Career Center

The Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Mercy (CM) seeks a creative and scholarly leader to serve as Division Director of Rehabilitation Medicine and Medical Director of the Rehabilitation Program at CM. The Division Director will lead the clinical, educational, research and quality missions of a comprehensive academic Rehabilitation program. The Division Director will be responsible for establishing collaborative ties with the whole of the pediatric enterprise to ensure the welfare and improve the health of the children in the region. This is a clinical faculty position offering an academic appointment at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine, rank to be commensurate with experience. Children’s Mercy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our faculty and staff and fostering their success when hired. Members of underrepresented groups are welcome and strongly encouraged to apply. For additional information, please visit our website at www.cmh.edu.

The foremost quality necessary for this position is vision for the field of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Other desired characteristics include a track record of: 1) developing young clinicians into future leaders in pediatric rehabilitation; 2) participation in academic infrastructure and finances; 3) leadership experience or potential with a high volume, diverse Rehabilitation Medicine service; 4) collaborating successfully as a hospital leader with hospital and medical partners in managing the Rehabilitation Division’s workflow while maintaining the highest value of care; and 5) developing a culture of high team accountability and professionalism. The individual selected for this position will be a strategic and highly communicative leader who is a MD/DO or MD/DO/PhD and who is board certified in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. As Rehabilitation Medicine Division Director, the individual reports to the Chair of Pediatrics. As Medical Director of Rehabilitation Clinical Services the individual reports to the Chief Operating Officer of CM.

Children’s Mercy’s Rehabilitation Division enjoys a unique position, with the only board-certified providers of pediatric rehabilitation in the region. We have clinic locations in four sites in the Kansas City area, with telehealth outreach to surrounding communities. Our clinical expertise is both broad and deep, with clinics organized to best care for each complex population we serve. Our multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary approach honors the needs of the patients and their families by engaging teams who work well together across disciplines, efficiently providing care and driven by protocols and best practices. The Rehabilitation team leads the Spinal Differences (Spina Bifida and Spinal Cord Injury) Clinics, the Nerve and Muscle Clinics (Neuromuscular Disorders,
SMA, DMD) and Limb Differences/Amputee. The division provides the majority of the cerebral palsy care at CM, including intrathecal pumps, injectables and a team approach to rhizotomy, DBS and complex spasticity management. Our full clinic complement is broad reaching, from acupuncture to wheelchairs. We boast the first ever exclusively pediatric EMG lab to receive exemplary status with AANEM and we have the only CARF certified inpatient rehabilitation service in the region.
Due to the nature of Rehabilitation Medicine, our physicians and nurse practitioners enjoy close collaborative relationships with multiple specialties within the hospital and outpatient settings. Opportunities abound for expansion with new programs as innovative models are introduced, from early newborn screening for cerebral palsy to the use of virtual reality for inpatient rehabilitation, COVID-19 recovery, and transition to adult care as examples of potential growth areas.
We have a successful Pediatric Rehabilitation Fellowship program with GME accreditation. With academic affiliations with both the University of Missouri – Kansas City and the University of Kansas Schools of Medicine, we have regular rotations of PM&R residents and many elective pediatric residents and medical students. Opportunities abound to expand the scope of academic training and provide exposure to the field of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Many of our faculty have pursued additional degrees and training to complement their medical success, including MBA, MPH, clinical pharmacology, and the leadership training and career advancement opportunities provided by the CM Office of Faculty Development. Indeed, all division directors at CM have a multitude of resources to mentor faculty to their greatest potential.

About Children’s Mercy

Children’s Mercy is a nationally recognized, free-standing children’s hospital founded in 1897 to provide care for poor and ill children of Kansas City. The primary service area of CM encompasses 150 counties in Missouri and Kansas. As a freestanding, independent children’s hospital, CM offers a comprehensive suite of departments, centers, and clinics. This includes an autism center, cancer center, dental clinic, fetal health clinic, genetics clinic, heart center, sleep center, sports medicine center, and a transplant center. CM also provides emergency, intensive care, and urgent care services, social work service, developmental and behavioral health services, and hearing and speech services. In 2019, CM conducted almost 600,000 total visits, including over 4,000 telemedicine visits, almost 190,000 emergency and urgent care visits, and 20,000 surgical cases. CM is also one of only ten centers in the nation verified as a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons and the only pediatric Level I Trauma Center in the region. CM subspecialties are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the top 50 of all assessed pediatric subspecialties. CM has over 750 doctors in more than 40 subspecialties who see children of all ages for everything from routine checkups to quaternary care. We enthusiastically complement our nationally ranked clinical care with robust community support programs that keep kids safe and healthy.

Education

Education is a core tenet of CM. CM provides education opportunities to nursing students, medical students, residents, and fellows, as well as offering internships. Certificate and master’s programs are also operated in conjunction with its academic partners, the University of Kansas (KU) and the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). CM supports over 1,400 learners annually, including residents, fellows, and others who come to the system to learn from the faculty. CM provides elective rotations and sub-internships to students at any accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school. It is also the site for pediatric clerkships for both UMKC and KU medical students. There are also opportunities for medical students to pursue research through CM. CM is highly active in Graduate Medical Education with accredited residencies in pediatrics, med/peds, child neurology, pediatric dentistry, pediatric optometry, and pharmacy. CM offers more than 40 fellowship programs across numerous areas, developing the next generation of subspecialists.

Research

Children’s Mercy is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children through engagement in world-class, collaborative translation research. A recent strategic planning initiative established The Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) to enhance our research infrastructure and grow our research portfolio. Through the generosity of two philanthropic gifts totaling $150 million (the largest donation to a children’s hospital to support research), CM constructed a nine story, 375,000 square foot facility providing scientists access to state-of-the-art technology and ample dry and wet lab space. The CMRI building officially opened in the fall of 2020. In addition, these generous gifts are supporting enhancement of scientific programs and targeted recruitment. Research conducted today includes basic, translational and clinical research across many pediatric subspecialties. Areas of research strength include Precision Therapeutics, Genomics Medicine, Population Health, and Innovations in Health Care Delivery. The CMRI provides core resources and support for CM faculty, from research topic development through grant management and trial coordination. CM recently renewed its T32 training grant in Clinical Pharmacology, having trained 24 post-doctoral fellows, most of whom have competed successfully for extramural funding for their research programs. Children’s Mercy has been the pediatric partner for the Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at the University of Kansas since the CTSI’s inception. This regional CTSI program comprises four universities (including three medical schools) and three health systems on both sides of the Missouri-Kansas state line. Several CM faculty members have been recipients of KL2 and pilot grant funding, and others have assumed leadership roles within Frontiers. Furthermore, Frontiers is transitioning to a more inclusive administrative structure in which leadership of cores and functions is shared by investigators at two institutions, providing additional opportunities for faculty to become actively engaged in clinical and translational research.
About Kansas City:
Straddling both Missouri and Kansas, the Kansas City Metropolitan Area is an affordable and comfortable place to live and raise a family. The metro’s anchor city, Kansas City, Missouri, is the largest city in Missouri and has many great museums, a busy downtown, multiple professional sports franchises, an exciting music scene, and many charming neighborhoods. Throughout the Metro area, you will find highly ranked public schools, great parks and other green spaces, and
lots of amazing people. Kansas City is large enough to provide the amenities of a metropolitan area, while small enough to allow for easy commutes, accessible amenities and a very high quality of life.

Ideal Qualifications and Experience
• An MD or equivalent and board certification in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine
• Current academic rank of Associate Professor or Professor
• A strong record of clinical and academic achievement
• Demonstrated success in advancing medical education, patient care and research
• A commitment to our true north pillars: quality and safety, people, patient experience, delivery, and stewardship
• Fosters and models our values: kindness, curiosity, inclusion, team, and integrity
• A history of success with integrating clinical and research missions
• A deep commitment to fostering and supporting programs that address equity, inclusion, and diversity
• A track record of partnership with academic medical centers
• Experience with or a desire to learn and utilize LEAN methodologies
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability and commitment to collaborate with leadership at partner institutions

Nominations and Applications (cover letter and curriculum vitae) should be submitted by e-mail to:
physicianjobs@cmh.edu
All materials will be treated as confidential.