Chief Executive Officer

Role overview

The Chief Executive Officer will have overall accountability for leading every function and operational area of the assigned hospital and its related business units. The role is centered on ARH’s “Triple Aim” priorities: patient safety and quality, service, and financial performance.

This leader is expected to strengthen a clinical environment that is safe, efficient, and cost-conscious while delivering reliable patient outcomes. The CEO must also build a service-oriented culture that engages employees, medical staff, patients, and the surrounding community, and support an operating model that meets established performance goals.

The position requires full alignment with ARH behavioral standards and consistent execution of duties in keeping with those expectations. All policies, procedures, standards, and reporting relationships mentioned in this description may change over time, and the CEO remains accountable for adapting to those changes.

Primary responsibilities

• Own the performance of the assigned hospital and its business units by creating and carrying out strategies that advance the Triple Aim goals.
• Build and continuously improve a clinical culture that prioritizes patient safety, quality, efficiency, and cost-effective care.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable accreditation and regulatory requirements, including standards from bodies such as The Joint Commission, DNV, CMS, and OIG, and maintain readiness for both scheduled and unscheduled surveys.
• Improve engagement, loyalty, recruitment, and retention among employees, medical staff, patients, and the broader community through strong visibility and relationship-building.
• Design and support leadership development and succession planning to grow future leaders and strengthen team performance.
• Model learning, growth, performance, and appreciation through everyday behavior, decisions, and leadership style.
• Review medical staff needs on an ongoing basis and coordinate with corporate partners to address gaps and opportunities.
• Build and sustain meaningful working relationships with employed and independent medical providers.
• Develop strategies that consistently improve patient experience and strengthen patient loyalty.
• Drive financial performance by fostering an efficient, disciplined, and cost-effective operating culture.
• Strengthen the hospital’s standing and relevance in the community through targeted strategies, monitoring, and timely corrective action when needed.
• Act as a strong corporate citizen by working effectively in ARH’s matrixed structure and collaborating with regional and system-level resources.
• Serve as ARH’s community representative by maintaining professional relationships with local providers, community leaders, elected officials, and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to system-wide collaboration by sharing best practices, integrating workflows, supporting shared planning, and helping improve processes across the region and system.
• Remain responsible for adapting to any future changes in duties, policies, standards, or reporting structures.

Required qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Health Administration, Business Administration, or another relevant field.
• A master’s degree in Hospital Administration, Business Administration, or another relevant field.
• At least five years of experience in hospital leadership roles is preferred.

Skills and leadership attributes

• Ability to inspire, guide, and motivate others while also listening and following when appropriate.
• Comfort with change and the ability to manage transitions effectively.
• Skill in handling conflict, including situations where the CEO is directly involved.
• Confidence to question established practices in a constructive and meaningful way.
• Willingness to work within regional and system-level priorities, even when they are challenging.
• Judgment to ask for help or resources when necessary to meet objectives.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving ability.
• Energy, discipline, and focus needed for executive leadership.
• Ability to assemble the right team around complex problems and drive timely solutions.
• Composure in difficult, chaotic, or crisis situations, with data-driven decision-making where possible.
• Commitment to sharing lessons learned and effective practices across the organization.
• Awareness of local market, professional, and industry changes.
• Action-oriented mindset supported by sound judgment and data.

Ideal preparation

• For a Critical Access Hospital assignment: prior experience as an Assistant Administrator, CNO, or in another substantial hospital leadership role.
• For an IPPS hospital assignment: prior experience as a COO of an IPPS hospital, CEO of a Critical Access Hospital, CNO of an IPPS hospital, or another substantial hospital leadership role.

Additional notes

This role is part of a regional and system-connected leadership environment, so collaboration, integration, and shared planning are important parts of day-to-day success. The role also requires active involvement in the local community and a consistent commitment to ARH’s broader “system-ness” approach.

The job description emphasizes that the scope of responsibilities is not exhaustive and may evolve over time as organizational needs change.