Vice President Support Services

ROLE PURPOSE

Lead system and site level teams to optimize Support Services processes and performance levels, enhance service quality and minimize costs, while ensuring the best patient experience and safest environment of care.

Through the executive oversight of internal operations and the leadership of strategic outsourced management services relationships, establishes and maintains health system clinical engineering, food services, patient transportation, environmental services, laundry and linen services and telecom as core capabilities that achieve and surpass service level and regulatory requirements and provide a competitive advantage in the markets served by the Mount Sinai Health System.

OBJECTIVES

• System-wide Support Services Standardization: Establish an industry-leading approach for policies, procedures, and best practice across each support service area: EVS & linen, food & nutrition, patient transport, clinical engineering and telecom
• Support Services Strategy and Planning: Serve as support to SVP Chief Resource Officer to ensure the right organizational connections are being made across the system for budgeting, program management, and internal socialization and execution of new initiatives
• Strong Site Relationships: Foster successful partnership with Hospital and Ambulatory Site Support Services Leaders to deliver on system vision with site nuances
• Patient Experience Enhancement: Achieve exceptional patient satisfaction by monitoring performance and proactively implementing data-driven solutions to enhance patient experience across hospital and ambulatory sites
• Financial Accountability & Cost Efficiency: Establish a well-defined financial accountability structure to establish and achieve financial goals while maximizing cost efficiency without compromising quality or patient experience in each support service area
• Vendor Implementation & Performance Tracking: Ensure the consistent delivery and performance of high-quality vendor services by tracking performance, financials, and the efficiency of contract administration against agreed upon contractual deliverables and standards, using results to determine applicability of and amount for incentives, penalties, credits, and rebates
• Technology Analysis: Serves as a catalyst and champion for new technologies, innovation and AI use cases across the support services enterprise. Collaborates with DTP, vendors and operational leaders to assess and identify new technologies to support efficiency, effectiveness, process, and performance improvement in support services
• Ensures Adherence to Quality performance and Metrics: Understand and use KPI metrics and performance dashboards to determine support service area’s strategic, financial, and operational goals, holding site leaders accountable to performance standards and ensuring compliance with established benchmarks
• Food Nutritional Quality & Food Insecurity: Collaborates with the Clinical Nutrition team, Government Affairs, the outsourced management services provider, industry peers and other key stakeholders to ensure high quality nutritional food options are available for patients, staff and visitors that are appealing, flavorsome and competitively priced. Works with Government Affairs and local food banks, pantries and other agencies to address food insecurity challenges in a manner that provides benefit to our patients and communities served
• Retail Food Strategy and Pricing: Partner with the SVP and Chief Resource Officer to establish and determine an appropriate strategy and pricing approach to meet organizational needs and ensure market competitiveness
• System Maintenance Tracking and Reporting: Ensure optimal biomedical equipment asset performance and improve efficiency in the organization thorough proactive maintenance strategies and data driven decision making
• Manage Asset Portfolio: Maximize the value, utility and life cycle of assets while minimizing risk and costs and ensuring they align with the needs and goals of the organization. Assist with related capital planning and replacement timing
• Emergency Preparedness: Oversees system efforts to ensure adequate inventory levels and emergency reserves are maintained of critical environmental supplies, hospital linens and scrubs to ensure business continuity. Maintains key vendor relationships with manufacturers and distributors and works in collaboration with the supply chain team and the outsourced contractor to secure vendor commitments
• Patient Satisfaction: In conjunction with the outsourced contractor relationship, identifies and continually assesses the key drivers of patient satisfaction and implements improvements to increase and sustain HCAHPS cleanliness scores and food quality Press Ganey scores at the top quartile of performance. Must work effectively with the contracted partner and ensure effective processes are in place to recruit, develop and retain front line associates that can effectively engage patients, family and guests and impart a favorable impression related to food quality, service levels, environmental hygiene and cleanliness
• Regulatory Compliance: In collaboration with Mount Sinai operational leaders and the outsourced contractor, ensures compliance with appropriate infection prevention, safety, OSHA, Joint Commission, Department of Health and other regulatory standards
• Industry Networking: Participates as a Mount Sinai Health System leadership representative in support service-related industry peer groups, promoting Mount Sinai requirements and driving industry standards for academic health systems. Networks with industry peers and remains abreast of industry trends to improve the patient experience related to cleanliness and food quality, sustainability, support service/practitioner collaboration models, new technology and automation, advances in infection control and other improvements in healthcare hospitality services
• PDC and Facilities Support: Provides project and facilities support to the System Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) and Engineering leadership teams

