System Chief Nurse Executive
University of Maryland Medical System

The Opportunity
Position: System Chief Nurse Executive
Location: University of Maryland Medical System
Reporting Relationship: The System Chief Nurse Executive will report directly to Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, University of Maryland Medical System
Website: https://www.umms.org/

Overview
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland. UMMS was created in 1984 when the state-owned University Hospital became a private, non-profit organization. It has since evolved into a $5.07 billion academic health system reaching every part of the state and beyond with nationally recognized and ranked specialties in trauma, cancer care, cardiology, and orthopedics.

As one of the largest private employers in the state, the health system's more than 27,000 employees and 5,500 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and across eight member organizations (10 hospitals; 2,458 licensed beds) and five freestanding medical facilities.

University of Maryland Medical System Facts & Figures

Hospitals 10
Licensed Beds 2,458
Employees 27,989
Nursing Care Givers 6,700
Active Medical Staff Members 5,500
Hospital Admissions 94,970
Outpatient Visits 1,301,003
ER Visits 333,190
Outpatient Surgical Cases 73,872
Annual Revenue $5.07B

UMMS' flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. The system is motivated to be a High Reliability Organization and has begun that journey.

UMMS’ acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve 3.5 million people in Central and Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

UMMS brings innovation, discovery, and research to the care the organization provides all while educating the state’s future physicians and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore.

Mission/Vision/Values
At University of Maryland Medical System, the values are the building blocks of the shared culture and common understanding that guide us in fulfilling the mission and vision as the organization provides Marylanders a better state of care.

Values

• Compassion: We provide care and embrace our patients, families, team members and communities with compassion
• Discovery: We are relentless in our pursuit of discovery and innovation.
• Excellence: We strive for excellence across all aspects of our mission.
• Diversity: We foster inclusion and embrace diversity in human experiences, ideas and perspectives.
• Integrity: We earn the trust of patients, one another and our communities by behaving morally, ethically and with integrity.

Mission
To purposefully advance the shared principles that are foundational to our work:

• Compassionate, High-Quality Care: We are unrelenting in our dedication to compassionate, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care.
• Commitment to Community: We are inherently entwined in the social fabric of our communities and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of Marylanders.
• Health Care Transformation: Leveraging our scale and geographical reach, we transform the way we deliver health care to bring more value to our patients and their communities.
• Discovery-Based Medicine: Blazing new trails in medicine is inherent in us. We invest in and partner with those who are committed to the highest ideals of innovation, discovery-based medicine and health education.

Vision
We build upon our tradition of excellence in patient care and innovation, to be a national leader in the transformation of health care.

Strategic Priorities
The UMMS Strategic Framework serves as a roadmap for the future of UMMS as the organization looks to purposefully drive standardization, innovation and transformation.

Areas of Emphasis

• High Reliability Organization: UMMS is on multi-year journey to significantly enhance safety, quality, patient and team member experience while at the same time eliminating waste.
• Safety, Quality and Patient Experience: Accelerate an integrated approach closely tied to HRO. Assure the use of evidence-based medicine in all clinical care settings. Define and deliver a system-wide patient engagement and consumer approach that delivers on a consistent high satisfaction experience.
• Financial performance/efficiency: Optimize financial performance including achieve elevated performance improvement targets, transform the organization’s integrated financial management approach, assess systemwide longer term efficiency opportunities and build financial strength.
• Growth: Advance “smart growth” regulated care priorities and accelerate unregulated care growth priorities.
• People Strategies: Become the destination employer for top talent by fostering an engaged, inclusive and diverse workforce aligned in excellence around our purpose and values.

The Position
The UMMS Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive (CNE) is a member of the CEO’s senior team and promotes excellence in nursing and care team practice; optimizes UMMS integration and standardization of nursing culture and clinical care; improves the patient care experience, develops and promotes academic-practice partnerships; and enhances the value proposition of delivered services.

The CNE has key organizational relationships across UMMS within the broader health care community. In partnership with physician and care team leaders, the CNE establishes vision and strategy for nursing practice and culture in all settings of UMMS. Responsible for the overall leadership of nursing, the CNE will ensure the highest possible standards of clinical safety and effectiveness, patient and nurse engagement and experience, a culture of safety and high reliability, professional development and retention of nurses and nurse leaders, cultivation of relationships with schools of nursing, and nursing research, quality improvement and professional development initiatives.

Vision

Nurses will be engaged, high performing and resilient team members who are passionate about patient care and aligned with the mission and goals of UMMS and their facilities.

Mission

UMMS Nursing will be a national leader in caring for patients and their families with a commitment to zero harm and in ways that are meaningful and valuable to the individual patient throughout the continuum of care, in partnership with the health care team and academic partners, and supportive of our facilities, values, culture, communities and profession.

Reporting Relationships

Direct Reporting:

• Vice President of Nursing Operations and Care Delivery Innovation
• Vice President of Professional Practice and Development
• Vice President Patient Experience
• UMMS Chief Nursing Officer Council
  • UMMS Nursing Practice Council
  • UMMS Clinical Education and Professional Development Council
  • UMMS Nursing & Patient Care Services Research Council
  • UMMS Nursing Service Lines
• UMMS Nursing Program Director, Nursing (Academic/Practice Partnerships)
• UMMS Nursing Academic-Practice Partnership Manager. This position is a 3-year grant funded position that is associated with University of Maryland School of Nursing and reports to the UMMS Nursing Program Director
• UMMS Care Coordination

Matrix Reporting:

• Chief Nursing Officers across the system
• Vice President, Quality Management
• Vice President, UMMS Staffing Center
• Finance Analyst, Nursing
• Nursing Directors, UM Access Center

Key Responsibilities
The System CNE will have a broad set of responsibilities that will encompass the following:

Improvement of Patient Safety and Quality Outcomes

• Partner with the Chief Nursing Officers (CNO), Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) and Chief Medical Officers (CMO), the UMMS nursing shared governance councils, UMMS nurses and physician care team community to align provider and caregiver goals, practice standards and outcomes.
• Ensure nursing practice is evidence-based to optimize clinical care and outcomes through a System approach for care delivery optimization and service line practice and projects.
• Standardize nursing practice across System facilities to improve outcomes for nurse-sensitive quality indicators, and benchmark the following indicators to ensure outcomes are in the top 50th percentile nationally:
  • Hospital acquired infections.
  • Falls with injury.
  • Hospital associated pressure injuries.
  • Patient engagement.
  • Nurse engagement and retention.
• Lead Patient Experience leaders to ensure a robust, integrated and standardized plan exists with nursing and the health care team for improvement in the patient experience.
• Chair the UMMS Workplace Violence Reduction Team Steering Committee

Nurse Leader Development

• Partner with Human Resources to sustain a robust mentorship program.
• Strategize with Human Resources Shared Services to create and implement a robust nurse leader development plan.
• Create and standardize Chief Nursing Officer onboarding strategy and ongoing mentoring.
• Standardize director of nursing and nurse manager onboarding strategy and ongoing mentoring.
• Ensure professional development of directors of nursing and nurse managers focused on leader strengths and skills growth.
• Create a succession plan for all nurse leader roles.
• Ensure that individuals of color have access to leader opportunities at all levels.
• Mentor diverse future leaders with purpose.
• Improve diversity within the nursing workforce and nursing leadership.

Recruitment, Retention and Staffing Effectiveness

• Partner with Human Resources Shared Services to execute an aggressive recruitment plan and sustain an active pipeline for all System facilities.
• Ensure a diverse workforce through strategic partnerships with HBCUs, community partners and innovative programs.
• Analyze the effectiveness of recruitment efforts, create improvement plans with CNOs and HR leaders, and implement strategic plan.
• Analyze effectiveness of retention efforts, create improvement plans with CNOs and HR leaders and implement strategic plan.
• Recognize generational differences and implement retention strategies for a multigenerational workforce.
• Implement and sustain a robust nursing roadmap for professional development.
• Plan for a multi-year strategy to ensure competitive pay rates.
• Ensure nurse leaders have been educated and are held accountable to productivity measures.
• Actively move to the 50th percentile for nursing productivity across all facilities.
• Partner with the UMMS Staffing Center leaders to reduce reliance on external agency nurses and reduce premium pay.

Cultivate Relationships with Deans and Faculty of Schools of Nursing

• Create partnerships with Deans and Directors of schools of nursing that offer mutually beneficial outcomes for schools and System facilities.
• Expand and sustain the UMMS Academy of Clinical Essentials.
• Expand and sustain the UMMS Practicum to Practice Program.
• Continue to standardize student nurse onboarding.
• Strategize to support nursing programs and nursing students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
• Create innovative opportunities for nursing students across the System.

