Chief Operating Officer- University Hospital - UH Administration - University Hospital

Chief Operating Officer

USA Health is Transforming Medicine along the Gulf Coast to care for the unique needs of our community. USA Health is changing how medical care, education, and research impact the health of people who live in Mobile and the surrounding area. Our team of doctors, advanced care providers, nurses, therapists, and researchers provides the region's most advanced medicine at multiple facilities, campuses, clinics, and classrooms. We offer patients convenient access to innovative treatments and advancements that improve the health and overall well-being of our community.

Responsibilities

A central responsibility of the COO is to identify and resolve operational barriers that cross traditional departmental or service-line boundaries. The COO ensures that enterprise standards are consistently implemented while maintaining the flexibility necessary to address the unique clinical and operational needs of the facility. The COO serves as the senior facility operations leader and is accountable for integrated execution across the hospital. CEO-Adult Hospitals establishes overall strategy, organizational priorities, executive accountability, and performance expectations across University Hospital and Providence Hospital. Enterprise Executive Directors establish functional/service-line strategy, standards, performance expectations, workforce principles, and improvement priorities across both adult hospitals. Facility COO ensures those strategies and standards are successfully implemented within the facility, coordinates activities across functions, resolves operational barriers, and holds local leaders accountable for execution. The Chief Operating Officer is accountable for integrated operational performance and execution within the assigned hospital. Enterprise Executive Directors maintain functional leadership responsibility for their assigned service lines or functions across University Hospital and Providence Hospital, including strategy, standards, performance expectations, and enterprise priorities. The COO and Executive Directors operate through shared accountability: Executive Directors define and advance enterprise functional strategy, while the COO ensures effective implementation, cross-functional coordination, and operational performance at the facility level. Matters involving competing priorities or unresolved accountability are escalated to the CEO Adult Hospitals. Key Relationships: CEO Adult Hospitals, facility nursing executive, facility medical staff and physician leadership, Executive Director - Emergency Services, Executive Director-Digestive Health, Executive Director-Heart & Vascular Services, Executive Director - Imaging Services, Executive Director-Support Services, Executive Director-Finance, Executive Director-Bed Capacity Management & Patient Flow, Quality, safety, regulatory, HR, IT, facilities, and other system leaders.

Provide executive oversight of daily hospital operations and ensure reliable execution across clinical, ancillary, and support functions. Maintain continuous awareness of hospital operating conditions, including census, capacity, ED demand, procedural activity, staffing, patient flow, and operational constraints. Identify and resolve operational barriers requiring coordination across multiple departments or service lines. Ensure effective escalation of significant operational, safety, staffing, capacity, or service concerns. Establish disciplined operating routines and accountability mechanisms across the facility. Ensure hospital resources are aligned with patient demand and organizational priorities. Translate adult hospital enterprise strategy into actionable facility operating plans. Partner with enterprise Executive Directors to implement standardized processes, performance expectations, and strategic initiatives. Ensure appropriate adoption of enterprise standards while identifying legitimate facility-specific operational requirements. Identify variation in performance or practice and work collaboratively with enterprise leaders to address underlying causes. Serve as the principal link between enterprise functional strategy and facility-level execution. Provide executive leadership for facility throughput and capacity performance. Partner closely with the Executive Director of Bed Capacity Management & Patient Flow to reduce avoidable delays and optimize inpatient capacity. Drive multidisciplinary accountability for ED boarding, admission flow, bed turnover, discharge progression, and length of stay. Lead facility response to capacity constraints and surge conditions. Ensure barriers to patient progression are escalated and resolved quickly. Support coordinated patient movement between University Hospital and Providence Hospital when clinically and operationally appropriate. Partner with the CEO and finance leadership to achieve facility operating and financial objectives. Monitor labor, productivity, supplies, purchased services, and other major operating expenses. Hold leaders accountable for budget performance and operational productivity. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining quality, safety, and patient experience. Support annual operating and capital planning. Evaluate operational and financial implications of new programs, services, and investments. Ensure leaders understand the relationship between operational decisions and financial performance. Promote a culture in which safety is an operational priority and leaders proactively identify and address risks. Partner with nursing, physician, quality, and safety leadership to improve clinical and operational outcomes. Ensure timely response to significant patient safety and operational concerns. Advance high reliability and continuous improvement principles. Drive accountability for patient experience and service excellence. Conduct regular leadership rounding and maintain visible executive presence throughout the facility. Develop a high-performing facility leadership team. Establish clear expectations and accountability for operational leaders. Coach and develop directors and other facility leaders. Partner with enterprise Executive Directors regarding performance and development of leaders within their respective functions. Promote employee engagement, retention, recognition, and professional development. Foster a culture of collaboration rather than departmental silos. Ensure succession planning for critical operational leadership positions. Develop strong working relationships with medical staff leadership and key physician stakeholders. Partner with physicians to identify and address operational barriers affecting patient care. Support physician recruitment, program development, and strategic growth initiatives. Improve operational processes affecting physician efficiency and satisfaction. Partner with physician leaders on patient flow, procedural capacity, quality, and service-line performance. Support implementation of strategic growth initiatives at the facility. Identify operational capabilities necessary to support new programs and increased volumes. Participate in facility master planning and capital prioritization. Partner with enterprise service-line leaders to develop and operationalize growth strategies. Evaluate capacity, infrastructure, workforce, and support-service requirements associated with program expansion. Completes all mandatory department, educational and hospital requirements. Adheres to current Infection Control and Safety Standards. Regular and prompt attendance. Ability to work schedule as defined and overtime as required. Related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or related field from an accredited institution as approved and accepted by the University of South Alabama and 10+ years of progressively responsible healthcare leadership experience, including substantial operational leadership responsibility within a complex hospital or health system. Required. Demonstrated experience leading complex hospital operations, managing multidisciplinary teams, improving operational performance, and partnering effectively with physicians and clinical leaders. Required. Master's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or related field. Preferred. Experience within a tertiary, academic, high-acuity, or multi-hospital environment. Preferred. Comparable combination of education and experience may substitute for the above requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Key Performance Measures: Hospital quality and safety performance. Patient experience. Observed and risk-adjusted length of stay. ED boarding and patient flow. Discharge efficiency. Hospital capacity/utilization. Workforce productivity. Employee turnover and engagement. Premium labor utilization. Operating margin/EBITDA performance. Budget performance. Procedural and service-line growth. Operational reliability. Regulatory readiness. The COO is accountable for the performance of the facility as an integrated operating system rather than direct ownership of every individual service-line metric. Leadership Competencies: Enterprise thinking combined with strong facility-level execution. Ability to lead through influence and shared accountability. Exceptional operational judgment. Strong financial and business acumen. Ability to manage complex and competing priorities. Data-driven decision making. Strong physician and nursing partnerships. Ability to lead organizational change. High degree of executive presence and visibility. Talent development and succession planning. Collaborative problem solving. Accountability for measurable results. Ability to operate effectively during periods of significant organizational change. Commitment to safety, quality, patient experience, and workforce culture.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

The University of South Alabama is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable legally protected basis. EO Employer minorities/females/veterans/disabilities/sexual orientation/gender identity.