ORLANDO, Fla. – From the bedside to the forefront, nurses are leading the way as part of the Professional Governance Group at AdventHealth.
It’s a new concept rooted in an idea that sprouted after the COVID-19 pandemic. A small panel of nurses began meeting in 2022 to address the burnout and retention issues happening in the nursing industry at that time.
Now, AdventHealth has expanded the concept by adding 40 nurses to their Professional Governance Group.
The nurses involved say they’re excited to be a voice for their colleagues and have greater influence on the future of healthcare.
“We’re the frontline nurses, we’re the ones that are actually utilizing these tools, so we are the perfect person to come back to and give that feedback,” said Gretchen Martinez, an ICU nurse.
Beth Biele, a 20-year veteran of emergency room nursing who works as part of the Float Pool serving 17 different locations, says it gives her a wide scope of suggestions and ideas to share in hopes of improving patient care more than anything.
“We’re here for the patients. We want to provide the patient with the best care, the best experience because they are at their most vulnerable moments when they’re here with us,” she said.
Chief Nursing Officer Cathy Stankiewicz says the inclusion of more nurses provides a supportive environment and knowledgeable flow of communication.
“This professional governance is truly going to give us an opportunity to continue to grow that impact, to grow influence and really continue to make health care better,” she said.
Despite industry reports of shortages, AdventHealth leaders say they have a 3% nurse vacancy rate, which they attribute to their retention and recruitment efforts, such as the governance group, as well as many other incentives and benefits.
