OVERVIEW
What Is a Hospital COO?
A hospital COO advises a majority of facility operations, including policy implementation across all departments.
Unlike the role of a hospital CEO, hospital COOs do not directly implement new policies or strategic changes. Instead, they rank beneath the CEO and provide valuable insight that informs a CEO’s final decisions. While CEOs are generally involved in long-term strategy and policy-making, hospital COOs maintain primary responsibility for a hospital’s daily operations.
As a hospital COO, you will need to receive a comprehensive education through one or more business degrees that allow you to obtain a C-suite position. In addition, you’ll need extensive experience both in the healthcare sphere and other leadership roles.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does a Hospital COO Do?
The duties of a hospital COO can change daily. As a hospital COO, you’re responsible for advising daily operations across all departments, especially at hospital locations responsible for immediate patient care. On some days, you might review hospital finances; in other cases, you might spend the majority of your day reviewing applications for a department leadership position.
The exact responsibilities of a hospital COO include:
- Reporting important information to the hospital CEO.
- Overseeing a hospital’s daily operations.
- Connecting with hospital department leaders regularly to ensure consistent operations and gauge their need for any further staff members or resources.
- Meeting with hospital stakeholders to discuss operations and future goals.
- Ensuring high levels of ongoing patient care.
- Coordinating department operations so that each department works well independently, and as a facet of holistic hospital operations.
- Managing the hospital’s daily financial operations.
- Advising staffing procedures to fill executive-level department positions with individuals who share the hospital’s vision for success.
These and other duties keep a hospital COO busy as they maintain a clear understanding of how all hospital departments are performing.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
What Education Does a Hospital COO Need?
Before you can assume a healthcare leadership position as a hospital COO, you will need to satisfy a few educational requirements. After getting your bachelor’s degree, you will need a Master of Healthcare Administration or an MBA in healthcare management to get started in this career.
Your master’s program will help you take concrete steps toward a hospital COO position. Leadership and management courses will inform your understanding of the healthcare field. You will develop skills in risk management, data analysis, health information technology, and financial management, to thoroughly prepare you for challenges you’ll face in a hospital environment.
When determining which healthcare leadership degree is right for you, prioritize the skills you know you’ll need. For example, degree programs that teach leadership and management skills will benefit your career as a hospital COO.
Best Degrees for a Hospital COO
Health & Nursing
Master of Healthcare Administration
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly...
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly in line with innovations in health and healthcare.
- Time: 60% of grads finish within 21 months.
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 12 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Healthcare Models and Systems
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Healthcare Information Technology
Your rich experience in a health-related field can mean more when you bring a master's level of understanding to the problems that organizations need to solve.
Compare degrees
This program is not the only degree WGU offers designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Business
MBA Healthcare Management
Prepare for a career leading private or public healthcare organizations....
Prepare for a career leading private or public healthcare organizations.
- Time: WGU lets you set a schedule so you can finish your MBA in just one year.
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 11 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Regulatory compliance
- Patient care improvement
- Service line development
- Healthcare trends
- Health policy and legislation
Healthcare is big business in today's complex economy. Steer your career with this specialty MBA.
Compare online business degrees
This program is not the only online business degree WGU offers that is designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
How Much Does a Hospital COO Make?
$104,169
The exact income of a hospital COO varies based on several factors, including the employer, employer’s location, employer’s public or private healthcare funding, bonus or profit-sharing structures, years of experience, and education. On average, the salary of a hospital COO is $125,391, with a range of roughly $23,500 to $298,500 each year.
What Is the Projected Job Growth?
32%
The job outlook for hospital COOs is favorable in years to come. From 2019 to 2029, employment for all medical and health services managers is forecasted to grow by 32%. This projected growth rate is much faster than the expected average across all occupations.
SKILLS
What Skills Does a Hospital COO Need?
Whether they’re communicating with hospital department representatives or advising CEO decisions, a hospital COO maintains proficiency in several management-related skills.
The skills that a hospital COO needs may include:
- Healthcare management. The ability to successfully manage a hospital’s internal and patient-facing healthcare departments.
- Financial management. The ability to assess a hospital’s budget allocation on a per-department basis.
- Teamwork. The ability to work together alongside hospital executives and healthcare staff members.
- Delegation. The ability to pass along tasks appropriately to individual hospital department representatives.
- Interpersonal communication. The ability to correspond effectively with all healthcare professionals and employees, to collectively promote smooth hospital operations.
- Public speaking. The ability to publicly address and inform groups of healthcare staff members.
- Technological proficiency. The ability to correctly use all necessary pieces of hospital technology, including any computers, tablets, phones, and online software platforms.
- Problem-solving. The ability to identify and solve problems that individual hospital departments are facing.
These and other skills allow a hospital COO to find success as they work toward smooth daily hospital operations and inform the decisions of the hospital CEO.
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