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Position Description – Director of Patient Business Services, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

Our highly prestigious client, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) located in Los Angeles, California, has retained the firm of Reilly & Associates to conduct a search for the Director of Patient Business Services.

Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has treated the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. The hospital treats more than 55,000 patients a year in its Emergency Department. It admits more than 11,750 children a year to the hospital, and nearly 50 percent of those admissions are children under four years of age. There are more than 282,000 visits a year to its 29 outpatient clinics and laboratories and more than 10,500 visits at community sites through its Division of Adolescent Medicine. CHLA is able to offer the optimum in multidisciplinary care, with 33 pediatric subspecialties and dozens of special services for children and families.

Training programs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles include 250 medical students, 80 full-time residents and 65 fellows, who collectively reflect the diversity of the patient population and the city of Los Angeles. CHLA has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California for more than 70 years.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is the only hospital in Greater Los Angeles affiliated with the Children’s Miracle Network, an international non-profit organization dedicated to helping children by raising funds and awareness for pediatric hospitals throughout North America.

The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, affiliated with the highly prestigious Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, is the fastest growing, largest and most productive pediatric research center in the western United States. The base of knowledge at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is widely considered to be among the best in pediatric medicine, as it is one of the few freestanding research centers in the nation to combine scientific laboratory inquiry with patient clinical care dedicated exclusively to children.

Management

The style of management and the organizational culture of excellence are deeply rooted in teamwork and mutual support. This position is part of a team of Director-level management staff that reports directly to the CFO. This team of financial directors is extraordinarily focused, cohesive and supportive, with a commitment to working as a team to achieve the goals of the Finance Department and the hospital.

The commitment of the management team to the mission, which is “Children”, is outstanding and highly effective in keeping the management and staff focused on the big picture. To complement the financial management team an individual must be able to blend their individual success into that of the entire team and to share in the commitment and the satisfaction of taking care of very sick children.

Position Description

This position, reporting to the Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for directing all functions related to Patient Business Services (Revenue Cycle Management), which includes: Admissions, Bed Reservations, Emergency Department Registration, Billing and Collections, Utilization Management and Revenue Management. This position is responsible for the significantly important areas of cash collections and net days in Patient Accounts Receivable. Additionally, the successful candidate will participate on internal and external committees. The position has five direct reports and a staff of approximately 80 FTE”S

Responsibilities

Responsible for directing all activities of the Division, including Admissions, Bed Reservations, Emergency Department Registration, Billing and Collections, Utilization Management, Revenue Management and Cashiering/Payment Processing.
Monitor cash flow on a daily basis.
Develops and implements action(s) to reduce and maintain net days in Patient Accounts Receivable at the benchmark level for the hospital.
Develops a monthly Revenue Cycle Dashboard used as a tool to monitor the performance of the various aspects of the Revenue Cycle functions.
Ensures that the business processes in the Patient Business Services are optimally redesigned to take full advantage of the features of the McKesson system.
Works closely with the Business Development Department to support the hospital-wide contracting strategy that would allow the hospital to be fairly compensated for the services performed.
Works collaboratively with the revenue generating departments within the hospital to identify and implement needed improvements in the charge entry process.
Develops and maintains an effective denial management system to address denial issues and implement the necessary corrective actions both to address the current denials and to prevent them from recurring.
Develops and maintains a charge and collection system to support the clinical research activities for the hospital.
Participates in the various hospital committees as needed, including but not limited to the Revenue Cycle Committee, Corporate Compliance Committee, Resource Management Committee, Information Technology Operation Leadership Group, etc.

Personal Characteristics

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is a teaching hospital as well as a Research Institute; consequently, this position interfaces on a daily basis with different types of issues with diverse groups of clinicians. The Director of Patient Business Services needs to possess the patience, self-confidence and communication skills necessary to work with the administrative and clinical staff, and his / her own staff, to improve the results of the Revenue Cycle.

First and foremost he/she needs to be a team player, be a superb communicator, and have the style of a diplomat, i.e., able to get along well with everyone and to negotiate agreements so each party benefits. It is imperative that he/she be skilled in bringing together the staff functions in a spirit of harmony and with a single-minded purpose.

A hands-on leader, who can develop a strategic vision of the department and has the expertise to develop values and goals for a diverse group of constituents, will be successful. The successful candidate will have a proven record of accomplishment of strong leadership skills to ensure that the improvement process within the department continues, that priorities are established, and the goals are met. As one Finance Director stated, if the new Director is a supportive, technically proficient, motivated individual, who possesses a good sense of humor and has excellent leadership and communications skills he/she will achieve success for both the division and the hospital.

He/she needs to be a person who possesses a strong work ethic, rejects setbacks, and values accomplishments highly. An action-oriented personality that deals with specifics within a broad conceptual framework will be most effective in this position. He/she will have an appropriate sense of urgency to allow him/her to react to situations quickly and decisively. Board and industry presentations are an aspect of the position and for that reason; he/she should project the appropriate image.

Experience and Education

Bachelor's Degree in business, preferably in accounting. A Master’s Degree is highly preferred, a minimum of seven years' experience in hospital financial management. Experience in Patient Business Services is required. Strong user knowledge of information technology and experience in Medi-Cal billing and collection matters are highly preferred.

Opportunity

The hospital has undergone significant changes and extraordinary growth in the last several years to meet the challenges of the healthcare environment. Our client is staged to move to the next level of organizational development and expanded patient services. The hospital has made investments in new administrative information technology tools and systems, and is poised to complete the transition into a more effective and efficient organization. The Hospital is also in the process of implementing a tightly integrated clinical information system that will help to deliver patient care in the safest and most efficient way.

This position offers the right person an opportunity to work in an innovative environment. The Patient Business Services Director will have an opportunity to significantly expand their direct experience and knowledge of the industry and position themselves to met future career challenges with a broad and noteworthy experience base.

Compensation

The Director of Patient Business Services will be compensated on a competitive basis commensurate with the candidate’s experience, and is covered under a very comprehensive and flexible Benefits Program. There is an annual bonus of up to 10% of salary upon attainment of individual and organizational goals.