Summit Talent Group Tapped by University Hospitals to Find System Chief Nursing Executive

November 5, 2020 – 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 top nursing executive has traditionally been the most difficult to secure, according to recruiters.

Recently, 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. The system chief nursing executive is the most senior nurse executive in the health system and is a crucial member of the clinical network executive leadership team, serving as a peer with the chief quality officer, chief medical officer, and other physician executives.

Summit Talent Group said that the ideal candidate will have earned (or be in process of earning) a doctor of nursing practice degree and have at least seven years executive leadership experience in a large, complex, tertiary healthcare organization. Prospects should have proven influencing skills with peers, colleagues, strategic vendors, regulatory agencies, board and faculty, and community leaders (managing the white space on an organizational chart) leading to service excellence, high patient and employee satisfaction, continuous quality improvement processes, and execution of strategic imperatives. In addition, they should have in-depth knowledge of the business of healthcare: trends, finance, capital budgets, value-based care, provisions of care, and delivery systems. An active RN license in the State of Ohio is required (at/about time of hire).

University Hospitals, with $4.1 billion in net patient revenue, serves Northeast Ohio with 18 hospitals, including three joint ventures. It has deep clinical expertise in virtually every specialty field and the largest primary care network serving the region. UH focuses on enhancing operations to facilitate ease of access to skilled physicians in primary care and specialties, and offers extensive resources to support treatments, care, prevention and well-being.

Founded in 2013, Summit Talent Group is a boutique search firm, headquartered in Columbia, MD, with expertise in all facets of healthcare. In 2016, Summit Talent Group was acquired by The Innovation Institute and FutureSense Holdings, becoming a member of its Enterprise Development Group (EDG) portfolio of healthcare service companies.

Summit Talent Group provides retained and interim candidate search services, as well as practicing physician research and candidate development, for not-for-profit, for-profit, academic, governmental and faith-based hospital systems; physician enterprises; ambulatory and surgery centers; long-term-care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation operations; home care agencies; healthcare consulting firms; managed care companies; and life science organizations.

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:

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.

Quick Leonard Kieffer was selected by Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) to lead its search for a new chief nursing officer. President and CEO Steve Derks is leading the assignment along with principal Joe Johnston. PSJH wants an executive with a minimum of 15 years of senior nursing leadership experience in a multi‐site and complex health system, said Quick Leonard Kieffer.

Orlando, FL-headquartered healthcare-focused search firm Kirby Bates Associates (KBA) was called in by Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts to lead in its search for a new chief nursing officer. The assignment is being led by Chris Corwin. “This is an exciting time to be joining Cambridge Health Alliance, an innovative community-based healthcare provider serving a highly diverse population,” the search firm said.

Executive recruitment firm Quick Leonard Kieffer was called in by Silver Cross Hospital to help find its next chief nursing officer. Founder and vice chairman Roger Quick is leading the assignment along with principal Joe Johnston. Silver Cross Hospital is a 302-bed acute care/general hospital that was founded in 1895 and is located at its new campus in New Lenox, IL.