Division Director – Infectious Diseases

The Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Mercy seeks a creative and dynamic leader to serve as Division Director of Infectious Diseases at the rank of Associate Professor or above. The Division Director will lead a talented team of clinicians, researchers, and educators. Responsibilities include leading the clinical, research, educational, and quality objectives of the division. Candidates should have a vision of the future of pediatric infectious diseases, be mission driven, and possess evidence of previous leadership experience. Other desired characteristics include 1) a track record of scholarly productivity; 2) history of mentorship that includes developing postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members; 3) clinical or research finance experience; 4) successful collaborations across subspecialties and disciplines; 5) unwavering commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and 6) commitment to developing a culture of innovation and team connection.

The division includes 12 MD / DO faculty members (many of whom have additional roles across the organization), 4 advanced practice providers, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 2 pharmacists, part-time PhD statistical support, and division administrative support. All pediatric residents complete an ID rotation during their 2

nd

year of training or 4

th

year for Med / Peds. This dynamic division provides inpatient consultations across 3 clinical services. The general ID and immunocompromised (IC) services care for children at the main Adele Hall campus, and a third service consults on patients at our community sites CM Kansas and the University of Kansas (KU). Approximately 2,000 consults are seen between the general and IC services at the main campus annually, with an additional 60 across the community sites. Ambulatory clinics include general ID, international travel, adoption, penicillin allergy delabeling, special immunology, and fellows’ clinic. As one of the first hospitals in the country to create an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP), the ASP team has been on the forefront of innovative stewardship work clinically as well as generating new knowledge about stewardship practices. In the past 10 years, the division has added a robust ambulatory ASP presence, working in collaboration with the two emergency departments, and three urgent cares in the CM system as well as affiliated pediatric practices using quality improvement methodology to reduce diagnostic testing and antibiotic overuse.

Creating new knowledge through research is an important and large part of the work of this division with federal, foundation, and industry grants and contracts supporting basic, translational, clinical, and quality improvement research with grants totaling more than $11 million for FY25. The research interests are broad and include neonatal Escherichia coli infections, severe adverse drug reactions, school and community-based respiratory virus epidemiology, and clinical trials assessing new vaccines and medications, and epidemiology of respiratory and gastrointestinal viral infections in collaboration with the Director of Clinical Microbiology and Molecular Infectious Disease Laboratory. CM is also a hub site for the Pediatric Pandemic Network, with members of the division focusing on preparation and research-based pediatric care in emergencies, disasters, and pandemics.

Creating an environment that fosters learning through trainee centric education is a primary focus of the ID division. In addition to a successful long-standing postdoctoral fellowship program, the ID division provides clinical education to all second-year categorical pediatric residents, fourth year combined internal medicine-pediatric residents, hospital medicine fellows, and internal medicine ID fellows through consult rotations. An advanced ID elective is also available for interested trainees.  Didactic education is provided throughout the academic year for all residents. Medical student electives are also available. The ASP team has created a stewardship track for fellows interested in antimicrobial stewardship focused careers, in addition to a wide variety of research and quality improvement opportunities to meet their scholarly activity requirements.

About Children’s Mercy

Children’s Mercy is one of the United States’ leading non-profit, independent pediatric health systems, offering a comprehensive suite of departments, centers, and clinics. Founded in 1897, Children’s Mercy is dedicated to holistic care, impactful research, breakthrough innovation and educating the next generation of caregivers. Guided by our mission, vision and values, our aim is to create a world of wellbeing for all children. Children’s Mercy is consistently ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by US News & World Report, and we were the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas to receive Magnet designation for excellence in patient care from the American Nurses Credentialing Center — an honor we have received five consecutive times.

Some Children’s Mercy facts and figures :

• 390 licensed beds (63 PICU / CICU, 81 NICU)
• Nearly 800 faculty
• Over 50 specialties
• 600,000 total visits
• 190,000 emergency and urgent care visits
• 20,000 surgical cases
• Primary service area includes150 counties in Missouri and Kansas
• Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons
• Only pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center between St. Louis and Denver
• Comprehensive solid organ transplant center with sustained, exceptional outcomes

Education

Education is a core tenet of Children’s Mercy. Children’s Mercy provides education opportunities to nursing students, medical students, residents and fellows, supporting over 1,400 learners annually. Children’s Mercy is the pediatric clerkship site for both UMKC and KU medical students and provides elective rotations and sub-internships to students at any accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school. Children’s Mercy is highly active in Graduate Medical Education with accredited residencies in pediatrics, med / peds, child neurology, pediatric dentistry, pediatric optometry and pharmacy. Children’s Mercy offers more than 40 fellowship programs across numerous areas, developing the next generation of subspecialists. 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). Finally, our robust clinical training resources are augmented by research opportunities for learners at all levels.

Research

Children’s Mercy is dedicated to becoming a leader in pediatric research. A directed strategic planning initiative established the Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) to focus on research and research infrastructure. Through the generosity of two philanthropic gifts totaling $150 million, the hospital constructed a nine story, 375,000 square foot research facility to provide scientists with state-of-the-art technology. In addition, these generous gifts help support funding for scientific programs and recruitment. Research conducted today includes basic, translational, and clinical research in numerous areas including pharmacology, cancer, cardiology, genetic diseases and health outcomes. Areas of research strength include Precision Therapeutics, Genomic Medicine, Population Health, Emerging Pathogens and Innovations in Health Care Delivery. Beyond these areas of emphasis, Children’s Mercy and the CMRI also provide encompassing resources for Children’s Mercy faculty to pursue research, from developing a research question, biostatistical planning, grant application and management, and coordination of clinical trials.

About Kansas City

Crossing into 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 the state and has 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, beautiful 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, assessable amenities and a very high quality of life.

Ideal Qualifications and Experience

Nominations and Applications (cover letter and curriculum vitae) should be submitted via e-mail to :   Facultyjobs@cmh.edu

Attention :   Search Committee Co-Chairs, Keith August, MD, MS, ( kjaugust@cmh.edu ) and Amanda Nedved, MD, ( anedved@cmh.edu )

All materials will be treated as confidential.

Children’s Mercy is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. For additional information, please visit our website at www.childrensmercy.org.