Job Description

MEDICAL DIRECTOR - CARDIOVASCULAR INTENSIVE CARE

The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio is recruiting a highly motivated and skilled physician with fellowship training in critical care medicine to become the CVICU Director at our main hospital. This position provides clinical direction, education and leadership to the CVICU and serves as a liaison with Medical Staff, the Heart & Vascular Institute, and The Christ Hospital Physicians (TCHP) leadership.

This physician will lead a talented and multidisciplinary group (with backgrounds in critical care medicine, cardiology, advanced heart failure, emergency medicine and cardiac anesthesiology), providing 24/7 in-house care for our 28 bed CVICU.  The Christ Hospital has a robust and advanced cardiothoracic program and is a regional referral center for cardiogenic shock, LVAD, ECMO, heart transplantation, multivalvular interventions, and complex cardiac care. Critical care cases include managing a wide range of critical illness and cardiac conditions such as severe valvular disease, AMI, cardiogenic shock, dissections, mechanical cardiac support, heart transplantation and chronic heart failure.

PROGRAM SPECIFICS:

• 555 bed hospital in the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio

• "The Heart Hospital" of the Tristate area and nationally amongst the Top 50

• 28 bed CVICU with major focus on cardiogenic shock, mechanical circulatory support, biventricular support, heart transplantation, total artificial heart, LVAD implantation

• Perioperative care for > 1000 Cardiopulmonary bypass cases per year

• SCCM Center of Excellence program participant

• ELSO Gold level Center of Excellence

• Top performing LVAD and Impella center (top 10 by volume in 2025)

• Novel MCS research site: EvaHeart, BrioVAD, BiVACOR

• First BiVACOR TAH in female patient; First to discharge home

• Structural heart program performing TMVR, TTVR, TAVR, PV intervention, experimental protocols and novel devices

• ACGME accredited fellowship programs in Internal Medicine, General Cardiology, Structural Interventional Cardiology - Faculty/Teaching opportunities if desired

• Affiliation with the Lindner Research Institute, Clinical Trial Research opportunities if desired

• Open CVICU with very collaborative collegial work environment - intensivist manages primarily with closed loop communication with heart failure cardiology, cardiac surgery and cardiac transplant surgery

• 2 Physicians during the day and one physician at night with 3 APPs during the day and 2 at night

CVICU DIRECTOR JOB SPECIFICS:

1. Clinical

• Collaborate on all clinically related CVICU activities.

• Develop, review, revise, and implement policies and procedures that guide and support the provision of care, treatment, and services of the Service Line.

2. Leadership

• Monitor, evaluate and provide performance feedback to physicians, related to CVICU.

• Support the education and clinical experience of physicians in training.

• Serve as spokesperson to all internal and external CVICU related concerns.

• Promote physician engagement and wellness initiatives.

• Devise, promote, and implement strategies for CVICU growth and development - as directed by HVI Executive leadership. 

• Establish partnerships with industry, healthcare insurance leaders (payers), and employers to promote the cardiovascular intensive care.

• Establish partnerships with other physicians and groups at TCHHN and community hospitals.

• Participate in national scientific meetings, including publications and presentations.

3. Quality

• Continually assess and improve quality of care, treatment, and services.

• Develop and facilitate the implementation of evidence based clinical guidelines and evaluate their effectiveness.

• Monitor, improve and report on quality and performance metrics.

• Oversee provider performance issues including scheduling, rounding, behavior, productivity, documentation, policy adherence.

4. Administration

• Serve as collaborative point of contact to deliver communication to and from physician members of CVICU.

• Establish regular meetings with physicians regarding departmental concerns, access, and satisfaction.

• Assist in development and management of capital, revenue and expense budget for CVICU.

• Meet regularly (at least quarterly) with and report to HVI President and Executive Director. 

• Attend and participate in meetings associated with the Heart & Vascular Institute.

CARDIAC INTENSIVIST MEDICAL DIRECTOR - JOB SPECIFICS:

• 1.0 FTE – 0.1 FTE Administrative as Director, with 0.9 FTE as Cardiac Intensivist covering CVICU – 12hr shift model, fixed compensation, supported team with APPs and clinical pharmacy 

• Expectation for 13 twelve hour in-house shifts per month (0.9 clinical FTE), which may be daytime (6a-6p) or nighttime (6p-6a), typically grouped as consecutive days to provide continuity of patient care – such as 7 on / 7 off model.

• In CVICU – As part of direct patient care, the intensivist may provide instruction to general cardiology fellows and/or internal medicine residents (elective rotation); In addition, the CVICU is an optional clinical rotation for student APPs.

More about The Christ Hospital:

Providing 125 years of exceptional care, The Christ Hospital is a 555-bed not-for-profit acute care facility recognized as one of the nation's top hospitals. Christ Hospital provides a comprehensive range of world-class care to the community it serves. The facility is both locally and nationally awarded for its excellence in care; it has been named Cincinnati's Most Preferred Hospital for 21 consecutive years by National Research Corporation (NRC), has achieved Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center since 2008 and is consistently recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's top performing hospitals. The Christ Hospital offers services in cardiovascular care, orthopedic and spine treatment, women's health, major surgery, cancer, behavioral medicine, emergency medicine and more. The Christ Hospital is a part of a regional system of care with more than 100 locations in the Greater Cincinnati area.

More about TCHHN Heart and Vascular Institute:

HVI is comprised of 32 cardiologists, 8 surgeons, and 49 APPs, with specialists in general/preventive, interventional, structural, electrophysiology, advanced heart failure and transplant, intensive care, as well as vascular, thoracic and cardiac surgery. We have specialized programs for VAD, hypertension, women’s heart disease, cardio-oncology, cardiac amyloid, South Asians plus an Autonomic Lab for evaluation and treatment of autonomic dysfunction. We are integrated with the Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education, with over 160 active research trials from multicenter RCTs, investigator-initiated studies and NIH funded trials. The Lindner Research Center is internationally known for clinical research and has performed over a dozen first-in-man and over 30 first-in-the U.S. uses of novel drugs and/or medical devices. Physicians working in the Lindner Center currently publish over 200 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and abstracts yearly.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Fellowship training in critical care medicine (board certified or board eligible)

• Additional training and experience with ECMO, LVAD, and cardiac transplant desired

• Experience managing patients in the immediate postoperative period s/p heart transplant is preferred

• Experience in perioperative care of cardiothoracic surgery patients is preferred

• Individuals with unique training, job experience, or backgrounds are encouraged to apply

• Eligibility for Ohio medical license and DEA certificate

CONFIDENTIAL INQUIRIES

Stephanie Crisler ( Stephanie.Crisler@thechristhospital.com)