Becker's Hospital Review

23 CMO / CARE DELIVERY because they know they can grow their career there. Continuing education and dedicated learning resources also allow nurses to grow professionally while remaining in direct patient care, Helen Staples-Evans, DNP, RN, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health Hospitals, told Becker's. e system has also found success in implementing virtual nursing and observation opportunities to nurses who think they want to transfer to other units. ese opportunities allow them to experience the unit before making the move. Traditionally, nurses spent their majority of their career at the bedside, stepping into leadership roles only aer gaining years of experience. But now, with a shortage of nurses and greater employment competition among hospitals and private companies, systems are providing more leadership and faculty opportunities. A shi in career trajectories Hospitals have long worked to ease nurse shortages but now face a catch-22: the same career advancement programs designed to support and retain nurses are contributing to more leaving the bedside. "A few months ago, I met with our new nurse residents and asked them where they saw themselves in five years," Ms. Gossett said. "None said they wanted to be at the bedside; most wanted to be nurse practitioners, leaders or managers — some even said they wanted my job. Many were aiming for advanced practice RN roles, MBAs or MHAs to move into leadership or the business side of healthcare." Leaders are doing what they can to support nurses in their career goals while also maintaining staff at the bedside. is is becoming increasingly difficult as leaders grapple with how to keep institutional knowledge when experienced nurses leave the field. "e key will be not just replacing them, but keeping institutional knowledge intact," Tim Plante, MSN, RN, CNO of the central region of CommonSpirit Health, told Becker's. "If we simply swap experienced nurses for new grads, we risk losing depth of expertise. Without enough seasoned nurses, you never build that layer of expert practitioners, which is a concern CNOs everywhere share." n HCA's 'smoke detector for sepsis' tool By Mariah Taylor T housand Oaks, Calif.-based HCA Healthcare's Los Robles Health System has created a tool that acts as a "smoke detector for sepsis," according to an Aug. 26 news release shared with Becker's. The algorithmic tool, Sepsis Prediction and Optimization of Therapy, is designed to detect early warning signs of sepsis and enable care teams to respond faster. "Sepsis is a medical emergency that must be treated as urgently as a heart attack or stroke," Gabriella Sherman, MD, chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare's Los Robles Health System, said in the release. "By using SPOT, we can identify subtle but critical changes in a patient's condition hours earlier than traditional methods, giving our teams the ability to intervene quickly and save lives." SPOT continuously monitors clinical data to spot patterns. If a dangerous pattern consistent with sepsis is detected, an alert is sent directly to the clinical teams' mobile devices, prompting them to assess the patient and begin treatment if sepsis is confirmed. The tool rolled out in 2018 and is used by HCA Healthcare hospitals nationwide. In HCA hospitals in California and Nevada alone, more than 3,000 patients with septic shock or severe sepsis have been treated in 2025, with a nearly 90% survival rate. On average, patients were screened within 12 minutes of the SPOT alert. n ANA decries CDC shake up By Mariah Taylor T he American Nurses Association expressed "alarm" over the abrupt removal of the CDC director and string of resignations among key leaders of the agency. These changes, along with liaisons being removed from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, raise critical questions about the stability and independence of the nation's public health institutions, according to an Aug. 29 ANA news release. The Trump administration selected Jim O'Neill — the agency's deputy secretary — to serve as acting CDC director after Susan Monarez, PhD, was ousted from the role after one month, amid an acrimonious confrontation with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. concerning forthcoming vaccine recommendations and other "reckless directives," according to Dr. Monarez's attorneys. "The removal of the CDC director and resignation of key leaders raises serious questions about our country's ability to respond to a public health crisis if it were to happen today," ANA President Jennifer Kennedy, PhD, RN, said in the release. "There has been a lot of change but not a lot of change management. The amount of change without transparency and clear communication is whipsawing to healthcare professionals and the public at large. Americans deserve steady and consistent leadership at the helm of the CDC to safeguard their health, safety, the economy and national security." The changes put public confidence and trust in federal health guidance and the health system at risk, the letter said. The ANA is urging the Trump administration to restore stable leadership at the CDC, reinstate ANA and other liaisons to ACIP and ensure advisory panels reflect balance, transparency and expertise. n

• Cover