Chief Nursing Officer
About the role
Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic seeks an accomplished and collaborative nursing executive to serve as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital. This executive leadership role provides strategic oversight for nursing practice, clinical quality, patient safety, workforce engagement, and nursing operations across two mission-driven community hospitals. The CNO serves as the senior nursing leader for both hospitals and is a key member of the executive leadership team. This role is responsible for advancing nursing excellence, strengthening culture, improving operational performance, and ensuring alignment with Trinity Health's Mission, Values, and strategic priorities.
Key Responsibilities
- Executive Nursing Leadership: Provide strategic leadership and direction for nursing services across both hospitals; advance professional nursing practice and evidence-based care delivery; lead organizational and cultural transformation initiatives; serve as a trusted advisor and partner to executive leadership.
- Quality, Safety & Patient Experience: Drive performance in quality, patient safety, regulatory readiness, and patient experience; promote a just culture focused on learning, accountability, and continuous improvement; ensure compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards; champion evidence-based practices that improve clinical outcomes.
- Workforce Engagement & Leadership Development: Build a culture that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional nursing talent; create an environment where colleagues feel respected, supported, and empowered to speak up; develop nursing leaders and strengthen succession planning; foster collaboration across nursing, physician, and interdisciplinary teams.
- Operational & Financial Management: Oversee nursing operations, staffing models, productivity, resource allocation, and budget performance; utilize data to improve operational effectiveness and workforce performance; ensure responsible stewardship of financial and human resources.
Required Qualifications
- Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing.
- Current Registered Nurse (RN) licensure.
- Master's degree in Nursing or related healthcare field.
- Ten or more years of progressive nursing leadership experience in an acute care environment.
- Five or more years of senior executive nursing leadership experience.
- Previous CNO or comparable senior nursing executive experience.
- Demonstrated experience leading large, complex nursing organizations and/or multiple campuses, hospitals, or service lines.
- Proven success improving quality, patient safety, workforce engagement, patient experience, and operational performance.
- Strong knowledge of healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, and professional nursing practice.
Preferred Qualifications
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), PhD, EdD, DrPH, or other terminal degree.
- Previous CNO experience within a multi-hospital health system.
- Experience in turnaround, performance improvement, or culture transformation initiatives.
- Experience in union and non-union healthcare environments.
- NEA-BC, FACHE, or other executive leadership certification.
Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will be a visible, approachable leader who combines strong clinical and operational expertise with exceptional people leadership. The ideal executive will bring experience leading complex healthcare operations, improving quality and patient safety outcomes, developing leaders, and strengthening culture. They will lead with humility, emotional intelligence, accountability, and collaboration, while fostering trust, psychological safety, and high performance across both hospitals.
Why Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic?
- Executive leadership opportunity across two respected community hospitals.
- Member of one of the nation's largest Catholic health systems.
- Mission-driven culture focused on compassion, dignity, and service.
- Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits.
- Opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting impact on patients, colleagues, and communities across Pennsylvania and Delaware.