Chief Medical Officer Opportunity

Chief Medical Officer Opportunity Overview:
Heywood Healthcare, a community-focused healthcare organization dedicated to meeting the needs of
North Central Massachusetts, is seeking an exceptional Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to join its executive
leadership team. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CMO serves as the
organization’s senior physician executive, providing strategic clinical leadership and oversight of medical
affairs, quality, safety, and physician engagement.

The CMO will be a highly respected physician leader who brings both clinical credibility and executive acumen to guide Heywood’s mission to be our region’s first choice for quality, compassionate, patient-centered care. This leader will partner closely with hospital leadership, the Board of Trustees, and the medical staff to ensure excellence in clinical outcomes, patient safety, physician performance, and regulatory compliance across the system.  This is a unique opportunity for a mission-driven physician executive to help shape the future of healthcare delivery in our communities strengthening medical staff engagement, advancing quality initiatives, and ensuring that clinical excellence remains at the core of Heywood Healthcare’s strategic direction.

The Role of Chief Medical Officer:
Key Responsibilities
• Provide strategic medical leadership across the organization, ensuring the highest standards of clinical quality, patient safety, and evidence-based care.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the medical staff, hospital administration, and the Board of Trustees, fostering strong physician engagement, alignment, and collaboration.
• Lead and oversee medical staff affairs, including credentialing, privileging, peer review, performance management, and compliance with Medical Staff Bylaws and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with executive leadership to develop and implement system-wide quality improvement, utilization management, patient safety, and clinical governance initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Chief Nursing Officer and other clinical leaders to build a culture of care excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Guide the development and implementation of clinical practice standards, care pathways, and performance metrics that improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency.
• Oversee physician recruitment, onboarding, and leadership development strategies to strengthen provider engagement, retention, and organizational culture.
• Support hospital-employed physician practices and specialty service lines to ensure clinical integration, operational effectiveness, and high levels of provider satisfaction.

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OPPORTUNITY

• Represent Heywood Healthcare in physician-hospital organization activities, regulatory reviews, accreditation processes, and community partnerships related to medical affairs.
• Provide expert clinical counsel to the CEO, executive team, and Board of Trustees on matters of patient care, quality, medical staff performance, and emerging healthcare trends.

Standard Executive Management Level Responsibilities:
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and performance management for medical staff services and related departments.
• Participate as a key member of the senior leadership team in strategic planning, budgeting, and organizational performance initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and accreditation standards related to medical staff operations, quality, and patient safety.
• Promote ethical medical practice, transparency, and accountability across all clinical operations. 

• Lead change management initiatives that support innovation, care transformation, and
continuous performance improvement..

Required Qualifications:
• Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) from an accredited medical
school with current board certification in a recognized specialty.
• A minimum of 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in medical affairs, physician
leadership, or healthcare administration, preferably within a hospital or integrated health.

• Demonstrated success in clinical quality improvement, patient safety initiatives, and medical staff governance.
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills with the ability to effectively engage physicians, executives, and community stakeholders.
• Proven ability to lead in complex, rapidly changing healthcare environments while maintaining focus on patient-centered care.

Desired Qualifications:
• Experience in community-based or rural healthcare systems with a deep understanding of access, equity, and population health challenges.
• Familiarity with Massachusetts healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, and payer environments.
• Demonstrated success in physician recruitment, engagement, and leadership development.

For a physician leader who values service, collaboration, and community impact, this role represents
an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in North Central Massachusetts.

About Heywood Healthcare: Heywood Healthcare is a nonprofit, community-centered healthcare organization. Our network is dedicated to ensuring access to high-quality medical care and includes Heywood Hospital, Athol Hospital, and Heywood Medical Group. Together, we provide a blend of inpatient, outpatient, and specialty healthcare services that address the unique needs of the region’s families. Anchored by a mission of enhancing the health of the surrounding communities, Heywood is deeply involved in public health initiatives, including programs focused on mental health, substance use disorder treatment, chronic disease management and robust school based programs.

Heywood Healthcare is proud of its strong community ties and is dedicated to forging partnerships to address social detriments of health and access to affordable healthcare locally for financially challenged communities.  Heywood Medical Group is a non-profit physician organization affiliated with Heywood Hospital and Athol Hospital with over 70 providers specializing in primary and specialty care. Our primary care physicians focus on Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Internal Medicine while our specialty care physicians focus on the areas of Addiction Medicine, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, General Surgery,
Infectious Disease, Obesity, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, Rheumatology, and Urology.

Heywood Hospital is a state-of-the-art community hospital serving the Greater Gardner community, featuring modern imaging services, including new MRI and 64-slice CT machines. Opened in 2011, the $37 million Watkins Center features a 21-bed emergency center, private inpatient adult medical/surgical/telemetry beds, a six-bed ICU with 24/7 eICU services, mental health unit, geriatric psych unit and wound clinic. There is 24/7 specialist coverage in cardiology, OB/GYN, orthopedics, general surgery and pediatrics as well as a strong hospitalist service.

Athol Hospital is a non-profit 25-bed acute care critical access hospital serving nine communities in the North Quabbin Region, only 20 minutes from Heywood Hospital. This facility features a new state-of the art Medical Office Building, imaging services, 24/7 emergency room with 13 beds, and a swing bed program which transitions patients from acute care to sub-acute care in order to accommodate rehabilitation needs while recovering. Together, these organizations form Heywood Healthcare, offering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services. We are proud of our exceptionally collegial medical staff, a supportive administrative environment and dedication to excellence and customer service.

About Gardner, Massachusetts:
The Greater Gardner area is a safe and friendly family-oriented community with much to offer:
• Affordable cost of living
• Well-regarded public and private schools
• Outstanding municipal golf course
• Next door to Mount Wachusett Community College
• Convenient family recreation, sports and shopping

Gardner has 21,000 residents and is located:
60 miles from Boston

30 miles from Worcester, the state’s second largest city
15 miles from Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
15 minutes from a variety of hiking and bike trails, apple farms, pumpkin patches, abundant
lakes and other outdoor recreation
45 minutes from Mtn. Monadnock, Peterborough, NH. The 2nd most climbed mountain in the
world
2 hours from NH’s Lakes Region, NH & VT ski resorts

Links to the area:
Heywood Hospital- http://www.heywood.org
Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce- http://www.gardnerma.com
Wachusett Mountain Ski Resort- http://www.wachusett.com
Johnny Appleseed County Tourist Center- http://www.appleseed.org
Massachusetts Association of Realtors- http://marealtor.com

Central Massachusetts Visitors Bureau-
http://www.massvacation.com/regionstowns/centralmassachusetts/

Two hospitals, along with Heywood Medical Group, form Heywood Healthcare.

Heywood Hospital is a state-of-the-art community hospital serving the Greater Gardner community. Opened in 2011, the $37 million Watkins Center features a 21 bed emergency center, all private inpatient adult medical/surgical/telemetry beds and a 6 bed ICU with 24/7 EICU services.

Athol Hospital is a non-profit 25 bed acute care critical access hospital serving nine communities in the North Quabbin Region. This facility features state-of-the-art imaging services, 24/7 emergency room, and a swing bed program which transitions beds from acute care to sub-acute care in order to accommodate the rehabilitation needs of recovering patients.

We are proud of our exceptionally collegial medical staff, a supportive administrative environment and dedication to excellence and customer service.

Gardner, Massachusetts is a safe and friendly family-oriented community with much to offer: Close proximity to all Boston has to offer, without the high cost of living and hassles of city life Affordable cost-of-living in Gardner & surrounding area Access to the best public and private schools in the country Close proximity to golf, skiing, hiking, bike trails, lakes and other outdoor recreation Surrounded by many of the best community colleges, universities and private colleges in the world Conveniently located near shopping, sports and family recreation

Gardner boasts over 21,000 residents and is located only

• 60 miles from Boston
• 30 miles from Worcester, the state’s second largest city
• 15 minutes from Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
• 20 minutes from a variety of apple farms, pumpkin patches, and other fun family activities

Known as "The Furniture Capital of New England", Gardner has a rich history of furniture manufacturing.