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Department

Denver Health, in collaboration with the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, is seeking a clinically skilled and experienced leader, educator, manager, and communicator for the position of Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases (ID) for the Department of Medicine at Denver Health Medical Center. The Chief will have oversight of all care delivered by the ID Division at Denver Health and will provide overall leadership within the Division.  The Chief will be responsible for strategic planning, clinical services, academic and business performance for the Division.  They will also oversee trainees rotating on the ID service at Denver Health.

Position Summary

The ID Chief will be an experienced physician preferably qualified to be appointed to the rank of Associate Professor or Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (CU-SOM).  He/she should have a demonstrated reputation of excellence in clinical care, teaching, collegiality, mentoring and scholarship.
 

The Chief will be an individual who has a passion for providing outstanding care to the underserved, a desire to improve systems and processes to maximize efficiency, the leadership skills to engage staff at all levels and an enduring commitment to training the next generation of physicians. Active engagement in health services research and independent research funding preferred.

Reporting to the Chair of Medicine, the Chief will have oversight of all care delivered in the ID Division at Denver Health in the inpatient setting. The Chief will provide overall strategic leadership of the physicians and APPs, including contracted service providers, and will partner with the Administrative Director.  He/she will have responsibility for strategic planning, clinical services, professional performance, business performance, regulatory compliance, medical education, physician practice and Divisional culture.  Advancing a culture of excellence in the ID services, the Chief will be dedicated to performance expectations that provide the highest quality patient care and consistency in clinical care standards, driven by patient safety requirements and clinical outcomes monitoring. Unique to this position at Denver Health, the ID chief will have a close working relationship with the Public Health Institute at Denver Health which houses the outpatient ID services for Denver Health.

Interested applicants should apply online and may submit CV/Cover Letter to:

Aaron Ortiz, Manager of Provider Recruitment

aaron.ortiz@dhha.org 

Additional Position Details:
 

Reporting Relationships

In addition to reporting to the Chair, the ID Chief will have a matrixed reporting relationship to the ID Chief at the CU-SOM exclusively for academic roles and responsibilities.

ID Chief Direct Reports:

• 5 physicians (including CU-SOM physicians who provide services at DH), 1 APP.

Primary Responsibilities

Clinical Expectations

• Enable and expand access to the high-quality clinical services provided by the Division to populations that are currently underserved.
• Lead and participate in clinical quality initiatives focused on improving the patient experience, patient safety clinical outcomes, enhancing systems to assure timeliness and efficiency and assuring quality while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Promote and oversee development of critical pathways, protocols and practice guidelines that promote quality, cost-effective care for the patient population as needed.

• Ensure that appropriate quality improvement standards/metrics are established, maintained and reported for the Division.  

• Ensure the application of best practices, incorporating regulatory requirements at the local, state, and national level; utilize benchmarking and data analysis from applicable sources.
• Provide leadership and disseminate practice standards and accountabilities to non-physician staff, physicians, residents, fellows and medical students.

Academic Expectations

• Mentorship of faculty with personalized professional development plans.
• Oversight of the substance, quality, review and evaluation of graduate medical education in the Division. Function as site fellowship director if necessary.
• Oversight of the quality of medical student education in the Division.
• Responsibility for the substance, quality, review and evaluation of all research programs within the Division.
• Oversight of the faculty in accordance with the expectations of the University of Colorado, School of Medicine.
• Promote scholarly activities by faculty and trainees.
• Actively engaged and highly respected educator.
• Promote and support relevant education for all personnel within the Division. 
• Develop and oversee continuing medical education programs for staff at all levels within the Division.
• Maintain and develop professional knowledge and personal competence through participation in professional organizations and conferences.
   

Administrative Expectations

• Oversee the administrative, professional, clinical, financial and educational activities of the Division.  Active support is provided by the Administrative Director and an administrative assistant.

  Oversight of the inpatient ID consult service also requires close interaction with the Public Health Institute at Denver Health and coordination with the 6 ID physicians within Public Health who also rotate on the consult service

• Ensure a culture of open dialogue with all staff, promote healthy team norms, and develop pathways to support staff and promote wellness.
• Ensure a culture of diversity and inclusion within the Division
• Responsible for identifying and addressing areas of inequity in diversity and inclusion by promoting activities that build awareness and acceptance of all individuals.
• Provide leadership for the development of standards and policies related to the Division.
• Supervise all staff in clinical and assigned administrative duties.
• Support and maintain faculty development, recruitment and succession plans.  Coordinate financial impact analysis of plans with administration.
• Encourage participation in research and conference attendance to enhance the reputation of the department.

• Responsible for ensuring the ethical practice of Infectious Diseases within the Department.

• Promote implementation and enforcement of process standardization initiatives.
• Ensure faculty meet performance expectations of their services assignment and customer service standards.
• Assume joint responsibility with Denver Health Administration for compliance with requirements and standards of regulatory agencies and accreditation organizations, including preparation for and participation in relevant surveys.

