Department Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology

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Department

Denver Health, in collaboration with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is seeking a skilled and experienced leader, clinician, educator, and communicator for the position of Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Denver Health. The Chair will have oversight of all care delivered by the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and be responsible for department strategic planning, clinical services, physician practice, business performance, regulatory compliance, faculty supervision and medical education for the department.

The Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology will be a senior faculty member, preferably qualified to be appointed to the rank of Associate Professor or Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (UC-SOM). The candidate should have a demonstrated reputation of excellence in clinical care, teaching, mentorship, professionalism, and scholarship.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Scope of Practice
Denver Health delivers care to a diverse patient population, providing healthcare services to over 210,000 unique patients, 60% of which are from diverse and varied backgrounds. The patients served by the OB/GYN Department speak over 23 different languages, most commonly Spanish and Arabic. Denver Health provides care for a large refugee population, and has dedicated LGBTQ+ health services that serve the community. Our OB/GYN providers are actively involved in culturally responsive care specific to the individual's needs.

The department delivers an integrated service model and offers seamless transitions between the outpatient sites and the hospital. Denver Health provides ~40,000 prenatal visits per year done at 11 clinic sites. The prenatal visits are performed by OB/GYN physicians and nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and Family Medicine physicians who work collaboratively to deliver the right care for each patient. Denver Health has a high-risk obstetrical service that accepts referrals from clinics outside our Denver Health network. There are approximately 3,800 deliveries per year, which is ~1/3 of the deliveries of Denver residents. Denver Health is an essential teaching site for the UC-SOM. OB/GYN residents from the University of Colorado (a total of 9 residents per year) do approximately 1/3 of their clinical work at Denver Health.

Chair Direct Reports:

• Administrative Director of OB/GYN
• Two Associate Chairs
• Chief of Nurse-Midwifery
• 21 OB/GYN physicians

Denver Health is uniquely positioned as an integrated healthcare delivery system, nationally recognized for its passion and commitment to providing exceptional care to the community it serves. Denver Health is considered a national model of an integrated urban safety net health care system that includes a 555 bed acute care hospital and level one trauma center with adult and pediatric inpatient and emergency services, 10 federally qualified community health centers, 19 school-based health centers, the Public Health Institute, Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety, a 100 bed non-medical withdrawal management center, correctional care facilities, the Rocky Mountain Center for the Medical response to terrorism, mass casualties and epidemics, a robust academic research platform, and a health plan.

Interested applicants may submit CV, cover letter, and a diversity statement to:
Rahwa Barihe, Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist

Denver Health Medical Center
Rahwa.barihe@dhha.org

Essential Functions:

• Lead and participate in clinical quality initiatives focused on enhancing systems to assure timeliness and efficiency and assuring quality while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Promote and oversee development of critical pathways, protocols and practice guidelines that promote quality, cost-effective care for the patient population.
• Ensure that appropriate quality improvement standards/metrics are established, maintained and reported for the department.
• Lead efforts to optimize operational efficiency within the Department.
• Ensure the application of best practices, incorporating regulatory requirements at the local, stat, and national level; utilize benchmarking and data analysis from applicable sources.
• Provide leadership and disseminate practice standards and accountabilities to non-physician staff, physicians, residents and medical students.
• Drive innovation in care management and establish efficient operational infrastructure in partnership with support staff and operations to optimize resource allocation and timeliness.
• Oversight of the substance, quality, review and evaluation of graduate medical education in the Department.
• Oversight of the quality of medical student education in the Department
• Responsibility for the substance, quality, review and evaluation of all research programs within the department.
• Oversight of the faculty in accordance with the expectations of the University of Colorado, School of Medicine.
• Promote scholarly activities by faculty and trainees. Encourage participation in research and conference attendance to enhance the reputation of the department.
• Actively engaged and highly respected educator. Mentorship of faculty with personalized professional development plans.
• Promote and support relevant education for all personnel within the Department. Develop and oversee continuing medical education programs for staff at all levels within the Department.
• Maintain and develop professional knowledge and personal competence through participation in professional organizations and conferences.
• Oversee the administrative, professional, clinical, financial and educational activities of the department.
• Provide leadership for the development of standards and policies related to the Department.
• Supervise all staff in clinical and assigned administrative duties.
• Support and maintain faculty development, recruitment and succession plans. Coordinate financial impact analysis of plans with administration.
• Responsible for ensuring the ethical practice within the Department.
• Promote implementation and enforcement of process standardization initiatives.
• Ensure faculty meet performance expectations of their services assignment and customer service standards.
• Assume joint responsibility with Denver Health Administration for compliance with requirements and standards of regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations, including preparation for and participation in relevant surveys.
• Ensure that Departmental quality and performance improvement activities are working well and dealt with in the context of Departmental meetings. (0%)
• Establish and maintain high standards of professional practice. Oversee and drive superior peer review program.
• Ensure the department's compliance with the Medical Staff Bylaws and hospital policies.
• Create, implement and maintain defined objectives for services for clinical improvement, growth, and the expansion of services.
• Provide leadership while building a cooperative, collaborative and cohesive department.
• Collaborate with key external entities. Continually communicate and drive high priority strategic initiatives to keep leadership focused. Communicate effectively and regularly to Denver Health leadership and to departmental faculty and staff regarding the overall health and performance of the Department.
• Establish appropriate communication channels with physicians, clinical and administration that result in trust, alignment and collaborative working relationships. Foster open communication, teamwork and champion change. Effectively manage disagreements and look for opportunities for common ground solutions to disagreements.
• Lead by example: establish open, non-judgmental dialogue, expect a culture of diversity and inclusiveness, welcome constructive criticism from direct reports, admit errors openly, avoid a punitive response to honest mistakes, demonstrate timely responsiveness, and hold others accountable.
• Coach, mentor, and develop others to build internal capabilities and the talent that facilitates succession.
• Ensure that information relevant to patient care and treatment options are communicated to patients, families and any referring physicians in a timely fashion.

Education:

• Doctorate Degree Required

Work Experience:

• Eight years of practice experience required. Required
• Two years of leadership experience required
• Demonstrated success within their specialty required
• Demonstrated ability to grow revenues, meet budgets, measure and improve outcomes and take appropriate business risks to achieve goals
• A history of academic commitment through excellence in education and/or scholarly work.
• A history of successful mentorship of colleagues and/or junior faculty in clinical care, research, scholarly work or education.

Licenses:

• MD/DO-Physician - State Medical Board Required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated leadership achievement in a busy high-performing department.
• A strong record as a respected clinician.
• Experience in increasing service excellence.
• Attention and focus on maximizing cost effective care delivery and money-saving initiatives while maintaining quality.
• Knowledge and interest in multi-disciplinary healthcare environment.
• Skill in exercising initiative, judgment, and decision making in solving problems and meeting organizational objectives.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with other employees, organizations and the public.
• Skill in adapting new information relative to the work assignment through educational seminars, meetings and staff meetings.
• Skill in maintaining and organizing departmental records, reports and files.
• Knowledge of department policies, procedures, objectives, safety and infection control standards.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite required.
• EPIC experience preferred.

Shift

Work Type

Salary

Benefits

• Outstanding benefits including up to 27 paid days off per year, immediate retirement plan employer contribution up to 9.5%, and generous medical plans

• Free RTD EcoPass (public transportation)

• On-site employee fitness center and wellness classes

• Childcare discount programs & exclusive perks on large brands, travel, and more

• Tuition reimbursement & assistance

• Education & development opportunities including career pathways and coaching

• Professional clinical advancement program & shared governance

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer+ free student loan coaching and assistance navigating the PSLF program

• National Health Service Corps (NHCS) and Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) eligible employer

Our Values

• Respect

• Belonging

• Accountability

• Transparency

All job applicants for safety-sensitive positions must pass a pre-employment drug test, once a conditional offer of employment has been made.

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver's 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, a Public Health Institute, an HMO and The Denver Health Foundation.

As Colorado's primary, and essential, safety-net institution, Denver Health is a mission-driven organization that has provided billions in uncompensated care for the uninsured. Denver Health is viewed as an Anchor Institution for the community, focusing on hiring and purchasing locally as applicable, serving as a pillar for community needs, and caring for more than 185,000 individuals and 67,000 children a year.

Located near downtown Denver, Denver Health is just minutes away from many of the cultural and recreational activities Denver has to offer.

We strongly support diversity in the workforce and Denver Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE).

Denver Health values the unique ideas, talents and contributions reflective of the needs of our community. For more about our commitment to diversity visit: https://www.denverhealth.org/for-professionals/careers/diversity-and-inclusion

Applicants will be considered until the position is filled.