Director of Perioperative Services

External Community Memorial Hospital•Hamilton, NY

About The Position

The Director of Perioperative Services works collaboratively with physicians, anesthesia providers, nursing leadership, and hospital administration to optimize patient outcomes, regulatory compliance, staff engagement, and operational performance. This role provides vision, leadership, and direction for all perioperative services, developing and implementing departmental goals aligned with the hospital's mission, strategic plan, and quality initiatives. The Director serves as a key member of the hospital leadership team, participating in organizational planning and decision-making, and fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and patient safety. They build collaborative relationships with surgeons, anesthesia providers, and interdisciplinary leaders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, healthcare management, or related field required.
Associate’s degree with extensive positive experience.
Current Registered Nurse license preferred but not required if experience requirements met.
Basic Life Support (BLS) required.
Minimum five years of progressive leadership experience in perioperative services or surgical services administration.
Strong knowledge of perioperative practice, budgeting, strategic planning, and healthcare operations.
Strong leadership, communication, and team-building skills.
Ability to analyze operational and financial data.
Knowledge of sterile processing standards and infection prevention practices.
Excellent organizational, project management, and changing management skills.
Proficiency with EMR systems, scheduling software, and healthcare analytics tools.

Responsibilities

Provides vision, leadership, and direction for all perioperative services.
Develops and implements departmental goals aligned with the hospital's mission, strategic plan, and quality initiatives.
Serves as a key member of the hospital leadership team and participates in organizational planning and decision-making.
Fosters a culture of accountability, teamwork, continuous improvement, and patient safety.
Builds collaborative relationships with surgeons, anesthesia providers, and interdisciplinary leaders.
Oversees daily operations of the Operating Room, Ambulatory Surgery Unit, Sterile Processing Department, Preadmission Testing, and Surgical Scheduling functions.
Ensures efficient patient flow, scheduling processes, and operating room utilization.
Establishes productivity standards and monitors departmental performance metrics.
Identifies opportunities to improve operational efficiency while maintaining exceptional patient care.
Leads implementation of evidence-based practices and process improvement initiatives.
Ensures compliance with all regulatory, accreditation, and professional standards.
Promotes a culture of patient safety and high reliability.
Monitors quality indicators, infection prevention measures, surgical outcomes, and patient satisfaction scores.
Leads investigation and resolution of patient safety events, complaints, and quality concerns.
Supports continuous readiness for regulatory surveys and inspections.
Develops, manages, and monitors departmental operating and capital budgets.
Oversees supply chain utilization, implant management, equipment acquisition, and expense control.
Analyzes financial reports and productivity metrics to identify opportunities for cost containment and operational improvement.
Partners with finance and supply chain partners to ensure fiscal stewardship while maintaining quality patient care.
Provides direct supervision and mentorship to perioperative leadership staff including the Assistant Director, OR Educator, Manager-ASU, and Lead Sterile Processing.
Recruits, hires, develops, and retains high-performing staff.
Conducts performance evaluations and supports employee growth and succession planning.
Collaborates with the OR Educator to ensure competency validation, orientation, training, and continuing education programs.
Promotes employee engagement and a positive work environment.
Develops strong working relationships with surgeons, anesthesia providers, and procedural physicians.
Facilitates physician engagement in quality, operational, and strategic initiatives.
Addresses operational concerns and supports physician satisfaction.
Maintains knowledge of federal, state, and accrediting body requirements.
Ensures compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, Joint Commission/DNV standards (as applicable), OSHA regulations, infection prevention standards, and professional best practices.
Oversees policy and procedure development and maintenance.
Utilizes data analytics and benchmarking to drive performance improvements.
Establishes departmental dashboards and monitors key performance indicators, including: Surgical volume, First-case on-time starts, Turnover times, Patient satisfaction, Infection rates, Budget performance, Employee engagement and retention.