You’ll want to join Billings Clinic for our outstanding quality of care, exciting environment, interesting cases from a vast geography, advanced technology and educational opportunities. We are in the top 1% of hospitals internationally for receiving Magnet® Recognition consecutively since 2006.
And you’ll want to stay at Billings Clinic for the amazing teamwork, caring atmosphere, and a culture that values kindness, safety and courage. This is an incredible place to learn and grow. Billings, Montana, is a friendly, college community in the Rocky Mountains with great schools and abundant family activities. Amazing outdoor recreation is just minutes from home. Four seasons of sunshine!
You can make a difference here.
About Us
Billings Clinic is a community-owned, not-for-profit, Physician-led health system based in Billings with more than 4,700 employees, including over 550 physicians and non-physician providers. Our integrated organization consists of a multi-specialty group practice and a 304-bed hospital. Learn more about Billings Clinic (our organization, history, mission, leadership and regional locations) and how we are recognized nationally for our exceptional quality.
Your Benefits
We provide a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to all full- and part-time employees (minimum of 20 hours/week), including Medical, Dental, Vision, 403(b) Retirement Plan with employer matching, Defined Contribution Pension Plan, Paid Time Off, employee wellness program, and much more.
Magnet: Commitment to Nursing Excellence
Billings Clinic is proud to be recognized for nursing excellence as a Magnet®-designated organization, joining only 97 other organizations worldwide that have achieved this honor four times. The re-designation process happens every four years.
Pre-Employment Requirements
All new employees must complete several pre-employment requirements prior to starting.
System VP of Patient Progression and Throughput
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION - 100.8695 (Billings Clinic Main Campus)
req12406
Shift: Day
Employment Status: Full-Time (.75 or greater)
Hours per Pay Period: 1.00 = 80 hours every two weeks (Exempt)
Starting Wage DOE
The System Vice President of Patient Progression and Throughput provides executive leadership and strategic oversight for patient progression across the system. This role is accountable for clinical quality, patient safety, operational performance, access, growth, and financial results across the continuum of care. The role engages key stakeholders to drive optimization of operations, reporting and analytics, best practice, maximization of resources and communication to align and achieve operational and clinical quality metrics. Leads strategic planning and operational execution of key patient progression initiatives and programs. The VP partners closely with executive administrative and clinical leaders to ensure safe, efficient, high-quality, and patient-centered care.
Partners as a dyad with Chief Medical Officers to ensure the integrated delivery of high-quality services supporting all locations within the System as well as services provided to rural referring physicians and organizations in our region that share joint accountability for the clinical, operational, financial, and strategic performance.
Essential Job Functions
- Provides executive leadership for enterprise-wide patient throughput, access, and care coordination, with accountability for Transfer Center, Patient Flow, and Nursing Coordinator operations; establishes system governance, operating model, staffing and productivity standards, and performance management to achieve strategic, quality, and service-level outcomes.
- Owns system-wide governance for clinical appropriateness and level-of-care placement, ensuring consistent application of approved criteria across facilities; partners with physician and nursing executive leadership to align decisions with quality, safety, regulatory requirements, and capacity strategy.
- Defines and executes the enterprise patient access and physician service strategy, prioritizing demand across service lines and facilities; leads a system portfolio of throughput initiatives to improve time-to-bed, experience, and capacity utilization, with measurable performance targets and executive reporting.
- Leads enterprise-wide, cross-functional operational governance with hospital presidents, CNO/CMO leaders, and ancillary executives to identify constraints, remove barriers, and standardize best practices that ensure safe, efficient, and predictable patient flow across all sites of care.
- Sponsors and governs enterprise performance improvement programs; sets multi-year goals, approves investment and resource allocation, and drives accountability for results through KPI dashboards, operational reviews, and corrective action to sustain quality and financial performance.
