Vice President / System Chief Nursing Officer - Administration - Full Time - 1st Shift

JOB SUMMARY The Vice President, System Chief Nursing Officer is the senior nurse executive for Ephraim McDowell Health and provides enterprise leadership and strategic direction for nursing practice and patient care delivery across Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital, and Ephraim McDowell James B. Haggin Hospital. The role establishes a unified system nursing strategy, professional practice framework, standards, policies, staffing expectations, and performance measures consistent with evidence-based practice and applicable professional, state, federal, and accreditation requirements.

The Vice President, System Chief Nursing Officer is accountable for quality, safety, patient experience, workforce, productivity, financial performance, and regulatory readiness across the nursing enterprise while ensuring facility-specific requirements are met. The role ensures that nursing services across all hospitals are organized, resourced, evaluated, and improved as one system while meeting the distinct regulatory and operational requirements of each facility.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES System Nursing Leadership and Governance Serves as the senior nurse executive for the health system and provides strategic leadership for nursing practice and patient care delivery across all hospitals. Develops, implements, and evaluates the system nursing strategic plan in alignment with organizational priorities, community needs, and the health system's mission, vision, and values.

Represents nursing in executive leadership, governing body, medical staff, quality, safety, and other system decision-making structures. Establishes and maintains a coordinated system nursing structure that ensures continuous availability of nursing care, clear accountability for professional practice, consistent execution of standards, and appropriate escalation of clinical and operational concerns across all hospitals.

Establishes clear systemwide accountability, decision rights, performance expectations, and escalation processes for nursing leadership across all facilities. Clinical Quality Safety and Regulatory Performance Establishes systemwide nursing policies, standards of care, standards of practice, and outcome measures with appropriate involvement of registered nurses and interdisciplinary leaders. Ensures nursing services comply with Kentucky Board of Nursing requirements, Conditions of Participation, Critical Access Hospital requirements, accreditation standards, and other applicable laws and regulations.

Maintains continuous survey readiness and executive oversight of accreditation, certification, regulatory response, corrective action, and sustainment activities. Leads the systematic nursing review of quality, safety, patient experience, and nursing-sensitive outcomes; identifies variation and directs corrective action when performance does not meet established targets. Ensures standardized processes for reporting, investigating, analyzing, trending, and responding to adverse events, near misses, patient complaints, and identified risks.

Advances evidence-based practice, clinical standardization, shared governance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and service-line integration across the health system. Operations Finance and Resource Management Establishes and monitors systemwide expectations for staffing, scheduling, productivity, span of control, labor utilization, and workforce contingency planning based on patient needs and regulatory requirements.

Ensures each facility maintains an effective nurse staffing plan and a sufficient number of qualified and competent personnel to provide safe care. Develops and manages operating and capital budgets for nursing services; monitors financial performance and directs action to achieve approved targets without compromising patient safety or quality. Uses standardized dashboards and performance reviews to evaluate clinical, operational, workforce, financial, and patient experience results across facilities.

Evaluates and recommends technology, equipment, capital resources, and operational redesign needed to improve safety, access, efficiency, and care delivery. Workforce Professional Practice and Leadership Development Determines required qualifications and competency expectations for nursing personnel and ensures appropriate orientation, education, competency validation, and continuing professional development.

Leads nursing workforce planning, recruitment, retention, succession planning, leadership development, and strategies to reduce unnecessary turnover, overtime, and external labor dependence. Evaluates the performance of direct reports and ensures timely performance management, coaching, corrective action, and succession planning in accordance with organizational policy. Maintains a system nursing professional practice model and promotes nursing certification, academic progression, professional development, and participation in shared governance.

Ensures compliance with scope-of-practice requirements and promotes a work environment that supports safe practice, accountability, respectful conduct, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork. Patient Care Integration and Organizational Accountability Coordinates nursing care across the continuum to improve access, transitions, standardization, and outcomes across the three hospitals. Partners with physicians, hospital administrators, clinical leaders, and support departments to resolve barriers, implement strategic initiatives, and improve service-line performance.

Ensures patient- and family-centered care practices protect privacy, dignity, autonomy, nondiscrimination, and participation in care decisions. Monitors the effectiveness of patient education, discharge planning, care coordination, and service recovery processes within nursing services. Provides regular reports to executive leadership and governance regarding nursing performance, significant risks, regulatory matters, workforce trends, and progress on strategic priorities.

Performs other related duties as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer or President and Chief Executive Officer. WORKING CONDITIONS HAZARDS AND PHYSICAL EFFORT This position may require extended workdays, interrupted time off, weekends, irregular hours, and travel among health system facilities or to meetings and educational programs. Work is primarily performed in office, conference, and clinical settings.

Exposure to blood, body fluids, or tissue is possible. Must be able to move or position up to 25 pounds independently. CONTACTS WITH OTHERS Patients, families, visitors, medical staff, associates, governing board members, volunteers, executive leaders, hospital administrators, department directors and managers, regulatory and accreditation representatives, community partners, and the public.