Chief Quality Officer

Tidelands Health; Murrells Inlet (SC); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Tidelands Health, based in Murrells Inlet, SC, seeks a Chief Quality Officer to lead enterprise-wide quality and patient safety initiatives. The CQO will drive performance improvement, regulatory readiness, and a culture of safety across the organization.

The role requires 10+ years in healthcare quality leadership, strong data-driven decision-making, and executive collaboration with physicians, nursing, and operations to enhance outcomes and patient experience.

Qualifications

• Ten (10) years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare quality, patient safety, clinical operations, or performance improvement.
• Experience leading quality and safety initiatives within a complex healthcare organization.
• Experience using quality and clinical data to drive measurable performance improvement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead the organization's enterprise-wide quality and patient safety strategy.
• Establish measurable quality objectives, performance metrics, and accountability structures to improve clinical outcomes and patient experience.
• Provide executive oversight for patient safety programs, high-reliability initiatives, serious safety event review, root cause analysis, and sustainable corrective action planning.
• Lead multidisciplinary performance improvement initiatives focused on clinical effectiveness, evidence-based practice, care variation reduction, efficiency, and patient-centered outcomes.
• Use quality data, internal and external benchmarks, and performance trends to identify gaps, set priorities, monitor progress, and drive measurable improvement.
• Provide executive leadership for accreditation, regulatory readiness, quality-related compliance, survey preparedness, deficiency resolution, and ongoing monitoring of regulatory requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective quality and safety reporting processes for executive leadership, governing boards, committees, and operational stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships with physicians, nursing leaders, advanced practice providers, executives, and operational leaders to advance quality, safety, and clinical performance priorities.
• Promote a culture of safety, transparency, continuous improvement, learning, proactive risk identification, and shared accountability across the organization.
• Lead, develop, and support quality, patient safety, regulatory, and performance improvement teams, including setting expectations, building capability, and retaining high-performing team members.

Skills

Strategy development

Data-driven decision making

Executive communication

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Leadership in healthcare

Quality & patient safety expertise

Education

Associate's Degree in Nursing

Bachelor's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or related field

Master's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or related field

Job description

Join Team Tidelands and help people live better lives through better health!

Chief Quality Officer

Are you passionate about quality and committed to excellence? Consider joining our Tidelands Health team. As our region's largest health care provider, we are also one of our area's largest employers. More than 2,500 team members at more than 70 Tidelands Health locations bring our healing mission to life each day.

A Brief Overview

The Chief Quality Officer (CQO) provides executive leadership and strategic direction for quality, patient safety, clinical effectiveness, and performance improvement across the organization. The CQO partners closely with executive, physician, nursing, and operational leaders to advance a culture of safety, accountability, high reliability, and continuous improvement.

This role is responsible for developing and executing an enterprise-wide quality strategy that improves clinical outcomes, patient experience, regulatory performance, and overall organizational effectiveness. The CQO serves as a key advisor to executive leadership and provides oversight of quality and safety programs, performance metrics, accreditation readiness, and improvement initiatives.

What you will do

• Develop and lead the organization's enterprise-wide quality and patient safety strategy in alignment with organizational goals, priorities, and performance expectations.
• Establish measurable quality objectives, performance metrics, and accountability structures to improve clinical outcomes, patient experience, reliability, and organizational effectiveness.
• Provide executive oversight for patient safety programs, high-reliability initiatives, serious safety event review, root cause analysis, and sustainable corrective action planning.
• Lead multidisciplinary performance improvement initiatives focused on clinical effectiveness, evidence-based practice, care variation reduction, efficiency, and patient-centered outcomes.
• Use quality data, internal and external benchmarks, and performance trends to identify gaps, set priorities, monitor progress, and drive measurable improvement.
• Provide executive leadership for accreditation, regulatory readiness, quality-related compliance, survey preparedness, deficiency resolution, and ongoing monitoring of regulatory requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective quality and safety reporting processes for executive leadership, governing boards, committees, and operational stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships with physicians, nursing leaders, advanced practice providers, executives, and operational leaders to advance quality, safety, and clinical performance priorities.
• Promote a culture of safety, transparency, continuous improvement, learning, proactive risk identification, and shared accountability across the organization.
• Lead, develop, and support quality, patient safety, regulatory, and performance improvement teams, including setting expectations, building capability, and retaining high-performing team members.

Education Qualifications

• Associate's Degree in Nursing Required and
• Bachelor's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or a related field Required
• Master's Degree in healthcare administration, business administration, nursing, public health, or a related field Preferred

Experience Qualifications

• Ten (10) years of significant progressive leadership experience in healthcare quality, patient safety, clinical operations, or performance improvement Required
• Experience leading quality and safety initiatives within a complex healthcare organization Required
• Experience using quality and clinical data to drive measurable performance improvement Required

Skills and Abilities

• Strategic planning, critical thinking, and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare quality, patient safety, regulatory, and accreditation requirements.
• Ability to lead quality improvement, continuous improvement, and performance improvement processes.
• Advanced verbal, written, presentation, persuasion, and executive communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships, negotiate effectively, and influence physicians, executives, and operational leaders.
• Strong team-building, leadership, collaboration, and change management skills in a matrixed organization.
• Healthcare financial, budgetary, and resource management knowledge.
• Strong listening, problem-solving, diplomacy, and conflict-resolution skills.

Licenses and Certifications

• Registered Nurse - South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Required

Physical Demand

Light Physical Demand
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a contract for employment nor a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Tidelands Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Tidelands Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). Tidelands Health does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, gender, genetic information, familial status, or any other legally protected status.