For Cherie Smith, PhD, RN, fostering enthusiasm in the workplace is the top priority for 2024.
"We must address our current demands," Dr. Smith, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services at OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital and OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware, told Becker's. "Our focus is on elevating healthcare quality by recruiting and retaining top talent. One of our strongest organizational attributes is the positive, close-knit relationships shared by our associates, however, the intensity of our work can occasionally overshadow these relationships."
To improve workplace culture, the system has added a well-being consultant to the team whose role is to generate opportunities for collaboration and networking away from the care environment. They are also prioritizing elevation and empowerment associates in decision-making.
Columbus-based OhioHealth recently added three hospitals to its system and plans to expand its level 1 trauma center and its women's center. The system has also partnered with Columbus State Community College to create the OhioHealth Center for Health Sciences "with the goal of doubling the number of students in nursing, surgical technology, medical imaging, respiratory therapy, and sterile processing." The center will open in 2027.
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