Chief Medical Officer - Part Time - Hartford, CT

Connecticut Children's Medical Center•Hartford, CT

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) serves as the senior physician executive responsible for the clinical quality, safety, operational performance, and governance of the medical staff across Connecticut Children’s. The CMO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the President of the Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group (CCSG) to ensure alignment across hospital and employed physician enterprise priorities. The CMO works in close partnership with the Physician-in-Chief and Surgeon-in-Chief, ensuring coordinated leadership across all physician domains, including hospital-based, academic, and surgical services. This role requires strong collaboration and shared accountability across the executive physician leadership team to drive consistency in clinical standards, performance expectations, and care delivery. The CMO ensures the delivery of safe, high-quality, efficient, and patient-centered care, while aligning medical staff performance with organizational strategy. The role acts as the primary liaison between hospital administration and the medical staff, providing leadership across quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and medical staff governance, and ensuring integration of clinical excellence with operational execution. The CMO owns hospital medical operations, including patient throughput, flow, and inpatient care delivery, and serves as the final escalation authority for physician behavior impacting operations and care delivery. In close partnership with the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and Chief Quality Officer (CQO), and in alignment with executive physician leaders, the CMO is jointly accountable for clinical outcomes, while maintaining clear physician leadership authority over medical staff performance, credentialing, and peer review processes. This position is for part-time (0.5 FTE).

Requirements

Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
Board Certification in a relevant specialty
Active (or eligible) medical license in Connecticut
Minimum 10+ years of progressive clinical leadership experience, including: Medical staff leadership (e.g., Chief, Medical Director, ACMO, or CMO)
Experience in a complex hospital or academic health system
Demonstrated leadership in: Clinical quality and patient safety programs, Physician performance management and peer review, Hospital operations and care delivery systems
Active, unrestricted Physician License in the State of Connecticut (or eligibility to obtain prior to start).
Board Certification in an ABMS- or AOA-recognized specialty.
Eligibility for and maintenance of Medical Staff privileges at Connecticut Children’s.
DEA Registration (if clinically active or required for prescribing responsibilities).
Compliance with all hospital credentialing, privileging, and reappointment requirements, including ongoing CME.
Deep knowledge of clinical quality, patient safety, and regulatory standards (e.g., Joint Commission, CMS).
Demonstrated ability to lead and influence physicians in complex, matrixed academic health systems.
Strong understanding of hospital operations, including throughput, patient flow, and capacity management.
Expertise in medical staff governance, including credentialing, peer review, and FPPE/OPPE processes.
Advanced communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills, particularly in addressing physician behavior and performance.
Proven ability to drive performance through data, including use of clinical, operational, and financial metrics to improve outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA, MHA, MPH, or equivalent).
Prior experience as a Chief Medical Officer or Associate Chief Medical Office.
Experience in a pediatric and/or academic medical center environment.
Proven success leading: Large-scale clinical transformation or quality improvement initiatives.
Physician engagement and culture change efforts.
Operational improvement in throughput, LOS, and capacity management.
Experience working in matrixed or system-based healthcare organizations.
Subspecialty Board Certification (particularly relevant in pediatric or academic environments).
Certification in Healthcare Quality or Medical Management, such as: Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (ABQAURP).
Fellowship status in a professional organization (e.g., American College of Healthcare Executives – FACHE, or specialty college fellowship).
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) in primary specialty.
Additional training or certification in: Patient Safety. Clinical Informatics. Healthcare Leadership or Administration

Responsibilities

Accountable for the quality and safety of medical care delivered by the medical staff, including clinical outcomes and patient experience
Co-leads (with CNO and CQO) system-wide patient safety and regulatory compliance programs
Oversees quality improvement, utilization review, infection control, and risk management programs
Ensures readiness and compliance with Joint Commission, CMS, and state regulatory standards
Establishes and enforces standards of medical care and clinical practice
Executive oversight of medical staff governance, bylaws, and committee structure
Accountable for credentialing, privileging, and delineation of clinical privileges
Leads and oversees peer review processes, ensuring fairness, rigor, and consistency
Owns FPPE/OPPE processes, including performance monitoring and intervention
Serves as final authority for physician behavior, including escalation and disciplinary processes
Partners with department chiefs and physician leaders (including Physician-in-Chief and Surgeon-in-Chief) to address performance, conduct, and professionalism issues
Owns hospital medical operations, including: Patient throughput, Patient flow and progression, Inpatient care delivery, Capacity management and boarding reduction
Serves as the physician executive accountable for operational performance of care delivery systems
Partners directly with the CNO as the designated physician operational counterpart, with shared accountability for throughput and care coordination
Collaborates closely with executive physician leaders (including CCSG leadership) to ensure alignment between hospital operations and ambulatory/physician enterprise performance
Leads or co-leads daily/weekly operational huddles and escalation forums
Approves and activates surge protocols and escalation pathways
Provides physician leadership in clinical strategy, service line development, and care model innovation
Advises executive leadership and physician enterprise leadership on clinical trends, quality performance, and physician workforce strategy
Ensures alignment between hospital priorities and CCSG strategy
Supports academic, research, and teaching priorities in coordination with physician leadership
Serves as a key clinical point of contact with Hartford HealthCare for patient care coordination
Builds a high-performing, accountable, and collaborative medical staff culture
Serves as a visible, credible leader to physicians and advanced practice providers
Drives alignment across independent, employed, and academic physicians
Partners with executive physician leaders to improve physician engagement, satisfaction, and retention
Serves as a key member of the executive leadership team
Maintains strong partnership and shared accountability with: President of CCSG (dotted-line alignment), Physician-in-Chief and Surgeon-in-Chief, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Chief Quality Officer (CQO), Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Works effectively across the executive physician and clinical leadership teams to ensure: Clear decision rights, Aligned priorities across hospital and physician enterprise, Coordinated execution of clinical, operational, and quality initiatives
Acts as a liaison between administration and medical staff, ensuring alignment and transparency