Job Description

Overview

MemorialCare seeks an authentic, collaborative, strategic, visible, and dynamic executive to serve as the next Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital (MCWH). MCWH is a leading tertiary teaching, Magnet-designated medical center with national recognition for multiple clinical service lines. MCWH is one of only eight freestanding childrens hospitals in California. The CAO provides leadership, direction, planning, and oversight of MCWHs hospital operations and growth. The CAO sets the strategic direction for the medical center, aligns with the MemorialCare strategic plan, develops tactics to achieve the plan, and optimizes clinical, operational, and financial resources. This role creates a culture of partnership among governance, medical staff leadership, local and system leadership, and partners with MCMF to execute the integrated delivery systems strategy for the care and communities MCWH serves.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic

• Market Innovation and Growth: Create a strategic vision and plan for womens and childrens services in the LA and Orange County markets that is aligned with and integrated into the MemorialCare strategic plan.
• Assess strategic opportunities to strengthen the facilitys market position to better serve patients and communities.
• Monitor, assess, and enhance operational processes to meet or exceed hospital objectives and metrics, driving exceptional standards in healthcare delivery.
• Use a data-driven approach to problem solving and solution design; avoid relying solely on anecdotal feedback.
• Establish and evolve key operational indicators and tactics to achieve best-practice performance in clinical, operational, and financial indicators.
• Create and socialize a strategic vision and plan for womens and childrens services in the LA and Orange County markets aligned with MemorialCare strategy.
• Organize and analyze data to develop action plans that deploy bed practices to drive overall performance.
• Identify and develop growth strategies with financial rigor to achieve growth goals for patient and community service.
• Manage budgeting, staffing productivity, key contracts, and operational accountability across key service lines.
• Understand financial indicators/levers and deliver revenue and cash flow at or above budget, pursuing productivity and revenue improvements in a challenging healthcare environment.
• Critically evaluate strategic and operational alternatives to select tactics that mitigate cost risk and maximize revenue potential (e.g., ROI-driven capital investments, physician relationships, safety).

People and Culture

• Build a culture of transparency, authenticity, and partnership aligned with MemorialCare values.
• Be a visible, present leader engaging employees across the organization and promoting workforce development initiatives.
• Maintain effective relationships with employees, medical staff, the community, and the Entity Board; serve as leadership liaison between medical staff leadership, Board members, MHS, and system leaders.

Physicians as Partners

• Create a culture of partnership and collaboration with medical staff to achieve broad physician engagement.
• Identify, develop, and support leadership for key clinical programs (existing and new).
• Develop and articulate a physician alignment strategy to engage medical staff and community physicians; foster trust and partnership with physicians; ensure efficient clinical workflows centered on patient quality and experience.
• Partner with MCMF leadership to build clinical capacity for care delivery in LA and OC service areas.

Quality and Value

• Engage the organization to prioritize quality by applying best practices and driving continuous improvement in Quality, Safety, Patient Experience, and Service Bold Goals.

Governance and Leadership

• Build a highly collaborative, performance-focused senior leadership team and exemplify servant leadership.
• Establish MCWH as a leader within the broader healthcare community locally, regionally, and statewide.
• Develop structures/councils involving physicians and key stakeholders to implement strategic initiatives.
• Form a robust leadership structure that eliminates silos and promotes collaboration.

Operations

• Lead daily operations to ensure top-quality care, safety, caregiver engagement, provider collaboration, and exceptional patient experience.
• Balance system-level integration with local needs to achieve target net income and cash flow.
• Partner with system clinical institute leaders to define, develop, and maintain MCWH clinical institutes to build Centers of Excellence.
• Collaborate with philanthropy to integrate development into the overall strategy and drive fundraising results; ensure regulatory compliance across operations.
• Participate in advocacy efforts through sanctioned vehicles.
• Exercise necessary authority and accountability for operations and long-range planning for MCWH and related entities.
• Demonstrate strong business acumen and knowledge of health care funding; make complex, nuanced decisions in competitive markets.

Ideal Experience

• MD experience preferred.
• Five10 years of progressive health-care executive leadership; CEO experience preferred.
• Working knowledge of tertiary care and academic programs; understanding of obstetrics and pediatrics; build trust with OB/pediatric providers.
• Experience building new hospitals or leading large projects is a plus.
• Proven success in high-reliability organizations (HRO) and safety culture.
• Experience or understanding of obstetrics and womens health services required.
• Experience collaborating with physicians and governance at an executive level with positive results.

Personal Characteristics

• High visibility and approachable, personable, charismatic, sincere, and optimistic demeanor.
• Detail-oriented with a project management mindset and strategic vision; understands day-to-day operations.
• Honest, with integrity and accountability.
• Continuous learner who values curiosity and courageous, innovative solutions.
• Strategic thinker and executor with the ability to take calculated risks.
• Navigate and influence in a complex, matrixed organization to achieve results during change and ambiguity.
• Strong business and financial acumen, understanding health care economics, performance, and quality metrics.
• Strong communicator with high emotional intelligence who builds relationships and trust with stakeholders.
• Passion for talent development and coaching; effective at growing teams.
• A sense of humor and positive attitude.

For inquiries, please email mruiz12@memorialcare.org.

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