Chair of Inpatient Pediatrics

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Department

Job Summary

Denver Health, in collaboration with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is seeking a clinically skilled and experienced leader, educator, scholar, and communicator for the position of Department Chair of Inpatient Pediatrics at Denver Health Medical Center.

The Department Chair oversees all care delivered by the Department of Inpatient Pediatrics and provides overall leadership to the Department. The Director is responsible for strategic planning, clinical services, professional performance, business performance, faculty development, and medical education for the department. The Department incorporates the pediatric inpatient service, PICU, NICU, and newborn nursery, and pediatric subspecialty care required for all pediatric patients admitted to the hospital.

Our Mission:

Denver Health is uniquely positioned as an integrated healthcare system, nationally recognized for its passion and commitment in providing exceptional care to the communities it serves. Denver Health is considered a national model of an integrated urban safety net health care system which includes inpatient care, emergency services, community and school-based health centers, correctional care, addictions treatment, public health and an insurance plan.

Teaching the next generation of providers:
Denver Health is a major teaching affiliate of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, (UCSOM), and Denver Health physician faculty have full-time academic appointments at the UCSOM. Subject to approval of the Chair, the Director may serve as Affiliate Vice-Chair of the Department of Pediatrics of the UCSOM. Denver Health is a major training site of the highly regarded University of Colorado Pediatric Residency Program; pediatric residents receive 1/3 of their clinical training at Denver Health, and a chief resident and Associate Program Director are based at Denver Health.

Currently, the Inpatient Pediatrics provider group consists of:

• 5 Neonatologists and 4 APPs who work in the NICU

• 4 Neonatal hospitalists who work in the NICU and Well-Baby Nursery

• 2 Pediatric hospitalists who work on the Wards and Well-Baby Nursery

• 4 APPs who work in the Well-Baby Nursery

• 5 Pediatric intensivists who work in the PICU

Pediatric subspecialty support from Surgery and Medicine Departments Includes:

• 1 pediatric epileptologist/neurologist

• Pediatric surgeons, pediatric surgical subspecialists in ENT, neurosurgery, orthopedics, child/adolescent psychiatrists, and medical toxicologists are appointed through their respective departments.

Reporting Relationships

The Director of Inpatient Pediatrics reports to the Chief Medical Officer of Denver Health and collaborates closely with the Chair of Pediatrics at the UCSOM for academic roles and responsibilities.

Procedures for candidacy:

Interested applicants should submit CV and Cover Letter to the Denver Health Manager of Provider Recruitment for consideration no later than March 4, 2025.

Aaron Ortiz, Manager of Provider Recruitment

Denver Health Medical Center

Aaron.ortiz@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.
• 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, resident, and fellow 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.
• 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.
• 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:

• 3-6 years of experience preferred
• Demonstrated success within their specialty. Required
  
  Licenses:(Will depend on the specialty of the successful candidate)
• BLS-Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) - AHA - American Heart Association Required and
• NRP-Neonatal Resuscitation Program - AHA - American Heart Association Required and
• PALS-Pediatric Advanced Life Support - AHA - American Heart Association Required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated leadership achievement in a busy high-performing department.
• 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 the principles, standard practices, and techniques of pathology.
• 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.