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Service Delivery System-Wide Approach: Define support services policies and best practices for EVS & linen, food & nutrition, patient transport, and telecom to enable site-level execution
• Leadership Culture and Behavior Approach: Foster a strong culture of collaboration and trust across teams, emphasizing the importance of a shared commitment to continuous improvement, operational efficiency, and patient experience
• Support Service SLAs: Develop and recommend Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to create clarity between the services, performance standards, and responsibilities of Site Support Services Leaders
• Support Services Quality & Continuous Improvement: Evaluate the quality of support services outputs across each site based on established policies, standards, and SLAs working with internal stakeholders to address gaps and drive process improvements
• Support Services Internal Projects: Collaborate with system leaders, project management leaders, and key stakeholders to identify and lead integration initiatives across the system
• Vendor Management: Lead the implementation of in scope vendor services by tracking performance, financials, and the efficiency of contract administration against agreed upon contractual deliverables and standards, using results to determine applicability of and amount for incentives, penalties, credits, and rebates
• Financial and Resource Management: Support SVP Chief Resource Officer and dedicated finance leader in managing system budgets, approving financial request at a defined threshold, and allocating system-level resources to maximize value and minimize cost for each support services area, while identifying and managing savings and revenue opportunities
• Technology Analysis: Serves as a catalyst and champion for new technologies, innovation and AI use cases across the support services enterprise. Collaborates with DTP, vendors and operational leaders to assess and identify new technologies to support efficiency, effectiveness, process, and performance improvement in support services
• Ensures Adherence to Quality performance and Metrics: Understand and use KPI metrics and performance dashboards to determine support service area’s strategic, financial, and operational goals, holding site leaders accountable to performance standards and ensuring compliance with established benchmarks
• Food Nutritional Quality & Food Insecurity: Collaborates with the Clinical Nutrition team, Government Affairs, the outsourced management services provider, industry peers and other key stakeholders to ensure high quality nutritional food options are available for patients, staff and visitors that are appealing, flavorsome and competitively priced. Works with Government Affairs and local food banks, pantries and other agencies to address food insecurity challenges in a manner that provides benefit to our patients and communities served
• Retail Food Strategy and Pricing: Partner with the SVP and Chief Resource Officer to establish and determine an appropriate strategy and pricing approach to meet organizational needs and ensure market competitiveness
• System Maintenance Tracking and Reporting: Ensure optimal biomedical equipment asset performance and improve efficiency in the organization thorough proactive maintenance strategies and data driven decision making
• Manage Asset Portfolio: Maximize the value, utility and life cycle of assets while minimizing risk and costs and ensuring they align with the needs and goals of the organization. Assist with related capital planning and replacement timing
• Emergency Preparedness: Oversees system efforts to ensure adequate inventory levels and emergency reserves are maintained of critical environmental supplies, hospital linens and scrubs to ensure business continuity. Maintains key vendor relationships with manufacturers and distributors and works in collaboration with the supply chain team and the outsourced contractor to secure vendor commitments
• Patient Satisfaction: In conjunction with the outsourced contractor relationship, identifies and continually assesses the key drivers of patient satisfaction and implements improvements to increase and sustain HCAHPS cleanliness scores and food quality Press Ganey scores at the top quartile of performance. Must work effectively with the contracted partner and ensure effective processes are in place to recruit, develop and retain front line associates that can effectively engage patients, family and guests and impart a favorable impression related to food quality, service levels, environmental hygiene and cleanliness
• Regulatory Compliance: In collaboration with Mount Sinai operational leaders and the outsourced contractor, ensures compliance with appropriate infection prevention, safety, OSHA, Joint Commission, Department of Health and other regulatory standards
• Industry Networking: Participates as a Mount Sinai Health System leadership representative in support service-related industry peer groups, promoting Mount Sinai requirements and driving industry standards for academic health systems. Networks with industry peers and remains abreast of industry trends to improve the patient experience related to cleanliness and food quality, sustainability, support service/practitioner collaboration models, new technology and automation, advances in infection control and other improvements in healthcare hospitality services
• PDC and Facilities Support: Provides project and facilities support to the System Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) and Engineering leadership teams

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree required
• 10+ years in positions of progressive responsibility leading support services functions in a complex, large-scale multi-entity environment. Health care leadership experience in these disciplines required
• Experience with third party vendors ensuring successful delivery to contracts, statements of work operational metrics and other contractual accountabilities. Advanced knowledge of vendor management and contract administration processes
• Able to function in a highly autonomous manner and perform effectively in an environment of ambiguity and conflicting priorities (i.e. provide the highest quality and best patient experience while maintaining a cost-effective leadership position in the marketplace)
• A proven and positive patient experience track record including advanced knowledge of Press Ganey and HCAHPS scores, and front-line associate patient engagement expertise
• Able to recruit top level talent, meld them into team, establish a vision and obtain buy in from team members
• Able to lead effectively through both influence and direct authority
• Strategic thinker who is capable of developing innovative solutions to drive improvement in a complex matrix environment
• Superior analytical and organizational skills with the ability to simultaneously manage multiple, mission-critical projects
• Budgeting, fiscal performance, and resource allocation experience
• Able to cultivate and nurture successful relationships with all levels of stakeholders including internal and external business partners
• Experience energizing organizational leadership and gaining buy-in and support to changes in approaches, processes, and strategies
• Proficient public speaker, ability to effectively communicate to senior leadership, physicians, operational leaders, subordinates and staff
• Strong working knowledge of various computer software applications, particularly Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Project, Access and Excel