Market Chief Nursing Officer, Houston

The Houston market is composed of 8 hospitals including a large quaternary academic medical center, over 3,000 nurses, 3,200 medical staff and 800 advanced practice providers. The Houston Market is a part of the CommonSpirit South Region which is composed of 33 acute care facilities serving 7 distinct markets across 6 states. Ambulatory assets include ambulatory surgery center,imaging centers, urgent care facilities and over 350 medical clinics.

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is an 881-bed quaternary care academic medical center that is a joint venture between Baylor College of Medicine and CHI St. Luke’s Health. Located in the Texas Medical Center, the hospital is the home of the Texas Heart® Institute, a cardiovascular research and education institution founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD. The hospital was the first facility in Texas and the Southwest designated a Magnet® hospital for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, receiving the award five consecutive times. Baylor St. Luke’s also has three community emergency centers offering adult and pediatric care for the Greater Houston area.

The Market Chief Nursing Officer is a key executive team member partnering to develop and implement market operating plans inclusive of strategy, operations and care delivery. The Market Chief Nursing Officer builds and develops leadership teams resulting in ownership and accountability that results in rapid implementation of clinical best practices, reduces unnecessary care variation, and drives improvement in the quality of care, the efficiency of care, the cost of care and the professional practice of nursing at all market hospitals. Additional market accountabilities as the MCNO include nursing professional practice, patient safety, nurse engagement and nurse recruitment and retention. A key function of the MCNO is to drive alignment across the local hospitals in the market, and to align with region and national priorities.

• Serves as the primary liaison between the Region Chief Nursing Officer (RCNO) and hospital-based CNOs and nursing leaders to align market operations with regional and national priorities.

• Leads implementation of national and regional nursing strategies across the market, including clinical quality, patient safety, experience, and regulatory readiness.

• Drives alignment of professional governance structures and supports hospitals in achieving ANCC Magnet or Pathway to Excellence recognition.

• Coaches and mentors market and facility nursing leadership teams to drive performance improvement and shared leadership.

• Collaborates with medical and operational dyad partners to reduce care variation and implement clinical best practices.

• Monitors clinical performance across the market and supports underperforming facilities with focused improvement strategies.

• Oversees staffing and productivity planning in partnership with the national productivity team; mentors leaders in budget and financial management.

• Interfaces with cross-functional market leadership to drive workforce planning, float pool strategy, recruitment, and nursing engagement.

#LI-CSH, #LI-DH

Required Education and Experience

• Active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of employment; compact license required

• Master’s degree in Nursing (MSN) required; if not in Nursing, must hold a BSN and a Master’s in a related field (e.g., MHA, MBA)

• Experience leading in a large, complex matrixed environment with multi-hospital accountability

• Minimum of 10 years of healthcare experience, including progressive leadership roles with direct people management

• Demonstrated involvement with Magnet® and/or Pathway to Excellence® journeys and sustaining nursing excellence

• Strong business and financial acumen suitable for a complex tertiary care setting

Preferred Experience

• At least 3 years serving as an executive and Chief Nurse in a large, complex hospital or healthcare system

• 10 years of clinical practice with broad knowledge of patient care management and quality improvement

• Familiarity with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework and its application in healthcare

Licensure and Certifications

• Certified healthcare executive preferred (e.g., FACHE)

• DNP-prepared candidates preferred, with demonstrated executive-level leadership and system-level strategic impact