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Position Description: Director, Perioperative 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, Perioperative Services.

Opportunity

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. The continued demand for leading-edge treatments and procedures will result in the continued rapid expansion of the surgical scope at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The position of Director, Perioperative Services presents a unique opportunity for the right individual to lead a high profile, world-class surgical operation and to share in its success and recognition.

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 Chief Nursing Officer. This team of clinical directors is extraordinarily focused, cohesive and supportive, with a commitment to working as a team to achieve the goals of the Perioperative unit 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 clinical 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

The Director of Perioperative Services will report to the Chief Nursing Officer is responsible for the overall operation of the hospital’s Perioperative Services Unit. The successful candidate will plan, organize, direct, maintain and evaluate patient care and unit activities according to established policies and procedures to provide high quality, individualized patient care; and he or she will maintain the integrity of the service to meet all accreditation and licensure requirements.

This position oversees approximately 155 FTE’s through the direct supervision of the Operations Manager, Pre-operation Admitting, Pre-operative holding, PACU, the Manager of Clinical Support and a full-time administrative assistant. This position oversees a XX MM revenue budget, a $20 MM operating budget. The department performs XX procedures per year.

Responsibilities

The Director of Perioperative Services is responsible for providing leadership and direction in Perioperative Services. He/she oversees the fiscal, technical and patient care activities of the departments to ensure efficient operations, providing input on hospital's strategic initiatives and developing tactical strategies for assigned group of departments and services. The Director directs plans and organizes all functions and activities within assigned area, ensures compliance with regulatory and governing agencies and established Hospital standards, practices, and procedures. He/she works cooperatively with other Directors and Managers to ensure smooth operation of hospital and department and works cooperatively with Medical Staff in pursuit of quality of care, clinical and operational objectives. The following duties represent the key responsibilities of the position:

Direct and manage administrative and clinical functions and patient care activities of assigned departments while staying within budgetary allocations.
Develop and monitor operational, capital and staffing budgets.
Encourage effective cost containment practices through management and staff development.
Oversee that Perioperative Patient Care Services are compliant with the recommended standards of the governing bodies (i.e. AORN, ASPAN, and AAMI).
Oversee the availability, purchasing and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation required for efficient operations of Perioperative Services.
Ensures satisfactory relationships with medical staff including clear and concise communication regarding Perioperative Services and hospital issues.
Chair, or assign the Chair for, Perioperative department and unit staff meetings.
Ensure compliance with regulatory and governing body’s issues.
Responsible for developing agenda of assigned patient care and hospital committees or work groups.
Preliminary screening of incident reports and quality improvement forms and ensures follow through.
Interact and participate with staff of departments to accomplish the goals of the institution as a whole.
Work with Chief Nursing Officer to establish and conform to Operating Budget.
Responsible for overseeing both short and long term planning in all aspects of management, including personnel.
Responsible for ensuring completion of personnel evaluations, job descriptions, polices and procedures of assigned departments.
General supervision of departmental personnel records and verification of documentation of current activity, licensure and certification.
Keeps appropriate hospital staff informed of changes in department functioning within budgetary allocations.
Monitor departmental operations to ensure functioning within budgetary allocations.
Consistently combine ethical judgment and technical skills within policy and legal guidelines of the hospital.
Provide counsel and guidance to staff on personnel related problems.
Objectively evaluate the attitude, morale and interpersonal relationships of staff and promote methods to improve these areas when needed.
Ensure as needed review of all manuals and polices and procedures is done.
Ensure timely preparation and evaluation of reports, payroll records and other statistical data as required.
Ensure prompt investigation of complaints regarding service by department and take appropriate actions.
Ensure strict confidentiality guidelines are adhered to and remedial actions taken with regard to such violation.
Willingly accept responsibility for special projects as assigned.
Maintain professional growth.
Participate in administrative and other meetings as required.
Ensure open format, scheduled department staff meetings, and encourage staff participation.
Effectively provide direction and policy interpretation to staff and other department members in overseeing their areas of responsibility; address special operation concerns and administrative.

Personal Characteristics

The Director, Perioperative Services needs to possess the patience, self-confidence and communication skills necessary to work with the clinical and administrative staff and the Physicians.

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 work in harmony with other operational entities 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.

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.

Experience Required

Previous proven experience and expertise in line management position (minimum of 5 years). Master’s degree in health care administration, clinical management or related field is highly preferred. The successful candidate must possess a current CA Register Nurse Licensure. He or she must be able to understand written and verbal communication in English, as well as possessing a thorough knowledge of preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care; in addition to sterile processing and materials management.

Compensation

The compensation plan is based on a competitive base salary commensurate with the experience and the demonstrated accomplishments of the successful candidate. It will reflect the opportunity at the hospital. The hospital has an excellent employee benefits package, consisting of medical coverage, a dental plan, life insurance, Defined Benefit Retirement Plan and a 403 b program with employer matching.