VP, Surgical Services - Administration Greater Elmira, NY Area

Position Summary:

The Vice President, Surgical Services provides strategic, operational, clinical, and financial leadership for The Guthrie Clinic's integrated surgical and procedural services enterprise across its six-hospital campus health system and affiliated ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).

Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (EVP/COO), with a matrix reporting relationship to the Chief Nurse Executive, The Guthrie Clinic, the Vice President is accountable for the performance, growth, quality, safety, access, operational efficiency, workforce effectiveness, patient and physician experience, and financial sustainability of surgical and procedural services across the system.

The Vice President exercises direct operational authority over hospital perioperative directors, ASC operational leaders, system sterile processing leadership, and designated leaders responsible for endoscopy and other procedural areas. The portfolio includes operating rooms, preoperative services, post-anesthesia care units (PACUs), sterile processing departments, ambulatory surgery centers, endoscopy, and other designated hospital-based and ambulatory procedural services.

The Vice President establishes an integrated system-wide operating model that aligns strategic priorities, clinical quality, physician partnership, workforce planning, capacity management, resource allocation, and financial performance. This Vice President is responsible for developing and executing surgical and procedural services strategies that improve patient access, optimize utilization, promote appropriate site-of-care decisions, support physician recruitment and retention, and drive sustainable growth.

In partnership with executive leadership, entity leadership, physician leaders, medical group leadership, and system support functions, the Vice President establishes clear performance expectations, operating standards, governance structures, and accountability mechanisms across all designated service areas. Through disciplined execution, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement, the Vice President ensures that surgical and procedural services operate as a cohesive, high-performing enterprise aligned with The Guthrie Clinic's mission, vision, values, and strategic objectives.

Reporting Relationship and Scope

Reports to: Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Guthrie Clinic.

Organizational scope: Surgical and procedural services across six hospital campuses and affiliated ambulatory surgery centers.

Direct reports and operational accountability:

• Hospital Perioperative Directors.
• ASC Operational Leaders.
• System Director or designated Leader of Sterile Processing.
• Endoscopy Directors, Managers, or designated Procedural Services Leaders.
• Other system-level surgical and procedural services leaders as assigned.

The Vice President establishes clear reporting relationships, decision rights, performance expectations, and accountability for direct reports. Site leaders are responsible for executing approved system strategies and achieving established operational, quality, workforce, and financial objectives.

The Vice President exercises authority within the organization's approved delegation of authority and governance structure, in coordination with entity executives, physician leaders, medical staff, ASC governing bodies, and other accountable organizational leaders.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

1. System-Wide Strategy, Leadership, and Governance

• Develops and executes a comprehensive, multiyear surgical and procedural services strategic plan aligned with The Guthrie Clinic's organizational strategy, clinical priorities, financial objectives, and community needs.
• Provides direct operational leadership and accountability for designated surgical and procedural services leaders across all hospitals and affiliated ASCs.
• Establishes clear reporting relationships, decision rights, performance expectations, and accountability mechanisms across the enterprise.
• Creates and leads an integrated system governance and operating structure that aligns executive leadership, entity leadership, physician leaders, and operational teams around shared objectives.
• Establishes system-wide operating standards, policies, performance measures, and management processes within delegated authority.
• Leads regular system surgical and procedural services performance reviews to assess quality, safety, access, capacity, workforce, financial performance, and strategic initiative execution.
• Resolves cross-site operational issues and directs corrective action when established performance expectations are not achieved.
• Ensures that site operating plans align with system priorities while accommodating appropriate differences in clinical capabilities, patient populations, facility requirements, and regional market needs.
• Represents surgical and procedural services in executive planning, organizational transformation, capital planning, and system-wide performance improvement initiatives.
• Fosters a culture of accountability, transparency, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

