete action plans and deliverables.
• Removes barriers and resistance. Assists with problem solving. Ability to adjust to dynamic circumstances. Helps team members overcome resistance to change and transition to a new state.
• Conducts regular leadership rounds as appropriate, identifying and collaborating to resolve issues and concerns in a timely manner.
• • Effectively and discreetly manages communications and documents of a highly confidential and sensitive nature as needed.

Building Talent/Optimizing Diversity

• Management and alignment of talent within the Perfusion, ECMO, and LVAD programs.
• Builds operational talent. Accountable for effective retention and recruitment of qualified staff. Meet turnover and retention goals.
• Employee engagement. Monitors satisfaction and identifies opportunities for improvement to bridge gaps in performance and associate engagement. Participates in selecting targeted areas and develops action plans for quantifiable improvement in associate engagement scores.
• Evaluate performance. Holds regular (monthly at a minimum) formal discussions with each direct report to discuss progress toward goals and review performance.
• Develops direct reports. Helps direct reports identify their strengths and leverage them for greater performance and contribution. Guides development. Provides guidance and positive models to help others develop; collaboratively creates development plans.
• Facilitates the development of a diverse workforce through recruitment, promotion, and cultivation of talent.
• Develop and review standard policies and procedures, job descriptions, and competencies as necessary for areas of responsibility.
• Ensures employee grievances are heard within the timeline determined by HR and UC Health.

Cultivating Networks and Partnerships/Building Strategic Relationships

• Has a patient first and patient-centered philosophy; fosters strong partnerships with an inter-disciplinary approach to ensure professional standards are uniform and maintained across UC Health.
• Develops collaborative relationships with other clinical, interventional, and non-clinical areas to improve standardization across UCMC and the enterprise as indicated. Collaborates with leadership from Perioperative Services, Air Care Mobile Care, CVICU, Cardiac Step Down, Advanced Heart Failure Clinic, Cardiac Cath Lab, EP Lab, and other indicated service lines
• Cultivates relationships with physicians from critical care anesthesia, cardiology, and surgery (cardiac, transplant, vascular, trauma, orthopedic, spine, oncology, obstetrics) to facilitate best practices for patient care
• Monitors satisfaction for employees or patients as appropriate and identifies opportunities for improvement to bridge gaps in performance and customer needs. Identifies targeted areas and works with leaders across the sites to develop action plans for quantifiable improvement in patient satisfaction scores. Community Relationships: Cultivates networks and partnerships across the region to provide high quality patient care. Assists with planning strategies and goals through community involvement.
• Promotes an environment that recognizes and rewards teamwork, creativity, personal and professional development, and empowerment. Collaborates with appropriate leadership, to create opportunities to acknowledge outstanding customer service by members of the hospital teams.

Business Acumen/Operations

• Operations: Manages, as appropriate and delegated by the VP of Perioperative Services the operational, personnel, and financial aspects of the division.
• Quality/Safety. Collaborates with the system and site Quality and Patient Safety interdisciplinary teams to implement evidence-based practice to optimize quality and safe patient care as appropriate. 10%
• Identifies, investigates, and proactively responds to potential and actual risk management issues per standards and institutional policies.
• Promotes and monitors regulatory agency standards and customer service expectations for the practice and compliance with Joint Commission and State and Federal Regulations as they relate to the business functions of the area of responsibility.
• Planning/Forecasting. Establishes and commits to a long-term business strategy after considering clinical and financial data, resources, market drivers and organizational needs. Executes strategic growth opportunities.
• Financial Management. Facilitates the development and monitoring of operating and capital budgets. Meets financial goals and contribution margins. Responsible for developing and implementing budget and control activities, determines departmental needs and staffing patterns to deliver cost-effective quality service. Work closely with Supply Chain to monitor shifts in trends, usage and price adjustments and the resultant impact on budget.
• Benchmarking. Collaborates with the multidisciplinary team and site administration to identify regional and national benchmarks for areas of responsibility. Plans and provides oversight for managing to benchmark such as staffing levels, productivity, quality measures, costs, and satisfaction.
• Works with key stakeholders and business support partners to develop business plans and proposals for programs/initiatives in consideration of mission in areas of strategic focus.
• Project Management. Balances multiple projects at the same time and able to delegate when appropriate.

Clinical/Instructional

• Comprehensive knowledge of principles, practices and techniques ECLS (Extracorporeal Circulation (CPB), Left Heart Bypass, Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping, Cardiac Assist Devices (VADs), Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), Liver Transplant, Intra-Peritoneal Hyperthermic Perfusion, AngioVac, Autologous Blood Salvage)
• Intra- and inter-hospital transportation of patients
• Understanding of clinical research methods.
• Able to respond quickly to problem-solving situations while maintaining excellent interpersonal relations
• Performs duties of the Perfusionist, including assembling and management of extracorporeal circuits and equipment for all cardiovascular perfusion procedures.
• Develop and maintain educational and mentorship programs applicable to medical and graduate students, residents in training, fellows, post-doctoral fellows, nursing and allied health care professionals, research staff and perfusion students as applicable, with commitment and professionalism. Such programs focus on the application of ECLS techniques as they pertain to the learner's area of practice.

Qualifications

Education:

Required - Bachelor's Degree in Perfusion or Circulation Technology. Preferred - Master's Degree in Allied Health Field.

License & Certification(s):

Current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider certification - required

American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (ABCP) certification - required

Must maintain ABCP Certification on an annual basis

Experience:

Minimum 5 years as a Certified Clinical Perfusionist

Preferred 3 years of clinical leadership experience

About UC Health

UC Health is an integrated academic health system serving Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. In partnership with the University of Cincinnati, UC Health combines clinical expertise and compassion with research and teaching-a combination that provides patients with options for even the most complex situations. Members of UC Health include: UC Medical Center, West Chester Hospital, Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care, Bridgeway Pointe Assisted Living, University of Cincinnati Physicians and UC Health Ambulatory Services (with more than 900 board-certified clinicians and surgeons), Lindner Center of HOPE and several specialized institutes including: UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. Many UC Health locations have received national recognition for outstanding quality and patient satisfaction. Learn more at uchealth.com.

At UC Health, we're proud to have the best and brightest teams and clinicians collaborating toward our common purpose: to advance healing and reduce suffering.

As the region's adult academic health system, we strive for innovation and provide world-class care for not only our community, but patients from all over the world. Join our team and you'll be able to develop your skills, grow your career, build relationships with your peers and patients, and help us be a source of hope for our friends and neighbors.

UC Health is committed to providing an inclusive, equitable, and diverse place of employment.

Join our team to BE UC Health. Be Extraordinary. Be Supported. Be Hope. Apply Today!