Chief Nursing Officer

Chief Nursing Officer

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is the community hospital of choice for residents of East Harlem, northern Manhattan, and neighboring communities. The hospital provides culturally-sensitive care in a welcoming and hospitable setting, emphasizing primary care medicine and utilizing the latest advances in medical science. Metropolitan delivers high quality health services with compassion, dignity, and respect to all, without exception. Since its founding in 1875, the hospital has been affiliated with New York Medical College, representing the oldest partnership between a hospital and a private medical school in the United States. Metropolitan is a part of the NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal hospital and health care system in the country. At NYC Health + Hospitals, our mission is to deliver high quality care health services, without exception. Every employee takes a person-centered approach that exemplifies the ICARE values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence) through empathic communication and partnerships between all persons.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and evaluating all Nursing and Patient Care Services in alignment with the five pillars of NYC Health + Hospitals:

Quality & Outcomes, Care Experience, Financial Sustainability, Access to Care, and Culture of Safety.

The CNO provides executive oversight for the full scope of nursing operations, including inpatient, ambulatory, procedural, perioperative, behavioral health, and specialty services, as well as Advanced Practice Nursing (Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Anesthetists, and other advanced practice providers as applicable). The CNO ensures regulatory compliance, professional practice standards, and operational excellence across all nursing programs. The CNO is accountable for the development, execution, and fiscal stewardship of the nursing operating and capital budgets, including workforce planning, productivity management, cost containment strategies, and financial forecasting. The CNO ensures the efficient allocation of human, material, and capital resources to sustain high-quality, equitable patient care. The CNO demonstrates advanced executive leadership effectiveness by delegating authority and responsibilities appropriately across the nursing leadership structure, ensuring accountability at all levels. The CNO manages time strategically, balances competing operational and strategic priorities, and optimizes leadership bandwidth to drive organizational performance while sustaining visibility and engagement across the enterprise. As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CNO operationalizes and executes the strategic vision of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the System Chief Nurse Executive (CNE/SVP), translating enterprise goals into actionable nursing strategies and measurable outcomes at the facility level. In addition, the CNO develops and implements a comprehensive, multi-year Nursing Strategic Plan aligned with organizational and system priorities, advancing workforce development, programmatic growth, innovation, clinical excellence, and nursing leadership succession. The CNO fosters a professional practice environment that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, health equity, staff engagement, psychological safety, and high reliability, ensuring that nursing services consistently deliver safe, patient-centered, and financially sustainable care.

Summary Of Duties And Responsibilities

• QUALITY & OUTCOMES
• Provides executive oversight of nursing practice to ensure delivery of safe, evidence-based, high-quality care.
• Oversees nurse-sensitive indicators (falls, HAPI, CAUTI, CLABSI, VAP, readmissions, mortality, patient flow metrics, etc.).
• Leads Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and performance improvement initiatives using data-driven methodologies (PDSA, Lean, High Reliability).
• Ensures compliance with CMS, DOH, TJC, and other regulatory/accreditation standards.
• Establishes and maintains professional practice standards, competency validation, and evidence-based care models.
• Participates in and reports quality outcomes to Administration and governing bodies.
• Nursing Excellence & National Designations
• Leads strategy to achieve and sustain nationally recognized nursing excellence designations including but not limited to: Pathway to Excellence, Magnet, Beacon, Lantern, AORN Centers of Excellence, Safe Sleep, Babyfriendly, etc.
• Embeds designation standards into daily operations, leadership accountability, and outcome dashboards.
• Ensures sustained performance beyond designation cycles through governance infrastructure and measurable benchmarks.
• Advances nursing research, innovation, shared governance, and workforce engagement to maintain excellence.
• CARE EXPERIENCE
• Ensures patient-centered care delivery across all inpatient and ambulatory settings.
• Promotes compassionate, culturally competent care that builds trust with patients and families.
• Aligns nursing engagement strategies to improve HCAHPS and patient satisfaction outcomes.
• Advances shared governance and frontline empowerment to improve staff engagement and professional satisfaction.
• Fosters interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance continuity of care and discharge effectiveness.
• Integrates nursing excellence standards into care experience initiatives to enhance staff satisfaction and patient trust.
• FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
• Develops and maintains the nursing operating and capital budgets (personnel, supplies, equipment).
• Ensures fiscal accountability, cost controls, and productivity management within approved budgets.
• Forecasts nursing staffing based on acuity, census, and volume trends.
• Optimizes staffing models to ensure safe, balanced, and efficient workforce utilization.
• Identifies strategic operational efficiencies and opportunities for financial stewardship.
• Partners with Finance and Operations to ensure nursing resources align with institutional priorities.
• Holds enterprise-level accountability for nursing financial performance.
• Aligns staffing, programmatic growth, and workforce investments with ROI and value-based care metrics.
• Integrates designation achievement and quality improvements with financial performance outcomes.
• ACCESS TO CARE
• Ensures safe staffing models that meet patient demand across inpatient, outpatient, and specialty services.
• Collaborates with interdisciplinary leaders to improve throughput, discharge planning, and reduction of avoidable delays.
• Supports expansion of programs and services to meet community health needs.
• Advances workforce recruitment, retention, and succession planning to ensure sustained access to nursing services.
• Promotes equitable care delivery and health equity initiatives aligned with community needs.
• Provides executive oversight for Advanced Practice Nursing (Nurse Practitioners, CNS, CRNA, etc.).
• Ensures scope of practice compliance, credentialing, performance evaluation, and integration into service line growth.
• Aligns APN deployment with access, quality outcomes, and programmatic development.
• Oversees strategic growth and operational performance of nursing-led programs and service lines.
• Aligns programmatic initiatives with system and CEO/CNE strategic priorities.
• CULTURE OF SAFETY
• Leads the implementation of High Reliability principles and Just Culture frameworks
• Promotes psychological safety and transparent reporting of adverse events and near misses.
• Maintains oversight of patient safety programs and risk mitigation strategies.
• Ensures compliance with infection prevention, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness standards.
• Develops leadership accountability structures to sustain safe clinical environments.
• Supports labor engagement and collaborative relationships in unionized settings.
• Translates CEO and CNE/SVP enterprise vision into measurable nursing objectives.
• Develops and implements a comprehensive Nursing Strategic Plan with clear KPIs aligned to all five pillars.
• Establishes leadership accountability structures to sustain cultural and operational excellence.

Minimum Qualifications

• Valid New York State license and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse (RN) issued by the New York State Education Department (NYSED); and,
• A Masters Degree in Nursing Administration or a related field; and,
• Eight (8) years of satisfactory nursing experience, six (6) years of which must have been in administration or management; or,
• A satisfactory equivalent of education, training and experience. However, all candidates must have at least a Baccalaureate Degree or higher in Nursing, and be licensed and currently registered to practice as an RN in New York State.

Department Preferences

Certification(s)/License(s)

Qualifications For The Job:

• Licensed and currently registered as a professional registered nurse in New York State (required)
• National Board Certification in Executive Leadership such as NEA-BC from the American Nurses Credentialing Center or CENP from American Organization of Nurse Leaders (preferred)

Educational Level

• Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing or related field (required).
• Master's Degree in Nursing Administration or related field, if baccalaureate degree is in non-nursing, MSN is required (required).
• Doctorate in Nursing (PhD,