1. Surgical and Procedural Services Growth and Strategic Development

• Develops and executes strategies to grow appropriate surgical and procedural volume, strengthen market position, improve referral retention, and expand access to services.
• Partners with physician and medical group leadership to evaluate market demand, physician capacity, referral patterns, clinical capabilities, and opportunities for program development.
• Leads the evaluation, development, implementation, and performance monitoring of new surgical and procedural programs, specialties, technologies, and service-line expansions.
• Develops strategies for centers of excellence, specialty program development, and regionalization of services based on clinical quality, patient access, physician capabilities, capacity, and financial sustainability.
• Establishes an integrated site-of-care strategy that appropriately aligns procedures with tertiary hospitals, community hospitals, ASCs, and other appropriate procedural settings.
• Evaluates opportunities to expand ambulatory surgical and procedural services and transition clinically appropriate procedures to lower-cost settings when supported by patient needs, quality, safety, capacity, and applicable requirements.
• Partners with physician recruitment, marketing, business development, and medical group leadership to support surgeon and proceduralist recruitment, retention, referral development, and program growth.
• Develops business plans for new programs and service-line investments, including market analysis, staffing requirements, capital needs, operating assumptions, expected outcomes, and financial projections.
• Monitors program performance and recommends expansion, redesign, consolidation, or discontinuation when appropriate.
• Ensures growth initiatives align with clinical capabilities, workforce availability, facility capacity, and long-term financial objectives.

1. Hospital Perioperative Operations

• Provides direct operational leadership and accountability for hospital perioperative directors and designated perioperative operations across the system.
• Oversees operating rooms, preoperative services, PACUs, and other assigned perioperative functions.
• Establishes standardized operating practices and performance expectations for scheduling, block allocation, staffing, productivity, room utilization, turnover, cancellations, and operational reliability.
• Partners with surgical and anesthesia physician leadership to improve access, scheduling effectiveness, utilization of surgical resources, and physician experience.
• Leads system-wide capacity management and workforce planning to balance inpatient, outpatient, urgent, and emergent surgical demand.
• Ensures effective coordination among operating rooms, preoperative services, PACUs, inpatient units, sterile processing, and other supporting departments.
• Identifies opportunities to reduce avoidable delays, cancellations, unused capacity, and barriers to surgical access.
• Holds hospital perioperative directors accountable for quality, safety, operational efficiency, workforce engagement, budget performance, and execution of approved improvement plans.

1. Ambulatory Surgery Center Operations

• Provides direct operational leadership and accountability for designated ASC operational leaders.
• Establishes system-wide ASC performance expectations encompassing quality, safety, access, patient experience, staffing, productivity, financial performance, and growth.
• Integrates ASC operating and business plans with the broader surgical services strategy.
• Evaluates opportunities to expand ASC capacity, operating hours, specialty offerings, physician participation, and clinically appropriate procedure volumes.
• Partners with ASC medical directors, physician owners where applicable, governing bodies, and entity leadership to align operating strategies and performance improvement priorities.
• Evaluates opportunities to transition appropriate procedures to ambulatory settings based on clinical suitability, patient needs, quality, capacity, and financial sustainability.
• Monitors ASC performance and directs corrective actions to address operational constraints, financial underperformance, staffing challenges, and access barriers.
• Supports compliance with applicable ASC licensing, accreditation, quality, and patient safety requirements in partnership with designated clinical and compliance leaders.
• Ensures appropriate coordination between ASCs and the broader system for patient selection, scheduling, staffing, supply utilization, equipment, and post-procedure care.

1. System Sterile Processing Leadership

• Provides executive oversight of system sterile processing leadership and establishes accountability for sterile processing performance across hospitals and ASCs.
• Develops and implements a system-wide sterile processing strategy that supports surgical demand, instrument availability, case readiness, infection prevention, and efficient resource utilization.
• Establishes consistent standards for instrument reprocessing, workflow, capacity, productivity, quality assurance, and operational reliability in partnership with infection prevention, quality, and clinical leadership.
• Monitors instrument turnaround, tray accuracy, missing instruments, case delays attributable to instrument availability, reprocessing quality, staffing, and other relevant performance indicators.
• Partners with operating room leaders, supply chain, infection prevention, and clinical teams to standardize instruments and processes where appropriate.
• Evaluates opportunities for centralized or regional sterile processing operations, shared resources, technology investments, and capacity improvements.
• Ensures appropriate staff competency, implementation of evidence-based practices, and compliance with applicable regulatory, accreditation, and organizational requirements.
• Holds system sterile processing leadership accountable for corrective action, continuous improvement, and sustained performance results.

