Lafayette Hospital + Clinics (LH+C) – Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Job Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Date: October 14, 2025
Reports to: CEO

Position Summary: The Chief Operating Officer (COO) reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and serves as a key member of the executive leadership team. This position integrates operational oversight of hospital and clinic functions with leadership of clinical departments to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality care delivery across Lafayette Hospital and Clinics (LHC). The COO is responsible for directing, supervising, and coordinating business and clinical operations; ensuring compliance with regulatory and quality standards; driving operational efficiency, fiscal accountability, and strategic growth; and supporting the CEO in executing LHC’s mission, vision, and values through integrated clinical and operational excellence.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) provides executive leadership to clinical and operational department directors. Direct reports include:
• Director of Clinical Services
• Director of Nursing
• Laboratory
• Imaging
• Rural Health Clinic Director
• Pharmacy
• Rehab Services
• Dietary Services
• Human Resources Liaison (County)

Duties and Responsibilities:
• Assist the CEO in developing and implementing long-range strategic and operational plans for LHC and its clinics.
• Provide administrative and clinical leadership to all department managers, ensuring alignment with LHC’s mission, values, and performance goals.
• Ensure compliance with patient care quality standards, including those required by federal, state, and local regulations.
• Oversee and evaluate clinical and operational departments including Imaging, Laboratory, Pharmacy, Dietary, Nursing, Rehab Services, and other assigned service lines.
• Partner with the Director of Clinical Services to ensure effective management of clinical programs, EHR functionality, and regulatory reporting.
• Oversee departmental budgeting and expense management in collaboration with the CFO to ensure responsible fiscal stewardship and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with the CFO on resource allocation, cost controls, and capital planning initiatives to support LHC’s strategic objectives.
• Partner with the Director of Nursing and medical leadership to promote collaboration, innovation, and accountability in care delivery.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of organizational policies, procedures, and quality improvement initiatives.
• Provide oversight and guidance to the County Human Resources Liaison, ensuring strong coordination between hospital leadership and county personnel systems.
• Participate in recruitment, retention, performance evaluation, and development of all non-nursing clinical and operational leadership staff.
• Monitor productivity, efficiency, and patient satisfaction metrics and make data-driven recommendations for improvement.
• Act as the CEO’s designee in his/her absence, in coordination with other members of the executive team.
• Serve as a visible ambassador for LHC within the hospital, clinics, and community.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO.

Training and Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree in a healthcare-related field and/or business required; Master’s degree preferred. Clinical credentials accepted in lieu of education.
• Five years of progressive healthcare leadership experience, including oversight of clinical and operational functions.
• High level of emotional intelligence and ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.
• Capacity to remain calm and professional under pressure.
• Experience in Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Rural Health Clinic (RHC) environments preferred.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, manage budgets, and drive regulatory compliance and performance improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrated expertise in healthcare administration, fiscal management, and clinical operations.
• Strong understanding of healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, and compliance frameworks.

Skills:
• Strategic Leadership- The ability to set long-term strategies for the organization and develop comprehensive actions to achieve those chosen strategies.
• Organization Engagement- The ability to communicate to groups within the organization in an engaging and motivational manner with the objective of moving the organization toward chosen strategies and goals.
• Reading Comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Judgment and Decision Making- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Problem Sensitivity – The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Employee Responsibility in an Emergency:
As an employee of Lafayette Hospital and Clinics, you are expected to respond to emergencies involving the safety of patients, other employees, visitors and the facility. This includes the ability to assist with a possible evacuation of the facility if that has been deemed necessary.

Management Statement:
This job description is not intended to be all inclusive. The employee will also perform other reasonable job related duties as assigned by the supervisor and/or other management personnel. Management reserves the right to change job responsibilities, duties and hours as needs prevail. This document is for management communication only and not intended to imply a written or implied contract of employment.

https://www.lafayettecountywi.org/hr/job-opening/lhc-chief-operating-officer-coo

Deadline Note: 11:59PM