Expanding and Growing Retained Search Services

Due to continued support from our longstanding clients and the addition of new clients in 2014, Kirby Bates Associates has expanded our scope of retained searches and our search team.

Changes within our client’s organizations have resulted in some shifts in the type of searches we are requested to conduct. CNO, ACNO, and Administrative/Service Line Leadership positions in all clinical specialties and settings continue to be the main focus of our work. However, with the shift from volume to value and the increase in risk sharing reimbursement models, many hospitals and a growing number of outpatient programs are redesigning Care Management departments. As a result, we are seeing an increase in requests for contemporary Care Management leaders who can successfully manage high risk patients, drive clinical outcomes, and coordinate transitions of care. In addition, as organizations establish ACOs and Medical Homes to position for population health, we are also seeing development in the infrastructure of ambulatory care settings and physician practices. Nursing leadership roles in both these settings are evolving as important members of the multidisciplinary leadership teams.

One of our clients has introduced a new role to us that we see as both innovative and on target for one of the critical operational problems facing many of our clients. Trinity Mother Frances Hospital (TMFH) in Tyler, Texas, has created an Associate Vice President for the evening shift. Recognizing the volume of admissions, transfers, family encounters, testing, and post procedural care occurring during this timeframe, TMFH has established a senior leadership role to focus on achieving the organization’s strategic objectives and clinical outcomes. The integration of this position with the executive level team sets it apart from more traditional day to day or operationally focused roles. We look forward to learning the impact of this new role at TMFH.

To keep pace with the needs of our clients, we have redesigned the structure of retained search and added new personnel. In 2014, I was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President for Search Services and manage all client relationships for retained searches. This change has freed my colleagues to develop the other service lines offered by KBA. In addition, Peg Loughery was promoted to Vice President Search Candidate Services. Peg oversees the candidate development and research teams that bring candidates with the right expertise and the right cultural fit to our clients.

In July of this year, we recruited, Christina Suh Steele, as an interim search associate. Christina previously worked in human resources in several of the Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospitals in Boston.  In November, Betsy Fitzpatrick joined our team as Recruitment and Data Base Manager. In February, Erinn Quinlan, who previously worked with us on our Interim Search Team, returned to KBA as a Search Associate for retained search.

We have also been working closely with the search team from Bowen & Briggs This affiliation has expanded our expertise in children’s services and brought additional talent and resources to our team. You will see our expanded capabilities in the women and children’s sector on our web site www.kirbybates.com. More on this topic at a later date.

By M. Jane Fitzsimmons, RN, MSN, Executive Vice President, Search Services