1. Endoscopy and Other Procedural Services

• Provides direct operational leadership and accountability for designated endoscopy and other procedural services leaders within the approved organizational structure.
• Oversees the operational performance of assigned procedural areas across hospitals and affiliated ambulatory settings, including scheduling, staffing, capacity, utilization, patient flow, and financial performance.
• Partners with gastroenterology, anesthesia, nursing, and other relevant physician and clinical leaders to improve access, procedural throughput, patient safety, and physician experience.
• Establishes consistent operational standards for scheduling, pre-procedure assessment, procedure room utilization, recovery, turnover, equipment availability, and patient flow, as clinically appropriate.
• Evaluates procedural capacity and demand to identify opportunities for expanded access, improved utilization, additional operating hours, new programs, or redistribution of procedures across sites.
• Ensures coordination of procedural services with sterile processing, supply chain, infection prevention, quality, facilities, and other supporting departments.
• Monitors procedure cancellations, wait times, utilization, staffing productivity, quality outcomes, patient experience, and other relevant performance indicators.
• Integrates operational practices, performance reporting, and resource planning across endoscopy and other designated procedural services while respecting specialty-specific clinical requirements.
• Ensures compliance with applicable regulatory, accreditation, infection prevention, sedation, reprocessing, and patient safety requirements in partnership with designated clinical and compliance leaders.

1. Quality, Patient Safety, and Regulatory Compliance

• Establishes system-wide expectations for clinical quality, patient safety, infection prevention, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across all surgical and procedural services.
• Partners with physician leaders, nursing, anesthesia, quality, infection prevention, and other clinical leaders to monitor outcomes and implement evidence-based improvements.
• Ensures appropriate oversight of surgical and procedural complications, infection prevention, medication safety, specimen management, instrument reprocessing, and other relevant safety practices.
• Promotes a culture of transparency, event reporting, learning, and accountability.
• Ensures that quality concerns, adverse events, and performance deficiencies are addressed through appropriate review and corrective action.
• Provides executive oversight for applicable regulatory, accreditation, licensing, and organizational requirements across hospitals and ASCs in partnership with designated entity and clinical leaders.
• Supports readiness for surveys, inspections, audits, and accreditation activities.
• Incorporates quality and safety objectives into operational decisions, staffing strategies, growth plans, capital investments, and leadership performance evaluations.

1. Financial Stewardship and Business Performance

• Maintains accountability for surgical and procedural services operating budgets and established financial performance objectives across the system.
• Develops annual operating and capital plans aligned with strategic priorities, expected demand, workforce needs, and financial targets.
• Monitors financial performance and directs corrective actions to address unfavorable budget variances and opportunities for improvement.
• Leads initiatives to improve labor productivity, staffing efficiency, premium labor management, supply utilization, and cost per case without compromising quality or patient safety.
• Partners with finance and physician leaders to evaluate service-line economics, contribution margins, resource utilization, and the financial implications of site-of-care decisions.
• Establishes appropriate financial and operational performance measures for hospitals and ASCs, including consistent reporting and variance analysis.
• Develops and evaluates business cases and return-on-investment assessments for capital equipment, robotics, endoscopy technology, sterile processing infrastructure, facility expansion, and new programs.
• Partners with supply chain and physician leaders to improve preference card accuracy, standardize supplies and equipment where appropriate, and manage implant, instrument, and procedural supply costs.
• Evaluates opportunities to improve financial performance through appropriate volume growth, capacity utilization, operational redesign, and service-line optimization.
• Ensures that financial decisions balance organizational sustainability with clinical quality, patient access, workforce needs, and physician requirements.

1. Workforce Planning and Leadership Development

• Leads workforce planning for surgical and procedural services across hospitals and ASCs in collaboration with human resources, clinical leadership, and site leaders.
• Establishes staffing and productivity expectations appropriate to volume, acuity, specialty requirements, operating hours, and patient safety needs.
• Directs recruitment, retention, succession planning, leadership development, and performance management for direct reports.
• Establishes clear performance objectives and conducts performance evaluations for direct reports in accordance with organizational policies.
• Holds leaders accountable for operational results, employee engagement, professional conduct, and execution of system-wide priorities.
• Monitors vacancies, turnover, overtime, contract labor, absenteeism, and other indicators of workforce performance.
• Promotes interdisciplinary teamwork across surgical services, endoscopy, sterile processing, anesthesia, nursing, and other procedural teams.
• Develops a strong leadership pipeline to support current and future system operational needs.
• Ensures that workforce policies and practices comply with organizational requirements, applicable employment law, and labor agreements where applicable.

