A successful interim CNO brings more than the right skills

January 15, 2025

Odessa Memorial Health (OMHC)’s CEO Brett Antczak was in his first year in the role when the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) position became vacant. Brett was working to bring updated models of quality and operational efficiencies to OMHC and needed someone in the CNO role who could keep the momentum moving forward as they hired a permanent person.

Odessa is an agriculturally based town of about 950 people. Established in the late 1940s, OMHC operates from a single campus and is the largest private employer in town. It is the only health care provider in the area and serves a large aging population. Brett believes that “folks in rural areas deserve the same access to quality health care as those in urban areas and if we’re falling behind the times in our quality models, then we’re not serving our community well.” This made the right interim CNO critically important.

Brett worked with WHS Preferred Partner Networx Health, part of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Care Network to find an interim placement. Hiring for a position in a rural area is not just a matter of having the right skills but is also a lifestyle fit. It often takes longer to fill a role in a rural area than it would in an urban location. The interim CNO was in the position for seven months, while he searched for the permanent staff member he eventually hired.

OMHC needed someone who could evaluate the status of all programs and identify opportunities to eliminate unnecessary processes. There was also a pressing need for recruitment and training for the nursing staff. Brett identified the largest opportunity for change as cultural. To better serve the organization and the community, there was a need for increased trust among the clinical team. Brett had the opportunity to interview multiple candidates for the interim position. Based on her prior work experience and her personality, Brett knew that the interim CNO he chose would be a good fit for OMHC.

To address the need for cultural change, the interim CNO put together a Clinical Operations Team, which brought people from the entire organization together. The team worked to improve operations overall, with special focus on handoffs and improved communication. She also solicited and used input from the whole nursing team to develop a nurse staffing plan, which positioned the organization to meet the requirements of the Safe Staffing Bill introduced later that year. Through this work, the hospital learned that they had been staffing at a level four times greater than what was required by Medicare, resulting in waste. The interim CNO set the nurse staffing level to twice what is required by Medicare, eliminating waste while still providing a satisfying experience for patients.

The interim CNO’s operational accomplishments included strong contributions to the update of systems and automating processes such as purchasing, supply chain timeliness, policy storage and timecard processing. Brett credits her success to an ability to “let the nurses voice be heard. She was someone they could go to with the professional leadership skills to listen and hear their concerns and then take new ideas and move them forward.”

Brett says he would use the VMFH Care Network for any future interim staffing needs. He found his contact at VMFH Care Network to be accessible for easy communication and a strong thought partner with whom he could be open, knowing conversations were held in confidence. He particularly valued her help in determining strategy and her wide network, which was valuable in finding the right candidates for the open role. His advice to other CEO’s considering an interim hire is, “explore options and ask lots of questions as you are bringing someone in who will be a vital part of the team. You are not just plugging a person in; it needs to be the right person.”

Networx Health is a Washington Hospital Services interim executive and leader placement Preferred Partner. Preferred Partners provide our member hospitals with approved products and services to help improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and deliver high-quality care. Each of our Partners go through a comprehensive evaluation process to ensure they meet and maintain high standards of quality and service.

For more information about Networx Health or the WHS Preferred Partners Program, contact Ed Phippen at edp@wsha.org or (206) 216-2556. (Ed Phippen)

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