Chief of Urgent Care

The Chief of Urgent Care provides clinical, operational, and strategic leadership for the Urgent Care service line, ensuring high‑quality, timely, and patient‑centered care while optimizing access, throughput, workforce engagement, and financial performance.

Reporting to the Chair of Primary Care, the Chief partners closely with the Administrative Director through a dyad leadership model to manage day‑to‑day operations, drive performance, and ensure consistent, high‑reliability care delivery across all Urgent Care sites. This role is accountable for aligning Urgent Care performance with organizational goals while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Operational Leadership

· Lead the Urgent Care service line in alignment with organizational strategy, access goals, and community demand.

· Partner with the Administrative Director to oversee staffing models, budgeting, scheduling strategies, and resource allocation.

· Develop and implement initiatives to improve patient access, throughput, length of stay, and provider experience.

· Ensure appropriate clinician coverage and staffing flexibility to meet variable demand, seasonal surges, and extended hours.

· Conduct regular onsite rounding to maintain visibility, support frontline teams, and identify operational improvement opportunities.

Clinical Excellence

· Ensure adherence to evidence‑based clinical guidelines, urgent care protocols, and quality standards.

· Champion patient safety, risk mitigation, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.

· Promote standardized clinical pathways to ensure consistency of care across Urgent Care locations.

· Serve as a clinical mentor and escalation resource for Urgent Care providers.

Recruiting, Onboarding & Workforce Development

· Lead physician and advanced practice provider recruitment strategy for Urgent Care in partnership with Physician Recruitment, HR, and operational leadership.

· Participate in candidate evaluation, interviewing, selection, and offer alignment to ensure strong clinical and cultural fit.

· Oversee onboarding and integration of new providers, ensuring rapid, consistent, and effective transitions into Urgent Care practice.

· Partner with Medical Directors to standardize onboarding, mentoring, competency validation, and early performance support.

· Support succession planning and leadership development for Urgent Care Medical Directors and emerging physician leaders.

· Deliver clear, timely performance feedback through the annual evaluation process, supporting accountability, development, clinical excellence, and continuous improvement.

· Promote provider retention through engagement, performance feedback, career development pathways, and Experience of Work initiatives..

Performance Management

· Monitor and drive performance against Urgent Care KPIs, including access, throughput, length of stay, left‑without‑being‑seen (LWBS), quality, patient experience, and financial performance.

· Optimize provider productivity, panel mix, and workflows to meet visit volume, efficiency, and access targets.

· Partner with administrative, finance, and revenue cycle leaders to improve documentation, coding accuracy, and cost management.

· Address performance gaps through data‑driven improvement plans, coaching, and standardized operational interventions..

Growth & Innovation

· Support growth strategies for Urgent Care, including site expansion, hours optimization, and integration with primary care, specialty, and virtual care.

· Champion adoption of technology, clinical decision support, and operational tools that improve efficiency and patient experience.

· Foster a culture of innovation, adaptability, and continuous improvement within Urgent Care.

Collaboration & Communication

· Maintain strong partnerships with Primary Care, Emergency Medicine, specialties, and system leadership.

· Communicate goals, expectations, and performance updates clearly and consistently to Medical Directors and frontline providers.

· Serve as a visible clinical leader and advocate for Urgent Care across the organization.

Qualifications

· MD or DO with board certification in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or Emergency Medicine.

· Minimum of 5 years of clinical experience with at least 3 years in a leadership role, preferably in Urgent Care or ambulatory settings.

· Demonstrated success leading high‑volume, access‑driven clinical operations.

· Experience with physician recruitment, onboarding, and workforce development strongly preferred.

· Strong leadership, communication, and problem‑solving skills.

Leadership Competencies

· Strategic Thinking: Aligns Urgent Care performance with organizational access and growth strategies.

· Operational Acumen: Manages staffing models, workflows, budgets, and demand variability effectively.

· Talent Leadership: Recruits, develops, and retains high‑performing Urgent Care teams.

· Collaborative Leadership: Effective dyad partner and cross‑functional leader.

· Change Management: Leads operational and cultural change in fast‑paced environments.

· Results Orientation: Drives measurable outcomes with accountability.

Performance Expectations & KPIs

· Quality & Safety: Achieve best‑practice performance in Urgent Care quality and patient safety metrics.

· Patient Access & Throughput: Meet or exceed targets for wait times, length of stay, and LWBS rates.

· Financial Performance: Maintain budget discipline and achieve visit volume and productivity goals.

· Patient Experience: Achieve patient satisfaction scores above organizational benchmarks.

· Provider Engagement & Retention: Maintain high engagement scores, effective onboarding metrics, and low voluntary turnover.

· Recruitment Effectiveness: Timely recruitment and successful integration of Urgent Care providers aligned with service line needs.

Role Fit Within Leadership Structure

· Chair: Service line vision, strategic alignment, and physician leadership

· Chief: Department-level execution, performance accountability, and operational leadership

· Medical Director: Clinic-level execution, provider leadership, and day-to-day oversight of care delivery

Sutter West Bay Medical Group (SWBMG) is a premier multi-specialty medical group made up of over 230 physicians practicing in the greater San Francisco service area. SWBMG works in partnership with Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation (SPMF), a non-profit organization providing care through its affiliation with SWBMG. Physicians work as a team to provide patient-focused care that encourages a sense of teamwork as the referral destination for complex cardiac care across the Sutter system. SPMF provides physicians with an administrative infrastructure, allowing physicians to focus on patient care.

San Francisco is the leading financial and cultural center of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco is one of the top tourist destinations in the world and is renowned for its temperate weather, steep rolling hills, unique architecture, arts and culture, and fine dining.

* It is the policy of the Sutter West Bay Medical Group (SWBMG) to provide equal employment for all qualified individuals; to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, creed, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, national origin, age, medical condition, disability or status as a veteran or a disabled veteran. We promote the full realization of equal employment opportunities through a positive continuing program within our service area. Equal employment opportunities apply to every aspect of SWBMG’s employment policies and practices.