1. Physician Partnership and Professional Practice

• Builds effective relationships with surgeons, gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists, procedural specialists, medical directors, department chairs, and medical group leadership.
• Establishes forums for physician engagement, shared problem-solving, operational review, and strategic planning.
• Partners with physician leaders to improve access, scheduling, block utilization, resource utilization, clinical coordination, and provider satisfaction.
• Collaborates with clinical leadership to develop and evaluate professional practice standards, policies, and evidence-based care processes.
• Supports an integrated interdisciplinary care model focused on the needs of the surgical and procedural patient and family throughout the continuum of care.
• Works with physician leaders to identify clinical variation, improve outcomes, and support appropriate standardization.
• Facilitates resolution of operational conflicts while respecting medical staff authority, professional judgment, credentialing requirements, and established clinical governance.
• Promotes transparent communication, trust, mutual accountability, and alignment between clinical and administrative leadership.

1. Capital Planning, Technology, and Infrastructure

• Leads system-wide capital planning for surgical and procedural services in collaboration with finance, supply chain, facilities, information technology, physicians, and entity leadership.
• Evaluates requirements for operating room equipment, surgical instruments, robotics, endoscopy technology, reprocessing equipment, information systems, and facility improvements.
• Prioritizes investments based on patient safety, clinical benefit, strategic alignment, capacity needs, utilization, financial return, and long-term sustainability.
• Establishes processes to evaluate new technologies and ensure appropriate implementation, training, utilization, and performance monitoring.
• Partners with facilities and support departments to ensure that surgical and procedural environments, equipment, and infrastructure meet operational, clinical, and regulatory requirements.
• Promotes appropriate equipment and technology standardization to improve reliability, efficiency, purchasing leverage, and workforce flexibility.

1. Data, Performance Management, and Continuous Improvement

• Establishes a standardized system-wide performance dashboard for surgical services, ASCs, endoscopy, sterile processing, and other designated procedural areas.
• Ensures consistent metric definitions, reporting practices, benchmarking, and performance review processes across all sites.
• Monitors quality, access, operational reliability, workforce performance, patient experience, financial results, and strategic growth.
• Conducts regular performance reviews with direct reports, physician leaders, and relevant executive stakeholders.
• Establishes annual performance goals and measurable improvement plans for designated leaders.
• Requires corrective action plans when performance falls below established expectations.
• Assigns accountable owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes for improvement initiatives and evaluates sustainability.
• Communicates performance results, risks, and improvement opportunities to the EVP/COO and other appropriate governance bodies.

1. Patient Experience and Service Excellence

• Establishes expectations for a consistent, patient-centered experience across surgical and procedural services.
• Uses patient feedback, experience data, complaints, and service recovery trends to identify and address opportunities for improvement.
• Promotes effective communication, timely access, care coordination, and respectful interactions throughout the surgical and procedural journey.
• Ensures that operational processes support patient dignity, privacy, education, and continuity of care.
• Partners with patient experience and clinical leaders to improve satisfaction and address barriers to a reliable, compassionate patient experience.

1. Leadership and Organizational Alignment

• Articulates a clear vision for an integrated, high-performing surgical and procedural services enterprise.
• Communicates priorities, expectations, performance results, and organizational changes clearly and consistently.
• Leads organizational change and promotes adoption of system-wide initiatives.
• Makes timely, evidence-based decisions within delegated authority and escalates issues requiring broader executive or governance approval.
• Builds trust, manages conflict effectively, and fosters collaboration across clinical and administrative leadership.
• Models ethical conduct, professional accountability, sound judgment, and responsible stewardship of organizational resources.
• Maintains confidentiality and complies with applicable privacy, information security, and regulatory requirements.
• Performs other duties consistent with the scope and responsibilities of the position as assigned.

