Chief Administrative Officer - Medical Center North Liberty

UIOWA•Iowa City, IA

17d

About The Position

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center North Liberty (MCNL) is the senior administrative executive accountable for the overall operating performance, strategic growth, financial stewardship, quality and safety, patient experience, workforce, and day-to-day operations of the North Liberty hospital and ambulatory campus. MCNL is an orthopedic specialty hospital and ambulatory destination that opened in April 2025, operating as an integrated component of the UI Health Care clinical enterprise and under the hospital license of the university campus. The campus includes 16 operating rooms, a 36-bed inpatient unit with planned expansion, a 24/7 Emergency Department, and comprehensive ambulatory, diagnostic, rehabilitation, procedural, and support services. The CAO will lead the campus through its next phase of growth, capacity expansion, operational optimization, and continued development as a premier orthopedic and musculoskeletal destination. Working within a highly matrixed academic health system, the CAO partners closely with physician, nursing, operational, and enterprise leaders to achieve strong local performance while ensuring alignment with UI Health Care priorities, standards, and resources.

Requirements

Graduate degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in health care administration, business, public health, or a related discipline.
Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible health care operations experience, including significant senior or executive leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated accountability for hospital operations, financial performance, quality and safety, workforce, and strategic execution within a complex health care organization.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with physicians, nurses, administrators, and enterprise functions within a highly matrixed environment.
Proven success using data, benchmarking, and performance management to improve operational and financial results.
Demonstrated success leading organizational change, growth, program development, and complex operational initiatives.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly to senior leaders, medical staff, employees, and external stakeholders.
Strong executive communication skills and demonstrated commitment to a welcoming and respectful workplace environment.

Nice To Haves

Executive leadership experience within an academic medical center, integrated health system, teaching hospital, or specialty hospital.
Significant perioperative, surgical, orthopedic, musculoskeletal, or procedural operations experience.
Experience leading a hospital through post-opening stabilization, major expansion, or rapid growth.
Experience overseeing hospital, ambulatory, emergency, inpatient, and perioperative operations.
Experience with capital planning, construction, facility activation, physician alignment, market growth, and clinical program development.

Responsibilities

Lead development and execution of MCNL strategic and operating plans in alignment with UI Health Care priorities and the academic mission.
Drive sustainable growth through improved access, capacity expansion, referral development, physician alignment, and disciplined clinical program development.
Partner with clinical and enterprise leaders to evaluate market demand, service gaps, new programs, technologies, and opportunities to expand regional reach.
Ensure clinics, imaging, operating room, and campus expansion translate into measurable improvements in access, volume, quality, efficiency, and financial performance.
Strengthen integration with other UI Health Care campuses and enterprise functions while maintaining clear local accountability for MCNL results.
Provide executive oversight for all hospital and ambulatory operations, ensuring reliable 24/7 administrative leadership, operational readiness, and escalation pathways.
Establish performance expectations, dashboards, operating reviews, and accountability mechanisms across the campus.
Collaborate with clinical leaders across the clinical enterprise to optimize patient flow across ambulatory, preoperative, operating room, post-anesthesia, inpatient, Emergency Department, diagnostic, rehabilitation, discharge, and follow-up services.
Partner with surgical, anesthesia, nursing, and perioperative leaders to optimize operating room utilization, block management, first-case starts, turnover, cancellations, staffing, sterile processing, and procedural throughput.
Ensure clinical and operational capacity, including staffing and downstream services, keeps pace with growth in surgical volume and complexity.
Coordinate matrixed enterprise services and champion continuous improvement, standard work, productivity, benchmarking, and reduction of avoidable variation.
Champion clinical excellence, patient safety, patient experience, employee safety, regulatory readiness, and continuous improvement in partnership with physician, nursing, and quality leaders.
Ensure compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, The Joint Commission, EMTALA, state and federal requirements, and applicable university and UI Health Care policies.
Maintain effective emergency preparedness, business continuity, transfer, and escalation processes appropriate to specialty hospital and clinical enterprise operations.
Lead MCNL operating and capital performance in partnership with enterprise finance leaders, including budget development, forecasting, productivity, variance management, cost management, and financial improvement.
Ensure strong revenue cycle performance and effective stewardship of workforce, space, capital, technology, equipment, implants, high-cost supplies, inventory, and other resources.
Provide executive oversight for capital planning, construction, renovation, facility reliability, and operational readiness for new spaces, operating rooms, equipment, and programs.
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing leadership team with clear roles, decision rights, performance expectations, and succession plans in a highly matrixed environment.
Develop and execute sustainable workforce strategies that strengthen recruitment, retention, leadership development, employee engagement, and performance accountability in partnership with human resources and campus leaders.
Foster a culture of safety, accountability, collaboration, respect, transparency, engagement, and patient-centered service consistent with UI Health Care values.
Partner with nursing, physician, human resources, and operational leaders to develop sustainable staffing models and improve recruitment, retention, productivity, onboarding, and leadership development.
Develop strong physician, nursing, and administrative partnerships and support effective dyad and triad leadership across key clinical programs.
Partner with clinical leadership on physician recruitment, coverage, access, program development, and alignment of hospital and faculty practice priorities.
Support the academic mission through appropriate education, training, research, and innovation activities.
Represent MCNL within UI Health Care and externally with community physicians, referral partners, community leaders, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders.
Partner with marketing and communications to strengthen MCNL visibility, reputation, access, and market differentiation.
Assume additional enterprise operational, service-line, or strategic responsibilities as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer.