This tool is appropriate for use by a wide variety of stakeholders, including health center Chief Executive Officers (CEO), COOs and other Leaders; Board of Directors; Human Resources; Search Firms; Primary Care Associations; Training Organizations; and more. It is our hope that this tool will provide the structure and common language to help define, develop, and sustain excellence in operations leadership of health centers across the United States.
Defining health center Chief Operating Officer (COO) Competencies is a project led by NACHC engaging health center leaders from across the country to identify a comprehensive set of COO work role domains, tasks/skills, and behaviors. This working group is creating a taxonomy of competencies to serve as a foundation for defining the important aspects of COO leadership and effectiveness. In healthcare and related industries, many organizations have published frameworks to evaluate competency and support professional development (e.g., Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), etc.). For our purposes, the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Competencies (2023) was selected and serves as a common foundation for all heath center executives. The ACHE domains have been adapted to represent the environment and mission of health centers and specifically the role of the COO. This tool is organic and subject to continuous quality improvement and revision as COO practice evolves and feedback on the tool is gathered, analyzed, and incorporated.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $7,287,500, with 0% of the total NCA project financed with non-federal sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. https://www.hrsa.gov/
