CNOs find seats at executive strategy tables

At Trinity Health in Livonia, Mich., the top nurse executive is preparing the system's chief nursing officers (CNOs) to be strategic partners within their own hospital's leadership teams. In an interview with HealthLeaders Media, AONL member Gay Landstrom, PhD, RN, senior vice president and CNO of Trinity Health, noted CNOs constitute “the direct link” between the C-suite and patient care, giving them a critical perspective often missing at senior leadership tables. To share that view effectively, “CNOs of the future need to learn more than acute care,” Landstrom said, adding that future CNOs should gain experience in other parts of the care continuum. Trinity Health uses mentoring, development and leadership programs to help its CNOs gain the skills they need to contribute to organizational strategy and decision-making. (HealthLeaders Media article, 3/28/22)