Career Central

Chief Medical Officer for Jersey City Medical Center – RWJBarnabas Health Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City, NJ

The Chief Medical (CMO) for Jersey City Medical Center plays a lead role in supporting and advancing physician engagement, integration, and alignment with JCMC. The CMO provides clinical leadership and administrative direction in developing and attaining strategic, operational, and quality/patient safety objectives related to medical practice and patient care activities of JCMC. He/she leads the medical staff to function as a synergistic, harmonious, and productive entity, integrated and synchronized with other hospital functions to fulfill our academic objectives and to support the medical staff member goals all contributing to the success of JCMC.  

The CMO is responsible for the integration and coordination of clinical practice across all service lines, to develop and deploy methods of process improvement designed to enhance and improve clinical quality, patient experience and reduce healthcare costs.

Specific Opportunities Include:

• Provide the overall strategic direction of physician activities including development, implementation, market research, and strategic partnerships; and is the physician leader for continuous quality improvement, safety, and effective clinical resource management.
• In alignment with Rutgers Medical School, effectively establish and implement a strategy based on academic/practice partnership guiding principles and best practices.
• Drive greater performance and leverage system thinking and creativity to continuously improve clinical quality and safety metrics, physician/employee engagement, patient care services, expense reduction, and manage staffing resources.
• Work collaboratively with the executive team to recruit Chairs and Chiefs who will work effectively with both employed and private physicians, nursing colleagues, and administrative leaders. 

Key Areas of Accountability Include:

• Assures the highest standards of healthcare delivery and outcomes, with a vigilant patient focus. 
• Ensures continued improvement in clinical operations, quality, safety, and the patient experience.  
• Participates in the development of JCMC’s strategic plan and ensures communication of this plan, its vision, and goals to the medical staff. 
• Serve as a member of the senior management team and assist in the strategic development of initiatives and programs. Develop/oversees major strategic and operational initiatives and business execution related to the physician enterprise, facilitating physician-hospital alignment for the benefit of the community. 
• Participates in the annual operating and capital budget process providing input regarding budgets for clinical quality, program and facility development, and medical affairs. 
• Provide executive leadership associated with clinical excellence, quality, and the patient safety agenda. Promote dialogue and develop strategies to coalesce physicians and advance policies, procedures, and processes around safety, quality, and efficiency goals and objectives. 
• Leads all medical staff office-related functions around peer review and credentialing and ensures compliance with all quality, legal, and regulatory requirements. 
• In collaboration with other leadership team members, oversees the development of a medical staff development and succession plan, and the development/implementation of a recruitment and retention plan aligned with hospital strategy. 
• In partnership with other executive team members, holds responsibility for the development of clinical programs across JCMC, and clinical resource allocation decisions among departments and programs. 
• Participates in the recruitment, selection, and evaluation of employed providers. 
• Develops, recommends, and implements effective strategies to increase physician activity at JCMC as appropriate, including strategic investments and resource allocation. 
• Builds personal and professional relationships with multiple constituencies, including hospital leadership, clinical leaders, and members of the medical staff in private practice, managed care companies, and staff. 
• Works collaboratively with all JCMC leadership team members and openly engages in listening to and taking into account the ideas of others. 
• Proactively and positively promotes team morale and productivity, manages conflict, and attains consensus. 
• Demonstrates the ability to forge strategic alliances and networks within and outside the organization at the hospital level and the system level. 
• Supports JCMC by attending community events and affairs as requested. 

Required Education/Certifications:

• MD or DO degree with board certification. An advanced degree in healthcare or business administration is a plus. 
• Seven or more years of recent experience in clinical practice, and five or more years of experience in a medical leadership role within a sizeable, complex, community teaching hospital or academic medical center environment. Prior career experience within a large multi-entity health system is strongly preferred; experience with post-merger clinical integration is a plus. 
• Licensure or eligibility for licensure in the state of New Jersey. 

Required Background Experience & Competencies:

• High-level, complex problem-solving abilities both in groups and in one-on-one situations.
• Ability to translate the mission and vision to everyday work.
• Ability to manage and lead in a matrixed health system.
• Ability to lead a workforce in a unionized environment.
• Ability to cultivate and foster relationships at every level of the organization (locally at the hospital, within the system, and board relations).
• Demonstrated success in leading system process improvement initiatives in an academic quaternary care facility.
• Decisive leader, with the ability to understand patient and clinician stakeholder viewpoints and needs, and work strategically in the best interest of patients and the organization. A strong reputation for sustained, inclusive, trust-based relationships with employees, clinicians, patients, and the community.
• Experience in a system with excellent employee, physician, and patient satisfaction, quality, and clinical outcomes.
• An understanding of information systems as they pertain to clinical excellence, decision support, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Strong leader of people with the ability to create an environment that supports team morale and achieves the highest quality of service.
• Exhibit strong communication, presentation, and listening skills to ensure facility-wide collaboration and coordination.
• Strong contemporary knowledge of related laws, state and federal regulations, Det Norske Veritas ACGME standards, state licensing, and relevant payer requirements relating to medical practice and medical and graduate medical education within an acute care hospital setting. 
• Track record of partnering effectively with nursing leaders to improve clinical operations and quality of care. 
• Display strong business acumen, sophisticated knowledge of healthcare funding, and experience in competitive marketplaces.
• A solid grasp of hospital finance with the ability to effectively participate in strategic planning initiatives, including new program development and clinical services.
• Possesses excellent oral and written communications skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to interact comfortably and effectively with external constituents including local community members, civic leaders, and the donor community. 
• Ability to successfully navigate and thrive within a complex matrixed community hospital/academic health system environment. 
• Ability to work effectively with both employed and private community physicians to strengthen their engagement, facilitate collaboration, and advance physician-hospital alignment. 

Personal Characteristics: 

• An upbeat, positive, and confident leader. 
• A personable and approachable individual with the ability to gain trust, credibility, and respect through open, honest, and clear communication. 
• An emotionally mature individual, with strong interpersonal, diplomatic, and facilitation skills. 
• An individual who is willing and able to hold him/herself and others accountable; capable of holding crucial conversations and making decisions in a manner that considers the good of the organization, while being respectful of all individuals involved. 
• A succinct communicator highly organized and holds oneself and others to agreed-upon deadlines, personal organization, and effective time management. 
• An energetic leader with a strong work ethic, who brings a sense of urgency and ownership to his or her role. 

Pay range -- Salary commensurate with experience

For more information on this position or to apply directly, please contact Mary Cataudella, Vice President of Human Resources at Jersey City Medical Center, at Mary.Cataudella@rwjbh.org.

About Jersey City Medical Center:

Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is Healing, Enhancing, and Investing in Hudson County. It is a comprehensive full-service acute and sub-acute care 348-bed teaching hospital. A not-for-profit hospital, JCMC is a state-designated Level II Regional Trauma Center with close to 16,000 admissions and over 80,000 Emergency Department visits annually. The hospital specialty services include maternity, orthopedics, heart and vascular care, and behavioral health.  JCMC is the only full-service heart hospital in Hudson County, offering access to outstanding cardiologists and sophisticated and advanced treatments, such as cardiac surgery and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements (TAVR).  RWJBarnabas Health and Jersey City Medical Center are in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. JCMC is also a state designated stroke center, a regional comprehensive cardiac center, a perinatal intensive care center, a regional level 3 neonatal intensive care unit for critically ill newborns, and home to the most advanced robotic-assisted surgical program in Hudson County.  JCMC, a provider of Advanced Life Support for Hudson County, runs 911 Medical Call Screening for Hudson County and operates one of the state’s busiest EMS systems. 

The Medical Center has earned Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and in 2017, was recognized by Healthgrades for Excellence in Patient Safety, and has been recognized with a grade A in quality and patient safety from The Leapfrog Group. Other awards received include American Stroke Association’s Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award for seven consecutive years, and the Vision of Performance Excellence Award, the highest quality achievement award presented on the state level under Baldrige criteria.  Additionally, Jersey City Medical Center is a leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality awards from the Healthcare Equality Index for outstanding practices related to the equity and inclusion of LGBTQ patients, visitors, and employees; earned CEO Gold Cancer Award Recertification for 10 consecutive years for programs and services for cancer research and care for patients/employees; achieved level 9 Most Wired recognition from CHIME in 2020, and was recognized as a ‘Top Workplace’ in 2020 as designated by NJ.com;  The hospital was certified by DNV GL - Healthcare as a Primary Stroke Center, affirming the hospital's readiness to handle a full range of stroke-related medical problems and has received full Accreditation Status from the American College of Surgeons and The Commission on Cancer. 

About RWJBarnabas Health:

RWJBarnabas Health is the most comprehensive health care delivery system in New Jersey, treating over 3 million patients a year. The system includes eleven acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, RWJUH in New Brunswick and Somerville, RWJUH- Hamilton, RWJUH- Rahway and Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston; three acute care children’s hospitals and a leading pediatric rehabilitation hospital (Children’s Specialized Hospital), a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, a medical group, multi-site imaging centers and four accountable care organizations.  RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s second largest private employer – with more than 32,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns – and routinely captures national awards for its outstanding quality and safety.

RWJBarnabas Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer.