Dr. Sharieff didn’t step straight into this role; instead, it’s the results of changes and restructures throughout the last four years. The journey started in 2020 when the chief medical officer role was split between ambulatory and acute care. At that time, the chief operations officer role was eliminated.
During the pandemic, Dr. Sharieff’s CMO role was expanded to include the COVID-19 command center and then cyberattack response. After Scripps’ chief finance officer retired, Dr. Sharieff also became responsible for support services, including food, environmental services, engineering, disaster management and security.
“In an unexpected honor, the leaders of those teams actually went to our CEO and asked to report to me directly,” Dr. Sharieff told Becker’s. “That’s unusual for a CMO—I had no engineering experience—but Chris agreed to the structure, and I took on those areas. I made it a point to learn everything I could. I rounded with the engineering team, learned how to inspect ceilings, and even took Taser training with our security officers. It was an incredible learning experience.”
From there, Dr. Sharieff’s role expanded again. When one of their regional chief executives suffered injuries after a serious accident, she temporarily took on the job of overseeing three hospitals. Upon his recovery, she was asked to take on all five hospitals.
At that point, it was time for a new title that reflected the mesh of responsibilities. They settled on “chief medical and operations officer.”
To date, she oversees the following departments: support services, information services, quality and employee assistance program, as well as regional chief executives, five physician operating executives and five chiefs of staff.
What makes it work
Having so many departments to manage can be complicated, but Dr. Sharieff said her team follows a few rules to make it easy.
“My one request is no surprises,” she said. “If something happens—good or bad—I want to hear it from my team first, not from the media. They text or call me immediately when something critical happens, and if details are still developing, they’ll tell me, ‘More to follow.‘ That means ‘don’t ask too many questions yet, but I’ll keep you updated.’ This open communication prevents delays and misalignment. If I didn’t have this level of trust and responsiveness, overseeing so many departments would be overwhelming.”
The advantages
Dr. Sharieff said the advantages of such a large role are immense in two areas: streamlining communication and decision-making.
“With this new leadership structure, change happens faster than ever,” she said. “Communication is seamless, and we can prioritize projects based on real-time system needs—like deciding whether to build a new cath lab in the south or allocate resources elsewhere.”
Want to explore a dual C-suite role?
For any system considering creating a dual C-suite role, Dr. Sharieff has one piece of advice.
“Open communication is non-negotiable,” she said. “I’ve promised my team that I have their backs if they have mine, and that’s built a culture of trust and responsiveness. Being accessible and responsive is key. Also, leaders should be willing to hear pushback. My team isn’t afraid to challenge me, and that back-and-forth is critical for strong decision-making.”
That culture and strategy drive everything, she said, because at the end of the day, it’s all about the team.
