Division Counsel

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of diverse individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your diversity of culture, thinking, learning, and leading is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization:

OLA (Legal Affairs) 20

Job Summary:

The Vanderbilt Health Executive Search Team is conducting a national search for a Division Counsel – Hospital Operations. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Office of Legal Affairs is looking for an exceptional individual with a minimum of 7 years of experience advising complex healthcare organizations on all aspects of healthcare system operations to join its team. The ideal candidate will have experience advising hospitals and ambulatory clinics on patient care issues, accreditation and professional licensure, scope of practice, fiduciary relationships in the healthcare environment, mandated reporting, privacy and release of information, and general healthcare regulatory requirements related to the provision of healthcare. Preference will be given to candidates with experience advising academic medical centers or with other significant, relevant experience. The successful candidate will possess excellent oral and written communication skills and will have the ability to work both independently and as part of a team within a dynamic environment. Excellent client management skills, the ability to prioritize competing demands, and the ability to balance risk with organizational goals are necessary. This individual will report to the Managing Counsel for Hospital Operations, Privacy, and Labor/Employment.

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Shift: First Shift (Days) Hybrid

Role Accountabilities:

• Support the operational activities of large healthcare enterprise consisting of an academic medical center, acute care community based hospitals, and ambulatory clinics.
• Advise on adult, pediatric and behavioral health patient-related issues, including
• refusal of and consent to treatment;
• advanced directives, surrogate decision making, guardianships, and conservatorships;
• end-of-life issues, ethical and legal conflicts between patients, families and healthcare providers; and
• abuse and neglect issues and mandated reporting requirements.
• Provide guidance and assistance in responding to requests for protected health information from third parties, including government agencies, law enforcement, payors, providers, attorneys, and others, including third party requests for communication with and testimony by healthcare providers.
• Partner with content experts across the enterprise in the development of policies and procedures related to daily hospital and ambulatory operations and assist in educational activities to support policy application and compliance.
• Advise on scope of practice and professional licensure matters and communicate with licensure agencies on behalf of the organization as needed.
• Support Accreditation and Standards in site surveys and responses to requests for information.
• Attend and actively participate as a legal advisor to multiple system committees.
• Collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization to identify and mitigate legal and regulatory risks of proposed initiatives.
• Participate in departmental after hours call schedule to provide legal advice on urgent patient matters arising outside of normal business hours.
• Provide regulatory and other operational support on contract and transactional matters in which VUMC may engage.
• Collaborate with and manage outside legal resources.
• Provide guidance and assistance to other colleagues in the Office of Legal Affairs in a highly collaborative and team-oriented fashion.

Qualifications – External:

• JD degree from an ABA accredited law school.
• 7 years or more of directly applicable experience, with at least three (3) of those years providing legal advice and assistance to healthcare institutions or companies.
• Employment contingent upon State of Tennessee licensure or registration and receipt of In-House Counsel Practice Certificate. The successful candidate must also apply for and become licensed in the State of Tennessee within 12 months of employment or, if earlier, the date required under applicable rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 7 years plus of experience providing legal advice.
• Experience supporting a hospital or health System.
• Experience advising hospitals and ambulatory clinics on patient care issues
• Experience with accreditation and professional licensure, scope of practice, and fiduciary relationships in the healthcare environment.
• Experience with mandated reporting, privacy and release of information, and general healthcare regulatory requirements related to the provision of healthcare experience.

#LI-AM1

Our professional administrative functions include critical supporting roles in information technology and informatics, finance, administration, legal and community affairs, human resources, communications and marketing, development, facilities, and many more.

At our growing health system, we support each other and encourage excellence among all who are part of our workforce. High-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth, appreciation of benefits, and a sense of community and purpose.

Core Accountabilities:

• Organizational Impact: Establishes key tactical and operational plans of a sub-function or multiple departments that has longer-term effect on results of the sub-function. * Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Integrate knowledge and in-depth analysis from several areas to resolve complex problems that are both technical and operational. * Breadth of Knowledge: Applies comprehensive knowledge of professional/technical area and broad management knowledge of other professional areas to carry out objectives. * Team Interaction: Leads multiple departments with a function.

Core Capabilities :

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Acts upon constructive feedback from all levels of the organization and initiates strategies to develop talent in others. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Leverages relationships and insight to forecast potential future needs and influence delivery of work to exceed expectations. - Communicates Effectively: Anticipates difference audience concerns, styles and finds mutually beneficial solutions across conflicting and sensitive issues. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of broad-based issues and considers the interests of others to improve satisfaction of services. - Solves Complex Problems: Critically evaluates complex information and identifies trends/risks to make recommendations to improve processes across areas. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing feedback and development discussions to motivate and support team members to maximize performance.Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Anticipates problems or obstacles which may interfere with quality standards and develops plants to ensure area's quality standards are met. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Routinely draws upon valuable learning from others, past experiences, and new information to determine key opportunities. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Develops appropriate corrective actions for unsafe environments in order to ensure operational and safety compliance. Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Identifies potential obstacles to goal achievement and develops solutions to address those obstacles. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Creates the appropriate systems and processes to effectively manage resources. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Applies in-depth knowledge of data to recommend and implement new approaches to improve decision making capabilities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Identifies opportunities and leads development of new initiatives that create value across areas. - Applies Technology: Creates the energy and drive for self/others to identify and leverage technology in new, innovative ways to drive greater efficiencies. - Adapts to Change: Anticipates the change process and clearly communicates impact on others/own team(s), assisting them in embracing the change.

Position Qualifications:

Responsibilities:

Certifications:

Work Experience:

Experience Level:

Education:

Doctorate: Law (Required)

Vanderbilt Health recognizes that diversity is essential for excellence and innovation. We are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/Disabled