• Partners with the Administrative Director in all aspects of Divisional management and planning.
• Ensure that Divisional quality and performance improvement activities are working well and dealt with in the context of Divisional meetings.
• Establish and maintain high standards of professional practice.  Oversee and drive superior patient safety and peer review program.
• Ensure the department’s compliance with the Medical Staff Bylaws and hospital policies.
• Create, implement and maintain defined objectives for ID services for clinical improvement, growth, and the expansion of services as needed.
• Provide leadership while building a cooperative, collaborative and cohesive department.
• Collaborate with key external entities

Communication/Change Management Expectations

• Establish appropriate communication channels with physicians, NPs/PAs, nurses and administration that result in trust, alignment and collaborative working relationships, making patient access to resources a high priority.
• Lead by example: establish open, non-judgmental dialogue, expect a culture of diversity and inclusiveness, welcome constructive criticism from direct reports, admit errors openly, avoid a punitive response to honest mistakes, demonstrate timely responsiveness, and hold others accountable.
• Coach, mentor, and develop others to build internal capabilities and the talent that facilitates succession. 
• Foster open communication, teamwork and champion change.  Effectively manage disagreements and look for opportunities for common ground solutions to disagreements.
• Continually communicate and drive high priority strategic initiatives to keep leadership focused.  Communicate effectively and regularly to Denver Health leadership and to departmental faculty and staff regarding the overall health and performance of the Division.
• Ensure that information relevant to patient care and treatment options are communicated to patients, families and any referring physicians in a timely fashion.

Expectations for Leadership

The Director will have made significant progress in the following measures of success within the first 12-18 months in the role:

• Establish him/herself as a credible, trusted and highly collaborative clinical leader among the medical staff, administrative leaders at Denver Health, our Community, and University of Colorado School of Medicine through performance as a professional leader.  Cultivate critical relationships inside and outside Denver Health in order to enhance clinical quality, education, scholarship and recruitment.  It is essential that the Director be visible and quickly gain credibility.
• Evaluate current clinical operations and make enhancements with department members and administration that result in improved performance, service excellence, patient experience and more efficient ways to meet patient needs. Of particular importance is timely access to services.
• Develops a strategic plan which positions the Division for the substantial changes in healthcare, builds on existing strengths of the Department and Division, and aligns future recruitment and growth with the Denver Health’s strategic plans.
• Continue to enhance the collaborative care culture that strengthens the partnership of physicians and non-physician care providers in delivering outstanding patient care.
• Foster scholarly work in the department.
• Establish and review key metrics for patient safety and patient and family engagement.
• Lead the performance improvement activities within the Division, ensuring high performance in service excellence and outstanding outcomes

Candidate Qualifications

Education/Academic Credentials

• Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine from an accredited school of medicine; Board Certification in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease.
   
• Colorado License - Required

• Academic credentials ideally qualify he/she to be appointed to the rank of Associate Professor or Professor of Medicine, have a demonstrated local and national reputation of excellence in scholarship, teaching/mentoring and clinical care.
• Demonstration of successful scholarship in medical education, patient care, public health and/or epidemiology.

Experience

• Demonstrated success within an Infectious Diseases Division. A track record of delivering strong results in mission-driven organizations-preferably those serving vulnerable and Medicaid populations.
• A history of academic commitment through excellence in education and/or scholarly work.
• A history of successful mentorship of colleagues, junior faculty and/or trainees in clinical care, research, scholarly work or education.

Preferred Professional Experience

• Demonstrated leadership achievement in a high-performing Division.
• Experience in increasing service excellence, including innovative ways of delivering care
• Attention and focus on maximizing high value care delivery and cost--saving initiatives while maintaining quality and access to care.
• Advocacy for marginalized populations including volunteerism, national/international speaking engagements, research/scholarly activity, or notable outstanding experience with these populations in direct clinical care.
• A history of working successfully with other specialties in the Department of Medicine and the Institution such as Hospital Medicine physicians, Pulmonary and Critical Care Physicians, and Surgeons, preferably in a collaborative practice.
• A history of working successfully with Primary Care Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers to provide excellent consultative services in a patient-centered fashion.
• Demonstrated ability to grow revenues, meet budgets, measure and improve outcomes and take appropriate business risks to achieve goals