Education, Licensure, and Certification

Required:

• Master's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing administration, or a related field. Preferred:
• Bachelor's degree in nursing or another relevant clinical or healthcare discipline.
• Active Registered Nurse license in Pennsylvania or New York, or eligibility to obtain the appropriate license, if applicable to the selected candidate's professional background and organizational requirements.
• Relevant healthcare executive leadership development or management certification. Equivalent combinations of education and relevant executive experience may be considered in accordance with organizational policy.

Experience

Required:

• At least 10 years of progressive healthcare leadership experience, including substantial responsibility for surgical, perioperative, or procedural services operations.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex healthcare operations across multiple hospitals, ASCs, or comparable multisite healthcare settings.
• Demonstrated success in operational performance improvement, workforce management, budget oversight, and achievement of measurable organizational results.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and partnering effectively with physicians and senior executives.
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategy and translate it into operational plans, measurable goals, and sustained performance improvement. Preferred:
• Executive leadership experience across a multihospital health system and affiliated ASCs.
• Experience overseeing endoscopy and other procedural services in addition to traditional perioperative operations.
• Experience with ASC operations, ambulatory growth, site-of-care strategy, and regionalization of surgical services.
• Experience with service-line financial analysis, contribution margin, capital planning, and business development.
• Experience implementing system-wide governance, operational standardization, and performance management structures.
• Experience with surgical robotics, endoscopy technology, sterile processing operations, or other significant perioperative and procedural capital programs.

Performance Expectations

The Vice President establishes annual goals and performance targets in collaboration with the EVP/COO and relevant system leaders. Performance is evaluated using agreed-upon system-wide and site-level measures, which may include:

• Quality and safety: Surgical and procedural outcomes, complications, infection prevention performance, and compliance with established safety standards.
• Access and growth: Time to surgery or procedure, case volume, referral retention, program development, and appropriate ASC utilization.
• Operational performance: Operating room and procedure room utilization, first-case on-time starts, turnover times, cancellations, block utilization, and sterile processing performance.
• Financial performance: Budget achievement, labor productivity, cost per case, supply expense, and service-line financial performance.
• Workforce performance: Vacancy rates, turnover, premium labor, employee engagement, and leadership development.
• Physician and patient experience: Physician satisfaction, patient experience, care coordination, and service recovery.
• Strategic execution: Achievement of approved business plans, capital initiatives, growth objectives, and system-wide improvement priorities.

Performance targets will be established using validated baseline data, appropriate benchmarks, case mix, clinical requirements, and organizational priorities. Performance expectations will balance financial and operational outcomes with quality, safety, access, and patient-centered care.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Work is performed primarily in administrative and clinical healthcare environments, including hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
• Regular travel among system facilities is required to support operational oversight, leadership engagement, performance reviews, and strategic initiatives.
• The role may require extended work hours and availability to address significant operational, quality, safety, or organizational issues.
• The position involves regular interaction with clinical environments and may include exposure to blood, body fluids, communicable diseases, and other healthcare-related hazards when entering patient care areas.
• Appropriate personal protective equipment and infection prevention practices must be followed when applicable.
• Physical demands, exposure classifications, and other job-specific requirements will be documented in accordance with organizational HR policies.

Organizational Values and Professional Expectations

The Vice President is expected to model The Guthrie Clinic's mission, vision, and values; demonstrate integrity and accountability; promote a culture of safety and continuous improvement; foster trust and collaboration; support professional development; and ensure that decisions reflect responsible stewardship of resources and a commitment to high-quality, patient-centered care.

Joining the Guthrie team allows you to become a part of a tradition of excellence in health care. In all areas and at all levels of Guthrie, you’ll find staff members who have committed themselves to serving the community.

The Guthrie Clinic is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Guthrie Clinic is a non-profit, integrated, practicing physician-led organization in the Twin Tiers of New York and Pennsylvania. Our multi-specialty group practice of more than 500 physicians and 302 advanced practice providers offers 47 specialties through a regional office network providing primary and specialty care in 22 communities. Guthrie Medical Education Programs include General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Anesthesiology and Orthopedic Surgery Residency, as well as Cardiovascular, Gastroenterology and Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship programs. Guthrie is also a clinical campus for the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.