Digital innovation has emerged as a frontline strategy in health systems’ efforts to close nurse staffing gaps and improve the delivery of patient care.
Leading organizations are investing in AI-powered tools to ease documentation burden among nursing staff, expanding virtual nursing models and modernizing technology infrastructure in patient rooms. Taken together, leaders say these efforts are driving significant improvements in staff satisfaction, operational efficiency and patient safety.
Becker’s recently asked four nursing leaders to share the top digital investment their system has made to support nurses, and where they are seeing the greatest improvements in engagement and retention.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
What’s the top digital investment your hospital/system has made to support nurses? Where are you seeing the greatest measurable improvements in nurse engagement and retention?
Jill Evans, MSN, RN. Chief nursing informatics officer at MetroHealth (Cleveland): In today’s fast-paced healthcare environment, investing in digital tools for nursing is essential. As the demand for high-quality patient care increases, nurses are required to manage complex patient needs efficiently. These technologies streamline workflows and provide real-time data, enabling informed decisions and improved patient outcomes. Digital solutions are crucial in addressing workforce shortages, reducing burnout, and transforming care delivery. Investing in these tools is not just about innovation; it’s about creating a sustainable healthcare system that prioritizes patient well-being and nurse satisfaction.
MetroHealth’s investment in digital tools spans enhancements to our EHR, virtual nursing capabilities and AI-powered technologies for personalized care. Reflecting on the past three to five years, we’ve been deliberate in our technology choices for nursing. The Glick Center, opened in 2022, was a result of years of planning and discussions with nursing leadership. We strategically deployed mobile technologies, such as iPhones, for documentation, before the opening to ease the transition. The new tower introduced advanced technologies, including digital whiteboards integrated with our EHR and [real-time location systems], displaying employee photos in patient rooms. Digital door signs outside patient rooms provide caregivers with essential information from our EHR before entering.
We leveraged the iPads implemented on the units in 2023 to begin our virtual nursing program, using existing technology to create meaningful change at the bedside. This initiative has helped ease the burden on inpatient nurses by supporting routine tasks and patient interactions virtually, allowing bedside nurses to focus more on direct patient care. By optimizing our current digital infrastructure, we are not only addressing critical challenges like nursing shortages and burnout but also improving overall nurse satisfaction and retention.
The integration of responsible AI-powered tools in nursing is essential for enhancing care quality while maintaining patient safety and ethical standards. When designed and implemented thoughtfully, AI can support clinical decision-making, automate routine documentation, and identify early signs of patient deterioration — allowing nurses to act quickly and effectively. These tools can reduce cognitive load, improve efficiency and free up more time for nurses to focus on compassionate, hands-on care. Ensuring that AI solutions are transparent, equitable and nurse-informed is key to building trust and maximizing their impact across the healthcare system.
Tiffany Murdock, DNP, RN. Chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health (New Orleans):
Virtual nursing is redefining the way we are delivering care at the bedside while supporting our nursing teams on essential tasks such as patient admissions and discharges. Through the virtual nursing care model, we are able to streamline processes, improve readmission rates and enable bedside nurses to dedicate more time to direct patient care, where they make the most impact. Similarly, investments in designing and adapting the “room of the future” that is focused on unifying communications and intra-hospital alerting, while easing work at the bedside for hospital teams. As we bring technological advancements to the bedside, they will align seamlessly with the functional and operational needs of the care teams. By prioritizing both technological integration and practical design, these spaces empower nursing professionals with the tools and environments they need to deliver exceptional patient outcomes.
We have made measurable improvements in nurse engagement and retention through a systemwide strategy centered on transparency, communication and leadership accessibility. Our approach includes a comprehensive communication framework designed to foster trust and promote dialogue among team members and leaders. We prioritized consistent multi-touchpoint communication to ensure that nurses feel heard and valued. These efforts include informal rounding, nursing town halls and quarterly open chief nursing officer councils, providing nurses and leaders a platform to exchange ideas and address concerns collaboratively.
Initiatives like Regional Volunteer with Me events encourage active participation in local community efforts, helping teams build camaraderie and shared purpose beyond the workplace.
Frequent updates through our internal communication platform, Inside Ochsner, provide relevant information and reinforce a collective sense of belonging. These updates celebrate accomplishments, share goals and keep everyone aligned.
These efforts have cultivated an environment of trust, fostered open communication, and strengthened connections between team members and leadership. The outcomes are reflected in improved nurse retention rates and enthusiasm from team feedback. Most recently, Ochsner Health has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2025 honor by Top Workplaces for Nursing.
Amit Patel, MSN. CNIO and Senior Director of Informatics at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: Tampa General Hospital has made several strategic digital investments to enhance nurse support, taking a multi-pronged approach. We are thrilled with the progress we are making to maximize efficiency by utilizing smart room technology. By digitizing door signs and e-whiteboards, we are helping to automate and display real-time information more quickly. This alleviates some of the burden from nurses, enabling them to focus on higher-level patient care responsibilities. Additionally, these initiatives have standardized our health system and shown significant improvements in our infection prevention rates.
In addition to smart room technology, TGH has embraced several other cutting-edge
digital innovations to support nurses and improve care delivery. One of the most promising is the use of AI technology. Initiatives such as utilizing ambient AI to alleviate documentation burdens and chart summarization are designed to reduce the cognitive load on our clinicians, enabling nurses to focus more on patient care. Although we are still in the early stages of our AI journey, initial feedback indicates strong engagement and optimism about its potential.
TGH has also leveraged predictive analytics and AI through partnerships with Palantir
and Epic. These tools power TGH Davis Islands’ Care Coordination Center (C3), which uses real-time data to optimize patient flow, staffing and clinical decision-making. For nurses, this has translated into improved staffing ratios, faster patient placement and reduced post-anesthesia care unit hold times — all of which contribute to a more manageable workload and better work-life balance.
These innovations are not only enhancing operational efficiency but also playing a key
role in boosting nurse engagement and retention by creating a more supportive and responsive work environment.
Lisa Stephenson, MSN, RN. CNIO at Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles): At Cedars-Sinai, we are committed to reducing the documentation burden and automating tasks for nurses through advanced digital and artificial intelligence technology. One of our recent initiatives involves the AI-powered voice documentation application, Aiva Nurse Assistant, on shared iPhones. This allows nurses to record verbal observations, which are then mapped to the appropriate fields in the electronic health record. After review and acceptance, their charting is complete. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with significant time savings reported. Notably, we have observed a 70% reduction in incidental overtime hours on the pilot unit and a marked increase in patient satisfaction scores.
AI is integral to many of our digital investments. For instance, Epic has functionality that uses AI to summarize charts, aiding nurses during hand-off reports and daily interdisciplinary rounds.
Additionally, we are piloting a virtual nursing program to assist bedside nurses with tasks such as admission screenings and discharge instructions. This virtual care model, provided by Hellocare, also includes AI-driven real-time notifications for fall and pressure injury prevention. Our vision is to continually adopt digital tools that enhance automation of simple tasks, thereby preserving our valuable clinical resources.
