Chief Nurse Executive

Inova Health System

The Organization

Inova Health System is a not-for-profit health care system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency and urgent care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova's mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research.

Inova Health System began in 1956 in response to Northern Virginia's growing need for convenient, accessible health care. Then known as the Fairfax Hospital Association, the not-for-profit health care system grew from one hospital to a network of hospitals and other health care services. In the late 1980s, the organization changed its name to Inova Health System.

With operating revenues of over $2 billion and an AA+ bond rating, the Health System has a total of 1,725 licensed hospital beds and 377 licensed nursing home beds. Annually at IHS there are 100,946 hospital admissions, 80,000 total surgeries, almost 400,000 emergency room visits, and 21,400 live births. Inova’s flagship, Inova Fairfax Hospital women’s center has the nation's fifth busiest obstetrics program (with nearly 12,000 live births in 2006). There are almost 5,000 nurses in the system and over 3,000 physicians practicing at Inova facilities.

Inova Health System is the recipient of numerous awards of distinction. Working Mother magazine has named Inova Health System one of the nation's "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" for seven consecutive years. Also, in an annual survey that measures women's representation among top-paid and top-tier positions at America's largest companies, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) found in 2006 that Inova Health System is one of the nation's top 30 companies for executive women. In fact, Inova ranked in the in the top ten and was one of only three non-profit organizations named. Inova Fairfax Hospital and Inova Louden Hospital are recipients of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet award. Inova Fairfax Hospital was the fourth hospital in the Nation to achieve this gold standard in nursing excellence. Inova Health System was recently ranked again in the top ten of the Nation's 100 most integrated health systems. This 2007 honor marks the ninth consecutive year that Inova has been recognized in the annual report issued by Verispan, the nation's premier ratings system for quality in integrated healthcare networks.

Inova Health System also hosts residents from universities such as the University of Virginia, and is a clinical campus for students from Virginia Commonwealth University. Inova has also hosted medical and nursing students from George Washington, Howard, Georgetown, George Mason, Shenandoah and Marymount Universities, as well as Northern Virginia Community College.

The Vision for Nursing at Inova

Inova strives to reach a level of national distinction that differentiates Inova nurses from all others; while achieving this in an environment of principle-centered leadership, elevation of nursing practice, and education and research.

Nursing Leadership - An expert, principle-centered nursing leadership team prepared to meet the needs for nursing at Inova that will be recognized for excellence in management and leadership practice.

Organizational Culture - A working environment and culture that provides the foundation to foster Inova's Core Values and allows the next generations of nurses to flourish.

Organizational Learning - A committed, challenged, broadly educated and multi-skilled nursing workforce that promotes excellence in clinical practice and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Research and Evidence-Based Practice - An infrastructure that establishes research and evidence-based nursing practice as the foundation of nursing care.

Nursing Practice - Superior clinical performance, with a foundation in human caring practices in all nursing practice that produces quality nursing care that is recognized nationally.

Role Clarity - A nursing workforce that is able to differentiate job responsibilities to support a collaborative practice model

For additional information about Inova Health System, please visit www.inova.org.

The Position

Location

The position is located in Falls Church, Virginia, in Fairfax County, part of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area. Falls Church is located approximately six miles from the nation's capital and is inside the Capital Beltway. The City's downtown is located at the intersection of Virginia’s Route 7 and U.S. Route 29 and can be easily accessed via Interstate 66 or via its East or and West Falls Church Metro stations.

For additional information about Falls Church and Fairfax County please visit: www.fallschurchva.gov, www.co.fairfax.va.us, or www.nvfh.com

Reporting Relationships

The Chief Nurse Executive will report directly to the Inova Health System Chief Administrative Officer, Kylanne Green. Reporting to the CNE are the members of the Chief Nurse Council, the six hospital CNEs, the Director of the Inova Learning Network, and the Director of Disaster and JCAHO Preparedness.

Key Working Relationships

In order to be successful, the Chief Nurse Executive will need to establish effective working relationships with a variety of persons and groups. Principal among them are: the Health System Senior Vice President Clinical Quality and Patient Safety (Chief Medical Officer), the IHS President, the Chief Operating Officer of the Health System, most of the members of the President’s Council as well as each of the six hospital CEOs.

Responsibilities

The Chief Nurse Executive will be accountable for professional nursing practice, education and research for the entire Inova Health System. The CNE will ensure the highest possible standards of clinical effectiveness, patient, physician and staff satisfaction and cost effectiveness. There is significant responsibility for the improvement in processes and care models of patient care delivery at IHS based on patient safety as well as for professional nursing practice, nursing strategic plan development and implementation, alignment of care delivery strategies with all specialized disciplines.

The CNE will continue the development, design and implementation of a system-wide transformation to a new patient centered patient care delivery system by formulating strategy, tactics and action plans to achieve results. This person will work with all Inova operating units to assure health system integration and consistency in clinical practice, core patient care processes and creating a caring environment. Moreover, the CNE will be expected to create an environment that is responsive to physician needs and that will strengthen and support a positive working relationship with the physician community.

