Ms. Szkolnicki serves as CNO for Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, with accountability for nursing practice across all inpatient and ambulatory settings in both the adult and children’s hospitals. Reporting to the hospital president, she provides strategic and operational leadership for a 647-bed, Magnet-designated academic medical center that includes a level 1 trauma center, a level 4 neonatal ICU and more than 70 outpatient clinics. She aligns nursing strategy to institutional goals while driving quality, safety, patient experience and regulatory compliance across care environments. As Penn State Health’s nursing platform executive, she also leads collaboration among enterprise CNOs, spearheading a unified nursing strategic plan and systemwide councils for practice, informatics, education and quality. She has delivered measurable workforce and financial results, including major reductions in turnover, vacancies and agency spend. She is also recognized for culture-building initiatives such as the weekly “We are…” publication and staff wellness and safety programs.
