Description

Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety
The University of Maryland Medical Center

The Organization
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland. UMMS was created in 1984 when the state- owned University Hospital became a private, non-profit organization. It has since evolved into a $5.07 billion academic health system reaching every part of the state and beyond with nationally recognized and ranked specialties in trauma, cancer care, cardiology, and orthopedics.

As one of the largest private employers in the state, the health system's more than 27,000 employees and 5,500 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and at 10 hospitals (2,458 licensed beds).

UMMS' flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. The system is motivated to be a High Reliability Organization and has begun that journey.

UMMS’ acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban, and rural communities and are in 7 counties across the state.

UMMS brings innovation, discovery, and research to the care the organization provides all while educating the state’s future physicians and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore.

Mission/Vision/Values
At University of Maryland Medical System, the values are the building blocks of the shared culture and common understanding that guide us in fulfilling the mission and vision as the organization provides Marylanders a better state of care.

Values

• Compassion: We provide care and embrace our patients, families, team members and communities with compassion
• Discovery: We are relentless in our pursuit of discovery and innovation.
• Excellence: We strive for excellence across all aspects of our mission.
• Diversity: We foster inclusion and embrace diversity in human experiences, ideas and perspectives.
• Integrity: We earn the trust of patients, one another and our communities by behaving morally, ethically and with integrity.

Mission
To purposefully advance the shared principles that are foundational to our work:

• Compassionate, High-Quality Care: We are unrelenting in our dedication to compassionate, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care.
• Commitment to Community: We are inherently entwined in the social fabric of our communities and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of Marylanders.
• Health Care Transformation: Leveraging our scale and geographical reach, we transform the way we deliver health care to bring more value to our patients and their communities.
• Discovery-Based Medicine: Blazing new trails in medicine is inherent in us. We invest in and partner with those who are committed to the highest ideals of innovation, discovery-based medicine and health education.

Vision
We build upon our tradition of excellence in patient care and innovation, to be a national leader in the transformation of health care.

Strategic Priorities
The UMMS Strategic Framework serves as a roadmap for the future of UMMS as the organization looks to purposefully drive standardization, innovation and transformation.

These strategic priorities are reflected within the UMMC Annual Operating Plan pillars, which serve as the foundation for advancing excellence in:

• Quality & Safety
• Patient & Family Experience
• People & Culture
• Finance
• Access

Areas of Emphasis

• High Reliability Organization (HRO): UMMS is on year two of an initial three-year journey. The goal is to significantly enhance the safety, quality, patient and team member experience while at the same time eliminating waste.
• Safety, Quality and Patient Experience: Accelerate an integrated approach closely tied to HRO. Assure the use of evidence-based medicine in all clinical care settings. Define and deliver a system-wide patient engagement and consumer approach that delivers on a consistent high satisfaction experience.
• Financial Performance/Efficiency: Optimize financial performance including achieve elevated performance improvement targets, transform the organization’s integrated financial management approach, assess systemwide longer term efficiency opportunities and build financial strength.
• Growth: Advance “smart growth” regulated care priorities and accelerate unregulated care growth priorities.
•  People Strategies: Become the destination employer for top talent by fostering an engaged, inclusive and diverse workforce aligned in excellence around our purpose and values.

The University of Maryland Medical Center – Downtown Campus
The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is the $2.2 billion academic flagship of the Medical System with its Downtown and Midtown campuses. UMMC’s campuses are fully integrated operationally and are located one mile apart. In 2018, UMMC Leadership, Board of Directors and School of Medicine embarked on an accelerated campus integration strategy to adopt a “one medical center, two campuses” model focused on quality and safety, operational and clinical integration, programmatic growth, and community health improvement. This allows each campus to focus on what they do best, complementing strengths and assuring access to care from within the city and across the state.

In partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, UMMC is a national and regional referral center for cancer care, organ transplantation, trauma and critical care, neurosciences, cardiovascular care, and women's and children's health. This 789-bed downtown Baltimore campus is home to the NCI designated and The Joint Commission Advanced certified Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the highest-volume trauma center in the United States. Clinical programs that are fully integrated between the two UMMC campuses include emergency medicine, hospitalist care, pulmonary and critical care medicine, psychiatry, neurology, neuro critical care, multiple surgical subspecialities and an array of outpatient specialty centers. Ranging from telehealth to full implementation of advanced services, UMMC brings the best it has to offer to the member hospitals and medical staff across the entire University of Maryland Medical System. This vision, focused on improving population health and all aspects of providing direct patient care, is especially timely in light of the State of Maryland’s unique “all payor” hospital reimbursement system. This system governed by a contract with CMS/CMMI is unlike any other in the country, driving transformation in hospital-based acute care, access, quality, population health improvement and total cost of care.

