Medical Director

Job Description

Job Description

Habitat Health empowers older adults to experience more good days in their homes and communities. Through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), we provide comprehensive medical care along with support for daily needs such as meals, transportation, and in‑home assistance. We deliver coordinated clinical and social care in our centers and directly in participants' homes, creating a fully integrated experience that brings peace of mind and a true sense of belonging. As we expand our scalable, affordable PACE model to meet the growing and complex needs of aging populations, our mission‑driven care teams continue to help participants live well on their own terms. 

Habitat Health is supported by leading healthcare organizations and investors including New Enterprise Associates, Kaiser Permanente, and Town Hall Ventures. We are entering a period of significant growth and are looking for exceptional teammates to help us scale a better model of care for older adults. To learn more, visit

Estimated Start Date:   Feb 2027 

Location : 4659 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60653 

Role Scope:

The Medical Director is the senior clinical leader for a Habitat Health PACE center and is accountable for the quality, safety, experience, and outcomes of care delivered to participants at the assigned site. In partnership with the Executive Director, this role serves as a dyad leader for center performance, balancing direct clinical care, clinical leadership, team development, participant experience, operational reliability, and fiscal stewardship in alignment with Habitat Health's mission and care model. 

Core Responsibilities & Expectations for the Role  

Direct Clinical Care & Panel Management  

• Provides evidence-based person-centered direct clinical care as primary care provider (at approximately 50% clinical panel, subject to census and operational need) and supervising physician, collaborating with the IDT on person-centered care planning across medical, behavioral, and functional domains. Applies strong clinical judgment in evaluation, diagnosis, and management; consistently applies geriatric principles including preventive care and harm reduction, produces high-quality documentation supporting continuity, coding integrity, and coordination; leads safe medication management including deprescribing and polypharmacy reduction. 

• Oversees and monitors care across all care settings, including clinic, home, inpatient, and SNF. Recognizes early functional and cognitive decline and evolving needs; leads goals-of-care conversations and uses complex cases as IDT teaching opportunities. 

Clinical Program Leadership  

• Accountable for clinical quality, safety, outcomes, and participant experience; chairs the Quality Improvement Committee and uses utilization and safety data (ED rate, hospitalizations, readmissions, satisfaction, disenrollment) to drive measurable improvement. 

• Leads root cause analyses, implements corrective actions, and maintains working knowledge of CMS PACE regulations; oversees grievances, appeals, CLIA-waived onsite lab compliance, and pre-enrollment clinical evaluations. 

• Oversees chart audits for documentation and coding integrity; monitors contractor performance and leads medication-related and other process improvement at the program level. 

Teaching, Coaching & Staff Development  

• Oversees all physicians and advanced practice providers within the PACE operation.  

• Serves as a clinical educator and subject matter expert for IDT members on geriatrics, PACE model, behavioral health, medication safety, and the What Matters Most framework; provides regular case-based teaching across settings. 

• Provides direct coaching, mentorship, and timely feedback to clinicians; sets clear expectations for clinical quality, documentation, communication and follow-through and addresses gaps constructively. 

• Partners with the Executive Director to foster high staff engagement, inclusive culture, and shared accountability for team member development and employee experience. 

Organizational Leadership & External Partnerships  

• Serves as dyad partner to the Executive Director, jointly accountable for center performance across quality, operations, culture, and financial sustainability; applies a value-based care mindset and partners on annual panel growth planning. 

• Serves as primary clinical liaison with hospitals, SNFs, home health agencies, specialists, and community providers; represents the center on enterprise committees and communicates performance trends and risks to senior leadership. 

• Provides input to operational leadership on clinical service delivery model improvement and refinement as determined by the CMO.  

Required Qualifications:  

• MD or DO with active, unrestricted state licensure, DEA license and current board certification in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Geriatrics, or a relevant specialty. 

• 3+ years of clinical experience caring for older adults and/or medically complex populations in PACE, geriatrics, SNF, hospice, home-based care, managed care, or comparable integrated care setting. 

• Demonstrated strength in direct clinical care for complex seniors. 

• Experience leading clinicians and interdisciplinary teams through coaching, mentorship, and case-based teaching; with examples of building capability across multiple disciplines. 

• Experience in value-based or capitated care models; comfort using clinical, utilization, and quality data to improve outcomes and reduce avoidable utilization. 

• Strong communication, collaboration, and change-management skills; ability to influence across disciplines, partner effectively with operational leaders in a dyad model. 

• Commitment to participant-centered care, centering care on What Matters Most framework, and comfort with palliative and end-of-life discussions; high professional integrity and ability to foster psychologically safe, inclusive team cultures. 

• Travel : Some travel locally and regionally may be required.  

Nice to Have:  

• Prior experience as a Medical Director, Associate Medical Director, or comparable physician leader in PACE, integrated senior care, or value-based care environments. 

• Experience with HCC coding, documentation improvement, chart review, and audit readiness; familiarity with how clinical documentation affects quality reporting and risk adjustment. 

• Experience chairing or leading QAPI, quality, utilization, or safety work including root cause analysis and corrective action implementation. 

• Experience as a physician liaison with health system partners or referral networks; familiarity with CMS PACE regulations and the 11-discipline IDT model. 

Essential Functions & Physical Requirements  

The following statements describe the general nature of work and physical expectations common across roles at Habitat Health. Specific responsibilities may vary by position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Team members in this role may be expected to: 

• Work in healthcare, administrative, community, or remote environments, depending on role needs. 

• Communicate effectively with participants, caregivers, team members, and other stakeholders in person, by phone, and through electronic systems. 

• Remain stationary and/or move about for extended periods, consistent with job duties. 

• Operate standard office equipment and/or clinical tools (e.g., computers, phones, medical devices, documentation systems). 

• Travel between work sites or community locations as needed. 

• Follow safety procedures, infection control protocols, and use personal protective equipment (PPE) when required. 

• Perform tasks that may involve bending, reaching, lifting, or assisting participants, depending on role responsibilities. 

Compensation: