CHIEF NURSING OFFICER

Seneca Healthcare District•Chester, CA

4d•$96 - $134•Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) provides executive leadership and strategic direction for nursing services and patient care throughout the organization. As a member of the executive team, the CNO ensures safe, high-quality, patient-centered care while fostering a nursing and clinical culture grounded in accountability, teamwork, communication, professional growth, and continuous improvement. The CNO collaborates with physicians, clinical leaders, administration, public health agencies, emergency response partners, and staff to align nursing and clinical operations with the hospital’s mission, strategic priorities, regulatory responsibilities, and community needs. The role oversees nursing services and assigned clinical departments, establishes nursing standards, policies, staffing practices, and operational priorities, and develops leaders at all levels. The CNO advances quality, safety, patient experience, evidence-based practice, emergency and behavioral health services, EMTALA compliance, emergency preparedness, disaster response, and public health activities. The role also recruits and develops the nursing workforce, manages nursing budgets and resources, participates in capital and technology planning, and translates organizational strategy into measurable clinical goals. This is a physically demanding, high-stress position involving potential exposure to blood and body fluids, communicable diseases, chemicals, and radiation. Duties may involve repetitive motions, pushing and pulling heavy objects, handling and lifting patients, extensive standing and walking, lifting and carrying items up to 20 pounds, and working irregular hours, including after hours.

Requirements

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), or Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) degree.
Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse license in California.
Current BLS, ACLS, and PALS certifications.
ICS/NIMS training.
Minimum of five years’ experience in patient care services management.
Labor relations experience.
Ability to perform the physical demands of the position, including extensive standing and walking, handling and lifting patients, pushing and pulling heavy objects, and lifting and carrying items weighing up to 20 pounds.
Corrected vision and hearing within the normal range.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in another subject, such as an MBA or MPH.
Public Health Nurse (PHN) qualification.
Critical Care nursing experience.
Surgical Services experience.
Skilled nursing experience.
Prior experience as a Director of Nursing or Chief Nursing Officer.
Emergency management, emergency nursing, and leadership certifications.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and oversight for nursing services and assigned clinical departments.
Establish nursing standards, policies, staffing practices, and operational priorities consistent with organizational goals.
Maintain a visible and approachable leadership presence in clinical areas.
Develop nursing leaders and strengthen accountability at director, manager, and frontline levels.
Promote communication and collaboration among nursing, medical staff, ancillary departments, and administration.
Evaluate nursing operations and identify opportunities to improve workflow, efficiency, staffing, and patient care.
Monitor nursing-sensitive quality indicators, patient outcomes, safety events, and patient experience measures.
Partner with Quality, Risk Management, Infection Prevention, Medical Staff, and other departments to identify and address improvement opportunities.
Promote patient safety, clinical excellence, continuous improvement, and evidence-based nursing practice.
Provide executive nursing oversight of emergency services and maintain systems for safe, timely evaluation, stabilization, treatment, and transfer of emergency patients.
Ensure organizational compliance with EMTALA, including medical screening examinations, stabilizing treatment, transfers, acceptance of patients when required, documentation, and staff education.
Collaborate on EMTALA policies, education, monitoring, and corrective-action processes.
Provide nursing leadership for patients experiencing psychiatric and behavioral health emergencies, including assessment, safety, observation, risk precautions, crisis intervention, transfer, and coordination with behavioral health resources.
Build collaborative relationships with behavioral health providers, law enforcement, EMS, county agencies, and other psychiatric emergency response partners.
Provide executive nursing leadership for emergency preparedness and disaster response.
Maintain working knowledge of the Incident Command System and the hospital emergency operations structure; serve in an assigned Hospital Incident Command Systems leadership role during emergencies as appropriate.
Participate in developing, implementing, testing, and evaluating the hospital Emergency Operations Plan.
Ensure nursing leaders and staff understand their emergency responsibilities, including during disasters, evacuations, mass-casualty incidents, infectious disease events, utility failures, and wildfires.
Collaborate with EMS, fire and law enforcement, public health, emergency management, healthcare coalition partners, and other community agencies on regional preparedness and response.
Provide nursing leadership on communicable disease, infection prevention, community health, emergency preparedness, and public health response.
Support disease surveillance, prevention, education, vaccination, and community health activities.
Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a qualified nursing workforce; support succession planning and leadership development.
Establish expectations for performance, professionalism, teamwork, and accountability, and support staff through organizational, technological, and operational change.
Foster a workplace culture in which employees feel respected, informed, supported, and responsible for organizational success.
Develop and manage nursing budgets with executive leadership and department leaders.
Monitor staffing, productivity, overtime, agency utilization, supplies, and other nursing-related expenses.
Balance responsible resource stewardship with patient safety and quality-of-care requirements.
Participate in capital planning, equipment selection, technology implementation, and clinical facility planning.
Participate actively in the executive leadership team and translate organizational strategy into clinical goals and measurable results.
Build effective relationships with medical staff, employees, patients, community agencies, first responders, and other stakeholders.
Advocate for patients, clinical staff, and community healthcare needs.
Perform other duties as assigned.