Kirby Bates Associates Seeks Chief Nursing Officer for UCSF Health Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland

June 9, 2021 – As the healthcare sector continues to expand and reshape itself, vanguard organizations in the field are looking to bolster their leadership ranks. In demand: multi-skilled executives, physician leaders and nurses who can effect change on many levels. Of the four major C-suite roles in the typical hospital, the chief nursing officer has traditionally been the most difficult to secure, according to recruiters. Recently, Orlando, FL-headquartered healthcare-focused search firm Kirby Bates Associates (KBA) was called in by University of California San Francisco Health (UCSF) Benioff Children’s Hospital (BCH) Oakland to lead in its search for a vice president and chief nursing officer.  Executive recruiter Erinn Riley is leading the search along with Peggy Loughery, vice president of executive search operations.

The CNO will provide strategic direction, executive level leadership, planning, organization, and general management for all aspects of patient care at the BCH campuses, ensuring integration of services and compliance with long range objectives and strategies including the provision of excellent quality services and sound business practices. As a key member of senior leadership, the CNO contributes to the development and implementation of major strategic goals. In addition, this executive is responsible for nursing practice, and overall administrative, operational, and financial functions of pediatric nursing and clinical services throughout BCH, as well as oversight for nursing practice in licensed ambulatory practices, and Oakland Children’s clinical support services.


Executive Recruiters & Talent Leaders
Reveal Market Forecast

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We take a critical look back, examine search firm performance, and uncover fresh market opportunities. Leading executive recruiters offer up their viewpoints, and forecasts, for 2021. The good news: optimism reigns. And that means we could be in for one of the biggest growth spurts the executive search sector has enjoyed in years. Here’s our latest thinking. A special thanks to our co-sponsor: N2GrowthBuy your copy today!


According to the search firm. the incumbent will have a patient-first philosophy, foster strong partnerships with the medical staff, and bring an inclusive and collaborative approach to the Department of Nursing. The CNO will be charged with merging two different cultures to create a new unified culture and integrated Children’s Hospital.

The Ideal Candidate 

  • Bachelor’s and master’s degree required, one of which must be in nursing. Candidates should also have a doctorate or be willing to obtain it.
  • Seven to 10 years of increasingly responsible hospital leadership is required, preferably in an academic medical center.
  • Ability to work and lead in a unionized environment.
  • Leadership experience in pediatrics.
  • Experience with Lean management/continuous improvement/high reliability organization.
  • Magnet experience or understands the principles of shared governance and interdisciplinary collaboration.

University of California San Francisco Health Benioff Children’s Hospitals are consistently ranked among the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. With two main campuses serving children and their families, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals (BCH) consist of the Oakland campus, a 188-bed level 1 trauma center, Mission Bay, a 189-bed magnet-designated facility, as well as satellite locations throughout Northern California.

Leading Nurse Entrepreneurs

Founded in 1988 as Bates & Associates by two leading nurse entrepreneurs, Kirby Bates Associates has been continuously owned and operated by nursing executives. It is part of the Jackson Healthcare family of companies. The firm offers portfolio of leadership services including interim leadership, executive search, leadership coaching and operations consulting. Melissa A. Fitzpatrick was named president of Kirby Bates in 2020.

Ms. Riley is an experienced healthcare talent acquisition specialist, having worked in the areas of nursing, therapy, pharmacy, behavioral health and medical device recruitment. She initially joined Kirby Bates Associates as a search associate in 2011, returning in 2015 after a brief hiatus to explore the hiring and onboarding process through in-house corporate recruiting.

Since joining Kirby Bates Associates in 2005, Ms. Loughery has conducted more than 300 executive and senior leadership searches for prominent healthcare organizations across the country. She is proficient in candidate development and has outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.

Finding Nursing Talent

Top nursing executives have a variety of duties, depending on the facility where they work. Most importantly, the position calls for supervising nurses and nurse managers. They also oversee design and implementation of patient-care delivery, and serve as leaders in their facility’s efforts to maintain outcome levels. They are some of the most sought after and highly visible leaders in the hospital and healthcare environment.

An expanding number of search firms have been working with healthcare organizations to find top nursing executives in recent months. Here’s a look at a sampling taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

 Furst Group, which serves the healthcare and insurance industries, has placed Caroline Njau as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer of Children’s Minnesota. “We’re thrilled to have Caroline join the Children’s Minnesota family and bring her wealth of expertise to our patients and families,” said Dr. Marc Gorelick, president and CEO of Children’s Minnesota. “I’m confident that her optimistic leadership and deep commitment to health equity, diversity and inclusion, and continuous patient care improvement will help us shape our future to better meet the needs of our patient families today and in the future.”

University Hospitals (UH) has retained Summit Talent Group to conduct a national search for the position of system chief nursing executive. This executive will be responsible and accountable for the overall delivery and management of nursing operations, professional practice, education, professional development, research, administration and clinical services, said the search firm. The incoming leader will have staff accountability for enhancing a clinical practice environment that is patient centered, with unsurpassed patient experience, clinical quality and patient safety while also providing significant contributions to education and research.

Executive search firm Westmont Search placed Rhonda Kazik as the chief nursing officer for Essentia Health’s East market based in Duluth, MN. Managing partner Peter Blau and search director Carolyn Lecocq led the assignment for the health system. Most recently, Ms. Kazik was the system chief nursing officer at Community Health Systems in Fresno, CA.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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