Chief Operating Officer (COO), Health Services

Ardent Health•Nashville, TN

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Ardent Health is a leading provider of healthcare in communities across the country. With a focus on consumer-friendly processes and investments in innovative services and technologies, Ardent is passionate about making healthcare better and easier to access. We are driven by our purpose of caring for people: our patients, our communities and one another. Located in Brentwood, Tennessee, Ardent has earned a reputation as one of the industry’s strongest and most innovative healthcare systems. Our facilities and clinics are consistently recognized among healthcare’s best employers. We recognize each hospital and clinic is as unique as the community it serves. We strive to maintain strong community ties through advisory boards, contributions, charitable care, education and outreach. Ardent includes: 30 hospitals 280 sites of care 4,281 beds 24,000+ team members 8,200+ nurses 1,800+ aligned providers 5.8M annual provider encounters 421 medical residents Ardent makes considerable investments in people, technology, facilities, and communities, producing high quality care and extraordinary results. From newly constructed facilities and expanded services, to lifesaving technology and outstanding opportunities for employees, Ardent is committed to providing its hospitals and clinics the tools needed to succeed. Position Summary: The Chief Operating Officer (COO), Health Services is a system‑level operational leader responsible for designing, standardizing, and advancing enterprise operating models across the organization’s health services portfolio, including the Medical Group, Urgent Care network, and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). This role is not accountable for day‑to‑day operations, which reside with Market Presidents and local leadership. Instead, the COO, Health Services provides enterprise direction, governance, operating frameworks, and performance discipline to address fragmented practices, inconsistent workflows, and lack of standardized processes across the system.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related field.
15+ years of senior healthcare operations leadership in complex, multi‑market environments.
Deep experience working in matrixed organizations with shared accountability.
Proven ability to partner effectively with physicians and executives in a dyad leadership model.
Demonstrated success leading enterprise standardization without direct operational control.

Nice To Haves

Experience within a large, integrated health system.
Background in ambulatory, medical group, ASC, or urgent care operations.
Training in Lean, Six Sigma, or performance improvement methodologies.

Responsibilities

Designs and implements system‑wide operating models for the Medical Group, Urgent Care, and ASC environments.
Establishes and maintains governance structures that define decision rights, escalation pathways, and accountability between system and market operations.
Serves as the system‑level owner of operational design, ensuring markets remain accountable for execution.
Develops and standardizes workflows, policies, and operating playbooks across ambulatory and outpatient services.
Drives consistency in key operational domains, including patient access, scheduling, staffing models, clinic/perioperative flow, supply standardization, and performance routines.
Partners with clinical leadership to align operational models with clinical priorities and care delivery needs.
Co‑develops physician‑aligned standards related to productivity, quality, access, and patient experience, supporting adoption while respecting clinical autonomy.
Collaborates with Market Presidents as a strategic partner, translating enterprise strategy into executable operating standards and identifying barriers and systemic constraints.
Balances enterprise consistency with appropriate local flexibility, ensuring models are scalable yet adaptable.
Defines and maintains enterprise KPIs and operational dashboards, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities to drive action.
Partners with Finance and market leaders to improve cost structure, labor efficiency, margin performance, and identify opportunities for economies of scale.
Leads large‑scale, cross‑market transformation initiatives while fostering a culture of standard work, accountability, continuous improvement, and effective workforce planning.