In 2024. UMMC had eight nursing units receive the Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, with some earning gold and others silver distinctions—testament to their high-quality, evidence-based care. Additionally, UMMC was nationally ranked by the U.S News & World Report for its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ear, Nose & Throat, and Cancer programs.

The University of Maryland Medical Center – Midtown Campus
Founded more than 140 years ago as a teaching hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus (UMMC Midtown Campus) — located in Baltimore's cultural center near the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood — provides access to a full range of medical, surgical and behavioral health care.

UMMC Midtown Campus operates 144 inpatient beds and provides care in more than 30 specialties. The inpatient facility includes a new 37 bed state of the art psychiatry unit and a 22 bed post-acute unit for medically complex rehabilitation (average length of stay > 65 days). UMMC Midtown Campus offers a wide array of outpatient centers serving more than 130,000 patients annually and performing more than 6,000 outpatient elective surgeries and procedures. The medical staff is comprised of over 600 University of Maryland School of Medicine clinical faculty physicians and 1,700 team members care for each patient with expertise and compassion. The UMMC Midtown Campus has a deep commitment to investing in services that address long standing health disparities to improve the health of the people and communities it serves.

UMMC Midtown Campus is an anchor organization and safety net provider for the West Baltimore primary service area. Household income, uninsured population and life expectancy are among the lowest in the State. Mortality rates are significantly higher than Baltimore City averages for heart disease, chronic kidney disease and HIV/AIDs. UMMC Midtown Campus’ devout dedication to their community has allowed the hospital to be Nationally Ranked 5^th out of 3,010 hospitals for Equitable Care and Social Responsibility by the Lown Institute Hospitals Index.

Additionally, through free community health screenings, UMMC Midtown Campus helps more than 15,000 people a year in managing health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure and HIV. The hospital also partners with community groups, churches, and the city Department of Health, to bring health education and other services to Baltimore residents. Multiple Baltimore city school partnerships support workforce development, career fairs and exposure to health care for elementary and middle school students and families.

Across the street from the UMMC Midtown Campus main hospital, the Midtown Outpatient Tower opened in September of 2021 to serve the community by offering innovative, university-based medicine, and operates a model for connecting people to all the services they need in one convenient location. Patients with complex and multiple chronic diseases have better outcomes when their conditions are managed using a team approach with wrap around services addressing social needs. Having multiple adult and pediatric primary care and specialty practices in one location makes this easier for patients and providers. The Midtown Health Center primary care practice was recently expanded and relocated to the Tower, focused on providing timely access to well-coordinated care and preventive health services. The Midtown Outpatient Tower also houses the Community Health Education Center dedicated to community health improvement.

In July 2022, UMMC Midtown Campus received outstanding results for its triennial hospital accreditation survey by the Joint Commission. In 2024, the UMMC Downtown Campus earned its fourth consecutive Magnet designation, the highest honor bestowed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the gold standard for nursing. This marks the first designation to also include UMMC's Midtown Campus.

As an academic medical center, UMMC Midtown campus fulfills a broad educational mission across multiple health professionals including medical students and resident trainees from the downtown campus. In addition, more than 150 clinical research trials conducted by UM School of Medicine faculty occur.

The Opportunity

Position: Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety, University of Maryland Medical Center

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Reporting Relationship:

The Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety, University of Maryland Medical Center, reports directly to the Senior Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer, University of Maryland Medical Center, David Marcozzi, MD.

Website: https://www.umms.org/ummc

Purpose of the Position
Reporting to the Senior Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer, the Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety is responsible for overseeing and managing the executive aspects of quality and patient safety for the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) Downtown and Midtown campuses. In collaboration with senior leadership at UMMC and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), the Vice President leads quality and patient safety initiatives, working closely with clinical and operational teams to integrate these priorities into everyday practice.

The Vice President will champion patient safety initiatives in close coordination and collaboration with all medical staff, nursing staff, trainees, pharmacy, and all supporting departments. This leader is responsible for achieving measurable results and championing a culture of transparency, continuous quality improvement, and patient safety.

