A Message from our Chief Nursing Officer
Chief Nursing Officer
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
As your Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for your unwavering commitment to our patients, community, and one another. It’s an honor to work alongside such a talented nursing team. Your dedication and the skills you’ve honed are evident in the exceptional care you provide.
Our vision is to be recognized as leaders in nursing quality outcomes, service excellence, and patient-centered care. Your commitment to nursing excellence and evidence-based practice, guided by our ICARE values, sets us apart. I am filled with pride and admiration for your courage and strength. Thank you for everything you do for our patients, their families, and our community. Your hard work truly makes a difference!
Nursing Excellence
Professional Development
- Nurse Residency Programs, specialty certification support, and tuition assistance for higher education are strongly associated with improved retention, particularly among early-career nurses. These programs reduce first-year turnover by strengthening competency, confidence, and professional socialization. Certification and continued education foster autonomy and expertise, both of which correlate with decreased intent to leave and enhanced career satisfaction.
- Professional Governance Councils such as the Recruitment, Retention, Recognition (R3) Council empower nurses to influence policy, practice standards, and staffing decisions. At NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, clinical nurses used these councils to recommend staffing strategies, workflow improvements, and resource needs, reinforcing their ownership of professional practice.
- Succession Planning. Developing internal candidates for leadership roles improves retention by creating clear pathways for advancement and strengthening a culture of professional growth.
- Clinical ladder programs are recognized as one of the most effective structural supports for retention. At NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, clinical ladders not only enhance retention but also improve clinical outcomes and patient safety through sustained competency development. From 2023 to 2025, 667 clinical nurses participated in the Clinical Ladder Program.
- Mentorship Program. Structured mentorship improves nurse satisfaction, engagement, and professional development. NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens utilizes mentorship as a key factor in fostering collegiality, reducing feelings of isolation, and improving retention—especially among novice and transitioning nurses. Clinical nurses serve as both mentors and mentees in this program.
- Shadowing programs build interdisciplinary understanding, promote team cohesion, and reduce turnover by helping nurses explore new specialties without leaving the organization. The NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens nurses’ exposure to varied clinical roles reduces burnout and encourages nurses to seek internal transfers rather than resigning during times of professional dissatisfaction.
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens has not only achieved its certification goals but also has maintained a certification rate above 51% for two consecutive years (2024 – 2025), fostering a culture of expertise, quality care, and continuous improvement. The organization’s dedication to professional growth and excellence has been instrumental in driving this success.
- Support Provided to Nurses to Achieve or Maintain Certification
- Facility Incentives. Certified nurses receive differential pay, providing a tangible recognition of their expertise and commitment to professional development.
- Recognition of Nurse Leaders. NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens nurse leaders are recognized based on their service area certification rates, incentivizing them to support and encourage their clinical nurses in pursuing certification.
- Hospital Operations Daily Huddle Recognition. Certified nurses are recognized in a timely manner through announcements made during the daily hospital operations huddle, celebrating their achievement and promoting a culture of excellence.
- CNO Newsletter. Showcasing certified nurses and their accomplishments.
- Unit Huddle celebrations. Acknowledging certified nurses at the unit level with special breakfast and flowers, expressing appreciation for their dedication to professional excellence.
- Care Delivery Daily Management System (CD2) Board Posting. Displaying certified nurses on the unit-based CD2 board to recognize their achievements.
- Certified Nurses Day celebrations. Annually, certified nurses are celebrated and honored with a special breakfast and tokens of appreciation, recognizing their expertise, dedication and contributions to the organization. Certified nurses are also featured on their unit’s Wall of fame to promote peer motivation.
Professional Practice
- Professional Practice Model
- Professional Governance