Personal Characteristics

• A strong understanding of healthcare delivery within academic, teaching and/or safety net health systems.
• An analytical thinker with proven ability to navigate and execute in a large, complex healthcare organization.
• A reputation for building clinical excellence and leadership experience directing high quality clinical activities.
• A strategic problem-solver who can disaggregate complex problems, determine root causes to problems’ manifestations, define and execute target analyses to prove/dispel hypotheses and create effective solutions for change.
• An ability to inspire and align faculty and staff, both within the Division and with whom the division interacts. Advocate for the Division and its faculty, staff and resources.
• A strong communicator and diplomat who is able to inspire and effectively communicate with wide and diverse audiences at all levels of the organization and externally. 
• A leader who is analytical and data driven, ability to use metrics to support key decisions.  Strong fiscal acumen with experience directing a budget of significant size and complexity.
• A visible and engaging style. This individual will have a strong interest in people, thoughtful consideration of others and a sense of humor and humility to complement a visible management style.  A management style that seeks to share information and welcomes input into the decision-making process.
• A collaborative approach and demonstrated ability to take an institutional view.
• Demonstrated political acumen and the necessary skills to orchestrate, optimize and constructively balance the interests of diverse stakeholders.
• A mentor and developer of people who motivates others to be team players.  He/she will ensure accountability, as well as being supportive and open with faculty and staff.
• A role model of personal and professional integrity, including remarkable personal, professional and clinical ethics.
• A non-dogmatic, flexible and creative problem-solver when dealing with clinical, administrative, educational or faculty issues.
• A leader who can delegate responsibilities within the department, not micromanage, and maintain progress toward objectives through collaboration and accountability.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge and interest in multi-disciplinary ambulatory care, ability to work in teams and motivate physicians and other providers to improve quality, patient experience and operational efficiency.
• Communicate effectively with a wide variety staff and as well as administration.
• Possess critical thinking, analytical and teaching/coaching skills.
• Able to effectively manage and direct medical staff while providing quality medical care, able to analyze, interpret and act upon relevant clinical and financial data that pertain to the practice.
• Able to receive detailed information through oral communications; express or exchange ideas by verbal communications.
• Excellent written and verbal communications, listening, and social skills.
• Able to interact effectively with people of varied educational, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, skill levels and value systems.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective interpersonal relationships.
• Ability to accept and implement change.
• Demonstrated history of positive collegial relations with colleagues, support staff, providers, administrators and patients
• Computer skills required.
• Computer skills preferred.

Shift

Work Type

Salary

Benefits

At Denver Health, we take care of the people who take care of our community. Our benefits are built to support your life, your family, and your future - with generous paid time off, fully paid parental leave, exceptional retirement contributions, comprehensive health coverage, and nationally recognized well-being programs. We invest in your growth through tuition assistance, career advancement pathways, and professional development - while also offering meaningful financial advantages through loan forgiveness eligibility and employer contributions. When you join Denver Health, you’re joining a mission-driven organization that invests in you.

Here is a small list of our benefit programs:

• Paid time off starting at 28 days per year, inclusive of vacation, personal/sick, and 7 Holidays

• 100% paid parental leave up to 6 weeks

• Immediate eligibility for retirement plans with employer contribution up to 9.5%

• Generous medical, dental, vision plans in addition to employer paid disability and life insurance.

• Comprehensive well-being programs including on-site employee fitness center located on Denver Health main campus and nationally recognized RESTORE Center

• Free RTD EcoPass (public transportation)

• Childcare discount programs & exclusive perks on large brands, travel, and more

• Tuition reimbursement & assistance

• Education, coaching, and professional development opportunities through the Workforce Development Center (WFDC) that support internal career growth and advancement pathways

• Professional clinical advancement program & shared governance

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer+ free student loan coaching and assistance navigating the PSLF program

• National Health Service Corps (NHCS) and Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) eligible employer

About Denver Health

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver’s 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, the Public Health Institute at Denver Health, Denver Health Medical Plan and Denver Health Foundation.

As Colorado’s primary, and essential, safety-net health care system, Denver Health is a mission-driven organization that has provided millions in uncompensated care for the uninsured each year.

Located near downtown Denver, Denver Health is just minutes away from many of the cultural and recreational activities Denver has to offer.

Denver Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We value the unique ideas, talents and contributions reflective of the needs of our community. All job applicants for safety-sensitive positions must pass a pre-employment drug test, once a conditional offer of employment has been made. Applicants will be considered until the position is filled.

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About Denver Health

Take your career to the next level at Denver Health, where we offer a robust benefits package and endless opportunities for growth. Denver Health is a nationally-ranked, locally-trusted, premier healthcare institution located in the heart of Denver, Colorado.Twenty-five percent of all Denver residents, or approximately 150,000 individuals, receive their health care here. We are known as an integrated health care system that encompasses multidisciplinary academic specialties, a community health system, a level I adult trauma center, pediatric emergency and urgent care center home to Denver Public Health and many of the nation's leaders in medicine.Denver Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer At Denver Health we pride ourselves on our commitment to diversity. Equal opportunity is a fundamental principle of Denver Health. As an equal opportunity employer, Denver Health is committed to recruit, hire, promote and administer all human resource actions in a non-discriminatory manner. Denver Health is committed to providing equal opportunities in all business practices and to all persons regardless of age, race, color, national origin, genetic information, religion, sex, pregnancy, disab...ility, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status or veteran status (collectively “protected status”). Denver Health strives to maintain a work environment that is free from unlawful harassment and discrimination and will not tolerate any such conduct by employees or directed at employees within the scope of their employment. Read the full Human Resources Employee Principles and Practices policy.

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