The following comprise the major challenges for and expectations of the person who accepts the Chief Nurse Executive position:

Inova Health System is about to re-enter the nursing education business for the first time since 1992, when the Alexandria Diploma Program was discontinued. A new, private Inova School of Nursing will change the landscape for education and training as well as for workforce development within the Health System. It is likely that a partnership will be forged between IHS and an existing accredited university. This huge undertaking, replete with its own grant and funding challenges, is already in the planning phase. It will need to be handed off to a competent patient care executive with strong education and fundraising credentials.

Embrace the organization’s vision to become a “World Class Teaching and Research Institution” by helping to expand nursing research beyond its relatively modest level of nursing research grants.
Enhance patient care operation success through measured indicators such as: improved patient satisfaction, improved physician satisfaction and by developing a fully-engaged employee workforce. Improved safety and quality management are related to these.
Inova Health System enjoys its hard-earned reputation as a leading organization. Whether it is the Health System’s AA+ bond rating or its high ranking in U S News and World Report, IHS most often leads the pack. It will also be expected that Inova patient care services be recognized as a “marquis-level” component of the Health System. This might be demonstrated through the achievement of some of the aforementioned nursing education and research initiatives, and by attaining Nurse Magnet status in the remaining four of the six IHS hospitals.
Explore imaginative ways to deal with unique challenges and some chronic nursing related problems that face each of the Health System operating entities. “One size fits all” may not be universally accepted by key stakeholders, so more creative or innovative solutions need to be found.

Opportunity

The Chief Nurse Executive will have the opportunity to take this already well-established patient care executive role to the “next level” and create a culture of service excellence in a comprehensive integrated, high quality patient care environment. Moreover, there will be much opportunity for personal and professional growth as the Inova Health System, in partnership with institutions of higher learning establishes itself as a World Class Teaching and Research Organization and the premier enterprise for advancing healthcare, medical education and research for the local community, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the entire Washington DC metropolitan region.

Compensation

An attractive, competitive compensation program will be tailored to the specific needs of qualified candidates. The final candidate will receive full relocation assistance and benefits, which are usual and customary for this level position in the organization.

Education/Licensure

A Doctorate level of education is strongly preferred for this position. A Certification Nursing Administration Advanced (CNAA) is also required as is the ability to obtain a current RN License in Virginia.

Professional Qualifications

A nationally-recognized nurse executive.

Experience in an integrated healthcare environment is highly desired with at least ten years senior experience with progressive leadership roles in a relevant, large and complex, healthcare setting.

Excellent physician relationship skills and the ability to work collegially, as a peer, with medical professionals in partnership toward mutual objectives.

Experience working in a complex multi service line matrix structured organization.
Experience in a competitive healthcare environment.
Strong communication skills with the ability to motivate others.
A visionary leader and consensus builder who can manage change and establish transformational leadership.
Experience with clinical performance improvement.
Excellent negotiation skills.
An understanding and working knowledge of the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Magnet Recognition for Excellence program.
Experienced in the process of creating operational excellence in organizations, an advocate for positive cultural change.
Extremely well-developed relationship building and facilitation skills.
Strong team building and team development skills. Someone who can lead other leaders and nurse executives.
Experience with nursing leadership development beyond what is carried out through the Inova Learning Network.
Experience working across lines of authority and demonstrated success with breaking down traditional silos. Demonstrated ability to develop collaborative teams and integrated services and programs.
Strong strategic planning skills.
Experience with workforce diversity.
Knowledge or experience with directing disaster preparedness.

Personal Characteristics

Someone who can bring balance to operational accountability and creative strategic vision. That is, a person who can create a vision around professional excellence and accountability.
Someone who can create new ways of doing things and then drive change.
A collaborative team player and colleague who can work closely and stand with other leaders in a team-oriented setting.
Someone who can quickly establish credibility with senior healthcare executives, physicians and other medical professionals based upon his/her personal characteristics and demeanor.
A sensitive advocate for nurses and the nursing profession. Someone who understands the vulnerability of nurses.
An open, flexible person who can deal with ambiguity and change.
Someone who can discern various problems and challenges and prioritize a rational response.
A thick-skinned, tenacious person who stays the course and who is assertive, but not negatively aggressive.
Someone who is inquisitive and who has a spirit of learning and who challenges the status quo and others around them.
A bright, polished executive with a professional demeanor.
A leader with vision, who can strive for excellence and the development of a world class organization.
A charismatic leader who leads and enriches more than manages.
A person of integrity, who is confident, secure, relaxed, and positive in their approach to issues and people.
A results-oriented, self-motivated person with a strong work ethic focused on success.
A person who is never satisfied with what has been achieved, a bit of a perfectionist.
Someone who is not afraid to speak their mind.
A constructive, positive person with a “can-do” attitude.
Someone who can motivate others to achieve.

Contact:

Barry R. Cesafsky Scott B. Smith

CES Partners, Ltd. CES Partners, Ltd.

53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1526 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1526

Chicago, Illinois 60604 or Chicago, Illinois 60604

312.987.4505 (direct) 847.669.9151 (direct)

312.386.1557 (fax) 312.386.1557 (fax)

bcesafsky@cespartners.net (e-mail) ssmith@cespartners.net (e-mail)

www.cespartners.net (web site) www.cespartners.net (web site)

53 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1526
Chicago, Illinois 60604
312.987.4505 Fax 312.386.1557
toll free 866.987.4505