Amidst blue skies and palm trees, The Ritz-Carlton Orlando was the ideal setting for IPMI’s inaugural gathering of hospital and health system Chief Nurse Executives (CNEs) and Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs).

In navigating the complex landscape of healthcare leadership, CNEs and CNOs find themselves at the nexus of patient care excellence and organizational sustainability.  As leaders of a large proportion of health system employees, they are at the forefront of engaging frontline staff and representing them in interactions with the C-Suite.  As nurses are increasingly experiencing burnout and are continuing to leave the profession in large numbers, Executive Nurse Leaders are having to leverage their unique skill set – the combination of clinical knowledge, analytical skills, creativity, negotiation skills, and empathy – to advocate for their workforce, build sustainable leadership development and succession planning programs, ensure best quality patient care, manage health systems’ financial priorities, and effectively lead change.

With the theme of “Strategies, Insights, and Connections to Advance the Practice of Nursing”, the Institute allowed the attending nurse leaders to interact in a unique, intimate environment where they explored some creative ways that hospitals and health systems are approaching various challenges: what worked, what did not work, and what are some ways that CNEs and CNOs are meeting the moment.

Some key sub-themes from the Institute included:

DRIVING EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP

Healthcare organizations face numerous ongoing challenges, from workforce shortages and provider burnout to financial pressures and care delivery disparities. In the midst of this, disruptive innovations like virtual health and new care models offer the potential to transform the traditionally slow-moving healthcare sector. CNEs and CNOs are at the forefront of driving this change, balancing improving efficiency and optimizing value with prioritizing quality, safety, and team well-being. As leaders at the intersection of clinical care and administration, they play a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery. Two dynamic and engaging panels featuring Nurse Leaders from Summa Health, Mercy Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Phoenix Children’s, University of Chicago Medical Center, and Memorial Hermann Health System explored how to tackle these challenges, sharing experiences and providing keen insights and learnings.

MEETING WORKFORCE CHALLENGES

Several sessions explored a variety of ways to approach the perennial and ubiquitous challenge of recruiting, engaging, and retaining nurses, including the exemplary case study of the HEAL high school, an innovative initiative by Houston, Texas-based Memorial Hermann Health System that serves a triad of purposes by providing a career pathway for students, alleviating the clinician shortage crunch, and lifting up the community by dismantling generational health inequities through the provision of meaningful employment opportunities to members of the community.  Other sessions on reimagining approaches to workforce management to enable better clinician flexibility, maximize shift coverage, and reduce premium labor spend; contingent labor management; and nurse recruitment and retention provided several avenues to approach this particularly thorny issue.

OPTIMIZING WORKFLOWS FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT

Attendees were fortunate to hear from two organizations who were making strides in developing process improvements, and make informed patient-care decisions, as well as leveraging technology and innovation to optimize nursing workflows and enhance the caregiver / clinician experience.  Summa Health’s Center for Clinical Inquiry™ is an innovative, collaborative model to promote and support change by using evidence-based practice methods to meet individual patient needs resulting in optimal patient outcomes.  Orlando Health has been able to use one integrated platform to deliver streamlined nursing and provider documentation and leverage multiple virtual patient care delivery modes including remote patient monitoring in the hospital (sitter) or at home, virtual nursing and secure clinical communications and collaboration such as remote specialist consultations.   This has achieved outcomes such as cost reductions, reduced readmissions, increased nursing and physician productivity and a return to the joy of nursing.  

ON TO THE NEXT ONE

To contribute to the next iteration of the Chief Nursing Institute, whether sharing some insights and experiences as a member of the Speaker Faculty, suggesting topic areas for the agenda or joining the waiting list for attendance, please contact Nas Panwar at npanwar@ipmievents.com