- Directs regional and rural access strategy in partnership with hospital executives and Rural Health leadership to strengthen referral relationships, expand appropriate admissions and transfers, and align transfer pathways with system growth, network integrity, and community mission priorities.
- Leads development and optimization of the post-acute and transport partner network (transport providers, SNFs, LTACHs, critical access hospitals, and community services), aligning relationships with transition-of-care strategy to improve capacity, reduce length of stay, and support system-wide patient outcomes.
- Builds and sustains a high-accountability culture; recruits, develops, and mentors leaders and managers across throughput functions, establishing succession planning, competency standards, and escalation pathways to ensure consistent executive decision-making and service excellence.
- Establishes enterprise documentation and data governance for throughput operations, ensuring integrity, timeliness, and standardization to support compliance, audit readiness, care continuity, analytics, and executive decision-making.
Leadership Attributes
• Strategic Execution: Drives organizational objectives by operationalizing changes and initiatives effectively and efficiently. • Proactively anticipates both the needs of the health system and the impact operations has on the organization’s success. Collect and analyze data; prepare, and present recommendations, and explain associated benefits and risks for improving operations, quality, and access to care.
- Business Acumen: Demonstrates and further develops competencies in the areas of leadership, fiscal management, employee engagement, human resources knowledge, organizational dynamics and governance, organizational communication, strategic planning, change management, risk management, compliance, patient safety and quality improvement. Demonstrates professional ownership, self-development, and a desire for life-long learning.
- Emotional Intelligence: Serves as a role model for others leading and influencing the team to provide outstanding customer service. Develops and fosters relationships with health system leaders, departments, and members of the team to support open communication, trust, transparency, and collaboration.
- Leadership: Creates a supportive department culture by fostering individual motivation, coaching, and training for optimum job performance. Collaborates with Human Resources to develop, implement and support programs and processes that add value to the health system, its leadership, and employees. Leads to improve culture, employee and clinician engagement, empowerment, growth, and retention, while remaining committed to the Health System’s management and prosperity for its patients, residents, employees, and community.
Standard Expectations
Takes responsibility for professional growth and development needs; meets all educational requirements.- Practices and implements process improvement principles and oversees assessment and in areas of responsibility.
- Performs other duties as assigned to meet the needs of the departments, service lines, and the organization.
Minimum Qualifications
Education
- Advanced degree in related field OR Master’s degree in nursing, business, or health care administration.
Experience
- Six (6) to eight (8) years of management experience, with at least three years of successful experience working in an executive leadership role. Experience working in healthcare administration. Background in leading organizational initiatives and strategic policy development for sustained growth.
- Demonstrates a high level of personal integrity, a collaborative leadership style and high ethical standards.
- Demonstrated process improvement knowledge and skills.
- Demonstrated knowledge of health care administration, human resources, operations, and budget.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills; change management skills and leadership effectiveness.
Certifications and Licenses
- Current Montana state license as a Registered Nurse At hire
- MT Driver License At hire Ability to be insured to operate organization vehicles.
Or an equivalent combination of education and experience relating to the above tasks, knowledge, skills and abilities will be considered. Employees that require a licensed or certification must be properly licensed/certified and the licensure/certification must be in good standing.
Billings Clinic is Montana’s largest health system serving Montana, Wyoming and the western Dakotas. A not-for-profit organization led by a physician CEO, the health system is governed by a board of community members, nurses and physicians. Billings Clinic includes an integrated multi-specialty group practice, tertiary care hospital and trauma center, based in Billings, Montana. Learn more at www.billingsclinic.com/aboutus
Billings Clinic is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming employer, that strives to be kind, safe, and courageous in all we do. As an equal opportunity employer, our policies and processes are designed to achieve fair and equitable treatment of all employees and job applicants. All employees and job applicants will be provided the same treatment in all aspects of the employment relationship, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, and/or disability. To ensure we provide an accessible candidate experience for prospective employees, please let us know if you need any accommodations during the recruitment process.