The Vice President must be a strategic and persuasive leader, capable of driving quality and patient safety initiatives through direct and indirect influence. This role requires exceptional communication and engagement skills to effectively engage, align, and inspire a wide range of stakeholders—including clinical leaders, operational teams, and executive leadership—across a complex healthcare environment. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a collaborative mindset, building trust-based relationships and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement through clear messaging, active listening, and shared purpose.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

• Lead UMMC-wide efforts to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and patient-centered care.
• Align strategic planning with implementation by engaging stakeholders, setting clear goals, and driving cultural and operational change.
• Develop, implement, and oversee the Medical Center’s clinical quality and safety agenda, including high-achievement targets, metrics, and dissemination of best practices.
• Chair key committees and establish a multi-disciplinary Safety Council to foster accountability and collaboration.
• Promote high-reliability practices and a culture of safety across UMMC.
• Partner closely with UMMS System leadership to align departmental and organizational initiatives with System-wide strategic goals related to quality, safety, and patient experience, ensuring consistent standards and outcomes across entities.

Quality & Safety Programs

• Advance evidence-based, standardized care through clinical guidelines and reduction of variation.
• Coordinate rapid responses to safety events and healthcare-acquired conditions.
• Lead multidisciplinary harm-reduction initiatives, emphasizing reporting, learning, and system- wide improvements.
• Integrate equity and patient-centeredness into all quality and safety efforts.
• Provide strategic leadership for the Infection Prevention team by developing, implementing, and sustaining evidence-based improvement plans to reduce healthcare-associated infections and achieve the highest standards of patient safety and quality outcomes.

Measurement & Reporting

• Ensure that data, clinical registries, and clinical information from internal and external sources related to the quality of care are collected and analyzed appropriately.
• Develop and oversee the processes that provide relevant reports, data, and education to support continuous quality improvement.
• Provide regular executive-level updates to executives, clinical leaders, boards, and committees.
• Benchmark against external standards (CMS, Leapfrog, Vizient, U.S. News, etc.) and achieve top-tier performance.

Collaboration & Partnerships

• Partner with chairs, program chiefs, GME, nursing, and all staff to build ownership of quality improvement.
• Collaborate with Ambulatory, Patient Experience, IT, and Finance leadership to optimize access, EHR tools, and resource allocation.
• Coordinate with Regulatory Affairs to maintain compliance with licensure and accreditation standards.
• Work with Maryland Medicine Comprehensive Insurance Program (MMCIP) to manage liability exposure and risk.

Education & Workforce

• Foster broad participation in quality initiatives by physicians, residents, nurses, and learners.
• Support teaching, research, and dissemination of safety science and quality improvement.
• Recruit, train, and evaluate staff to maintain a high-performing workforce.
• Build leadership capacity through mentorship, influence, and communication excellence.

Innovation & Future Focus

• Leverage artificial intelligence and new technologies that advance patient quality and safety.
• Act as a knowledge manager to pilot, scale, and expand innovative practices.
• Cultivate strong internal and external relationships to advance UMMC’s reputation for excellence.

The Candidate
Experience and Essential Qualifications

Experience and professional qualifications for the Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety include:

• An M.D, D.O., DNP or PhD degree is required.
• If a physician:
  • Must have graduated from an accredited medical school and completed a residency from an accredited institution; (Valid physician licensure in the State of Maryland and/or eligibility to receive is required).
  • Board certification (physician) in designated specialty required, with active practice.
• If a nurse:
  • Must have an active RN license; eligible for licensure in the State of Maryland.
• Significant healthcare management and operational experience with a demonstrated results-oriented focus on improving the quality and safety of care, preferably in a complex health organization setting such as an academic medical center.
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in a leadership and/or supervisory role, including quality and safety oversight.

Skills and Competencies

• Knowledge of current clinical, regulatory, and reimbursement issues confronting a tertiary/quaternary medical center.
• Inspirational and collaborative change agent with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to persuade and align diverse teams around shared objectives through influence and direct accountability.
• Strong planning and program development skills, and a proven track record in the development of quality clinical services.
• Experience in building and leading teams. Able to foster coordination among physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise exemplary tact, diplomacy, and political sensitivity when dealing with high-level internal and external executives, faculty, and agencies.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in managing and directing departmental operations as well as evaluating and motivating performance. Must have both a strategic and tactical approach.
• Demonstrated ability to delegate effectively and can establish clear guidelines for accountability. Capacity to build consensus and provide strong leadership in a team environment, with the highest level of professional and personal integrity.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to express ideas assertively, clearly, and concisely orally and in writing. Ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of management, staff, faculty, residents, students, and outside agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate, encourage creative thinking, and imaginative solutions to issues or problems.
• Excellent presentation skills and prior experience in creating and presenting complex information to diverse audiences, including clinicians, executives, and executive staff.
• Expert knowledge of improvement methods in a clinical setting
• Ability to work in a fast-moving, rapidly changing, and at times, intense environment.