Workforce Development, Advancement and Engagement

• Monitor effectiveness of the Professional Advancement Model (PAM) to grow senior clinical nurses across all facilities.
• Sustain the Nursing Roadmap across all facilities.
• Standardize the Nurse Residency Program across all facilities.
• Create a toolkit for professional development activities.
• Grow PAM nurse engagement in the Mentorship Program.
• In partnership with Human Resources, rollout a strengths-based Teambuilding Program.
• Partner with Mission and Engagement (M&E) colleagues and the System Equity in Patient Care strategic priority to ensure that nurses, along with all team members, gain insight into biases and their impact on others, receive training to mitigate inequitable patient care practices, and uphold and respect the uniqueness of all individuals.
• Create a toolkit for formal recognition of excellence and compassion (DAISY Award)
• Create opportunities for nurses to lead or participate in research, quality and performance improvement and evidence-based practice projects.
• Be aware of workplace violence events against nurses and others to implement tools created by the Workplace Violence Reduction Team.
• Build engagement in nurses to reduce turnover through consistent use of the Nursing Roadmap.
• Create a standardized nurse manager onboarding and roadmap.

Communication

• Ensure nurse leaders are actively focused on workforce relations and communication to demonstrate a lack of need for a collective bargaining unit.
• Use social media platforms that effectively communicate with prospective and current nurses.
• Continue Huddle Up, the UMMS nurse leader newsletter that cultivates an UMMS nursing identity and shares important information.
• Chief Nurse Executive communication to all nurse leaders and nurses about shared activities, goals, outcomes and recognition.

Financial Acumen and Stewardship

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Oversee development of nursing budgets that are aligned with organizational goals, ensuring optimal resource allocation and cost-effectiveness.
• Operational Efficiency: Monitor financial performance of nursing departments, identify variances, and oversee implementation of corrective actions to maintain fiscal responsibility.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilize financial analytics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to guide staffing models, supply chain decisions, and service line profitability.
• Revenue Cycle Awareness: Collaborate with finance and clinical teams to optimize reimbursement, reduce denials, and support accurate documentation for billing compliance.
• Cost Containment & Value-Based Care: Drive initiatives that balance quality outcomes with cost efficiency.
• Capital Planning: Participate in capital expenditure planning for equipment and technology investments, ensuring alignment with clinical priorities and ROI expectations.

Creation of New Care Models, Innovative Roles and Staffing Strategies

• Serve as the executive sponsor for the Optimization of Care Delivery Team.
• Ensure clinical documentation continues to be as streamlined as possible.
• Support patient flow efficiency work.
• While facing a national nursing shortage, develop alternative models and roles to support patient care needs.
  • Virtual Nursing models
  • Team nursing model
  • LPNs
  • Patient/Family Liaison
  • Mobility Tech
  • Nurse Partner

The Candidate
Experience and Professional Qualifications
The ideal candidate is expected to be a highly respected nurse leader possessing dynamic leadership skills and administrative expertise, and to lead in a manner that supports and contributes to the success and unity of UMMS and the communities served. They will exemplify the qualities of leadership, collaboration, communication, and fairness. In addition, they will have:

• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience as a proven nurse leader within a complex hospital and health system. Experience as a CNO in a multi-hospital, complex environment is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with the ANCC Magnet Recognition program/journey.
• Strong operational and financial acumen with the ability to lead and partner around a vision for superior patient-centered care that includes continuous improvements in care coordination, quality, safety, and cost-of-care reductions.
• Proven ability to build internal and external relationships, with a demonstrated track record of working successfully with physicians and physician leaders, diverse management teams, community, and system leaders.
• Experience working in a highly matrixed environment, demonstrating successful partnership with system and entity senior leadership team(s), clinical leaders, and other key stakeholders to advance organizational objectives.
• A “systems thinker” who demonstrates innovation and an understanding and appreciation for the nursing practice across the full continuum of care.
• Advanced communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to convey complex information in a confident, clear, concise, and compelling way.
• An individual who is known to be a highly effective leader; one who can sit at the executive table to both relate and engage with interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, specifically bedside caregivers.
• Strong executive presence and political savvy, including communication skills that enable appreciation for other’s perspectives and offers compelling insights and recommendations.
• Knowledgeable about the contemporary issues and trends involved with nursing practice, education and research.
• A courageous and innovative individual with a “can do attitude” that can inspire an organization to do its best even in difficult circumstances.
• A proactive innovator and problem solver regarding the health care economics facing health systems today.
• Experience building partnerships with a School of Nursing and collaborating around the generation of new knowledge and education of future practitioners.

Education and Licensure

• Bachelor’s, Master’s Degrees in Nursing and/or related fields required. Doctoral degree in Nursing preferred. Willingness to begin or continue academic work toward completion of a doctorate, if selected for the role.
• Eligible for RN licensure in the state of Maryland.
• Nurse Executive Certification (NEA-BC) or Certification in Executive Nurse Practice (CENP) are preferred.

Compensation

• $500,000 to $525,000 plus Executive Benefits

Application Process
Interested and qualified candidates are welcome to submit a resume and cover letter to: Kait Hasler at Kait.Hasler@KornFerry.com