Syracuse, New York
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) position at Crouse Health offers a unique opportunity to shape the clinical direction of a high-performing, independent health system with deep community roots and strong regional relevance. This is a visible, enterprise-wide physician leadership role reporting directly to a physician President and CEO, enabling influence across strategy, operations, and culture at scale. The organization’s independence enables agile decision-making and innovation, while its size and scope introduce meaningful complexity across service lines, care settings, and physician relationships. For a physician executive seeking a platform to drive measurable improvement in quality, operations, and physician alignment while working within a collaborative, mission-driven environment, this role presents a compelling, highly impactful leadership opportunity.
Crouse Health is an independent, not-for-profit healthcare system based in Syracuse, New York, anchored by its 505-bed tertiary care hospital. With annual volumes exceeding 22,000 inpatient admissions, 60,000 emergency department visits, and over 16,000 surgical cases, Crouse Health is a high-volume, clinically diverse provider serving a broad Central New York population.
The CMO is expected to lead and elevate clinical quality, patient safety, and operational performance across the system. The position will drive stronger alignment across the medical staff, enhance physician recruitment and retention strategies, and foster deeper collaboration with nursing and interdisciplinary leadership. The CMO will also serve as a key champion for Epic optimization, leveraging data and analytics to support clinical and operational decision-making. Equally important is the need to build trust, develop relationships across stakeholders, and gain a deep understanding of the organization’s culture and operating environment, while maintaining and strengthening its critical academic partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical University.
The ideal candidate will be a respected physician leader with demonstrated success in advancing clinical quality and leading complex medical staff environments within a health system setting. The successful CMO will possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, including physicians, nursing leadership, and executive teams. A Doctor of Medicine degree is required (MD/DO), and completion of a postgraduate medical education in an ACGME-approved residency program in a medical specialty with current Board Certification. An advanced degree in healthcare or a business-related field is preferred.
Confidential inquiries, nominations, and expressions of interest can be submitted to the WittKieffer Candidate Portal by clicking the buttons below. For additional questions, please contact the consultants supporting this search, Rachel Polhemus, Paul Bohne, Imran Ali, and Brittany Amaral preferably via email at [email protected].
The base salary range for this position is $500,000 to $550,000. In addition, this executive will be eligible for an annual incentive bonus, retirement, and additional benefits. The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be determined based on various factors, including but not limited to level of experience, education, accomplishments, internal equity and budget.