Ask chief nursing officers about their proudest achievement of the past two years and the answers converge less on a single program and more on culture: trust, ownership and a willingness to let frontline nurses shape how care is delivered.
Becker’s asked nursing leaders one question: What is your health system’s biggest nursing win in the last two years? Their answers, below, range from a fifth consecutive Magnet designation to the quieter work of building a culture nurses don’t want to leave.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Prisca Garcia, BSN, RN. Chief Nursing Officer and Accreditation, MCR Health (Bradenton, Fla.): One of our greatest nursing accomplishments has been the expansion of our Nursing Education Department and our commitment to growing talent from within. A key milestone has been the launch of our Medical Assistant pilot program, which provides certified nursing assistants with the education, training and support needed to transition into medical assistant roles. Led by our nursing education team, this initiative has strengthened our workforce pipeline, created meaningful career advancement opportunities for our employees and helped ensure a sustainable, highly skilled clinical workforce equipped to meet the evolving needs of our patients and communities.
Joya Henderson, MSN, RN. Former CNO of Antelope Valley Medical Center (Lancaster, Calif.); Independent Executive Advisor (Los Angeles): Our biggest win has been creating an environment where nurses can thrive while delivering exceptional patient care. Lasting improvement doesn’t come from a single initiative — it comes from building a culture of trust, accountability and continuous improvement. By investing in our nurses, strengthening interdisciplinary partnerships and relentlessly focusing on quality and patient safety, we’ve improved outcomes while fostering greater engagement and resilience across the workforce. When nurses are empowered to lead, patients, physicians and the entire organization benefit.
Montana Dickerson, BSN, RN. CNO and Director of Nursing at The Center for Gastrointestinal Health at Health Park (Grand Blanc, Mich.): Over the past two years, one of our most significant nursing achievements has been building a highly collaborative team in which every nurse actively contributes to patient care and operational excellence. In a smaller ambulatory surgery center, we do not have multiple layers of leadership or specialized departments. Instead, our nurses assume broad ownership, supporting direct patient care as well as quality improvement, workflow optimization, patient safety and the overall patient experience.
That level of ownership has strengthened our culture, improved staff engagement and kept us agile amid the workforce and financial pressures facing healthcare. Our team’s willingness to step beyond traditional roles, support one another and continuously identify opportunities for improvement has been a defining strength. When frontline nurses have a meaningful voice in how care is delivered, the result is stronger patient outcomes, a more engaged workforce and better operational performance.
Shannon Kuczynski, MSN, RN. Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President, Patient Care Services, at Boone Health (Columbia, Mo.): Boone Health’s biggest nursing win in the last two years has been achieving its fifth consecutive American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet designation in October 2024. This recognition is considered the gold standard for nursing excellence and is the highest honor a healthcare organization can receive for professional nursing practice. Boone Hospital Center was first designated in 2005 and successfully earned redesignations in 2009, 2014, 2019 and again in 2024, a distinction achieved by only a small percentage of hospitals nationwide.
This accomplishment reflects the extraordinary dedication, expertise and leadership of Boone Health’s nursing team. The Magnet designation recognizes excellence in patient outcomes, nursing practice, innovation, professional development and compassionate, patient-centered care. As an independent health system and the only Magnet-designated hospital in mid-Missouri, Boone Health’s fifth consecutive designation demonstrates a sustained culture of nursing excellence spanning two decades.
Beyond the designation itself, Boone Health nurses have continued to lead evidence-based practice initiatives, strengthen workforce development through nurse residency and professional advancement programs, improve patient safety and quality outcomes, and foster an environment where nurses are empowered to influence care delivery. The fifth Magnet recognition serves as a powerful validation of those efforts and the exceptional care Boone Health nurses provide every day.
Sharon Brown, MSN, RN. Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services, and CNO, Nursing Administration, at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (Colton, Calif.): Our greatest nursing win over the past two years has been the intentional strengthening of our culture. While healthcare has faced unprecedented challenges, we made a conscious decision to invest not only in the work our nurses do, but in the people behind the profession.
That investment has translated into meaningful outcomes. We’ve seen turnover decline, greater participation in hospital initiatives and increased engagement of direct care nurses in shared professional governance. More importantly, we’ve witnessed a shift in ownership. Nurses are not simply participating in organizational decisions, they are helping shape them.
Culture is often described as something you can feel but cannot measure. We have found that you can do both. When nurses feel heard, supported and empowered, they stay, they lead, and they elevate the care we provide. Our strongest accomplishment has not been a single program or initiative; it has been creating an environment where nurses can thrive professionally while continuing to deliver exceptional care to the communities that need us most.
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