Application Process

Interested and qualified candidates are welcome to submit a resume and cover letter to: Kait Hasler  Kait.Hasler@KornFerry.com

University of Maryland Medical System

UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center
University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Anne Arundel County provides primary and specialty care, including cancer, orthopedic, cardiac, women’s, vascular and neuroscience services. This 285-bed community hospital, located between Baltimore and Annapolis offers a wide variety of services and was recently named a "Top 100" hospital for intensive care outcomes by Thomson Reuters. They have over 3,000 employees and over 1,100 physicians on this campus.

UM Capital Region Health
University of Maryland Capital Region Health is the largest healthcare system based in Prince George's County. UM Capital Region Health is comprised of two hospitals, an emergency center, an employed physician medical group, a surgery center and a network of healthcare facilities providing comprehensive, quality healthcare services to the community. Key services include Cardiac & Vascular care, Critical Care, Emergency Services, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a Stroke Program. The hospitals combined offer 367-beds with approximately 2,300 employees and 871 physicians.

UM Charles Regional Medical Center
University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center (UM CRMC) is located in Charles County, one of the fastest growing counties in Maryland (located in the Southern part of the state). UM Charles Regional has provided excellence in acute health care and preventive services in Charles County and the surrounding communities for more than 80 years. This facility offers 99-beds and key services include emergency services, orthopedic rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, and surgical/post-surgical care. There are just under 1,000 employees and approximately 400 medical staff.

UM Rehabilitation & Orthopedic Institute
The UM Rehabilitation & Orthopedic Institute is Maryland’s largest and most comprehensive rehabilitation and orthopedic specialty hospital. A highly specialized staff provides interdisciplinary care to patients recovering from stroke and neurological diseases, as well as spinal cord, brain injury and other traumatic injuries. It is a leader in the treatment of neurological conditions, sports medicine, musculoskeletal disease, research, and robotic technologies. The hospital is an integral component of the University of Maryland Medical System, and the attending physicians are faculty members at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It offers 137-beds, has approximately 650 employees and over 250 medical staff.

UM St. Joseph Medical Center
UM St. Joseph Medical Center (UM SJMC) is located in the suburban community of Towson in Baltimore County. It has a rich history of providing loving service and compassionate care since its founding in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Its Catholic heritage is ever-present. UM SJMC today boasts a wide range of superb clinical programs and centers of excellence, including the Cancer, Heart and Orthopedic Institutes, Women and Children’s services and Emergency Medicine. UM SJMC has been awarded numerous awards for achievement in areas such as patient experience, quality of care in cardiovascular services, orthopedics, and others. These recognitions come from organizations including U.S. News and World Report, CMS, and others. The hospital has 218-beds and has more than 2,500 employees and 650 physicians.

UM Upper Chesapeake Health
University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH) is a community based, not-for-profit system located in Harford County, Maryland. UM UCH operates two hospitals with key services including the Kaufman Cancer Center, cardiovascular services, orthopedics, and spine care. In 2019, the hospitals achieved the Pathway to Excellence designation in Nursing. At present, the hospitals include Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and Harford Memorial Hospital however, upon its opening in spring 2023, the newly constructed Aberdeen Campus will replace the Harford Memorial Hospital. Today, UM UCH is the leading health care system and second largest private employer in Harford County. 3,500 team members and over 650 medical staff physicians serve residents of Harford County, eastern Baltimore County, and western Cecil County.

UM Shore Regional Health
University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health operates three hospitals, a freestanding emergency center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, outpatient care centers and home care services throughout the region. The hospitals include Shore Regional in Easton (135-beds), Shore Regional in Dorchester (34-beds), and Shore Regional in Chestertown (12-beds). Two of the three are certified as Nursing Magnet Facilities. They offer the freestanding emergency center in Queenstown. Key services include stroke care, oncology, orthopedics, and cardiovascular services. There are approximately 2,200 employees and 380 physicians. They are the premier provider of care on the Eastern Shore.

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Established in 1807, the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) is the fifth oldest and the first public medical school in the United States and the first to institute a residency-training program. The UMSOM was the founding school of the University of Maryland, and today plays an integral role in the University System of Maryland, consisting of 12 institutions and two regional higher education centers. Located on the campus and an essential unit of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) campus, the UMSOM serves as the anchor for UMMC in support of their mutual aims to provide the best medical education, to conduct the most innovative biomedical research and to provide the best patient care and community service to Maryland and beyond.

The UMSOM employs more than 3,000 faculty members (full-time, part-time and adjunct); 3,300 administrative, research and clinical staff; and maintains a current enrollment of over 1,200 medical, graduate and allied health students. The School of Medicine and its clinical partner, the UMMC, educate and train many of the state of Maryland’s medical professionals; continuing education programs serve more than 5,000 physicians and other health professionals annually. UMSOM at this time functions as a Maryland Medical System.