This year has put nursing leaders to the test as they navigate severe workforce shortages — among other lingering pandemic-related stressors — and work diligently to support nurses through a uniquely difficult period in their careers.
Below are brief biographies of the chief nursing officers at the hospitals that took the top 10 spots in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 best hospital rankings.
Note: The list includes a tie.
1. Ryannon Frederick, MSN — Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
Ms. Frederick was appointed system CNO of Mayo Clinic in 2019. She joined the health system as a registered nurse in 2000 and has since held various leadership roles at the organization, including CNO of Mayo Clinic in Florida from 2016 to 2019.
2. David Marshall, DNP, RN — Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Dr. Marshall serves as senior vice president and chief nursing executive of Cedars-Sinai, a role he's held since 2019. He previously served as system chief nursing and patient care services executive for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
3. Debra Albert, DNP, RN — NYU Langone Hospitals (New York City)
Ms. Albert stepped into her role as CNO and senior vice president for patient care services at NYU Langone Health in 2020. She also serves as director of health promotion for the system's Lerner Health Promotions Program. Dr. Albert joined NYU Langone from UChicago medicine, where she served as senior vice president and CNO for eight years.
4. Meredith Foxx, MSN, APRN — Cleveland Clinic
Ms. Foxx serves as executive CNO for Cleveland Clinic, overseeing a team of about 24,000 nursing caregivers. Ms. Foxx stepped into the role in 2020 after filling it on an interim basis for four months. She previously served as the system's associate chief nursing officer for advanced practice nursing and nursing quality and practice.
5. Deborah Baker, DNP, CRNP — The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore)
Along with her role as vice president of nursing and patient care services for The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Baker is also senior vice president for nursing for Johns Hopkins Medicine. She joined the health system in 1992 as a clinical nurse and has held various leadership positions at the system in the last three decades, including director of nursing for surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
5. Karen Grimley, PHD, RN — UCLA Health (Los Angeles)
Dr. Grimley has served as chief nursing executive for UCLA Health and assistant dean of the UCLA School of Nursing since 2015. Prior to her current role, she was the CNO and volunteer assistant clinical professor for UC Irvine (Calif.) Medical Center.
7. Wilhelmina Manzano, RN — NewYork-Presbyterian (New York City)
Ms. Manzano serves as group senior vice president, chief nursing executive and COO for perioperative services at NewYork-Presbyterian. She's held various held numerous leadership roles since joining the system in 1998, including system chief quality officer and COO of NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in New York City.
8. Debbie Burke, DNP, RN — Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston)
As senior vice president for patient care and chief nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Burke oversees a staff of more than 7,000 nurses, health professionals and support personnel. She served as the hospital's associate chief nurse for women and children, mental health, cancer center and community health nursing practice before stepping into her current role in 2018.
9. Kristin Ramsey, MSN, RN — Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago)
Ms. Ramsey serves as senior vice president and chief nurse executive of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She first joined Northwestern's senior leadership team in 2003, holding various roles, including vice president of surgical services and director of orthopedics/neurology, cardiac care and case management at the hospital.
10. Dale Beatty, DNP, RN — Stanford (Calif.) Hospital.
Dr. Beatty has served as the CNO and vice president of patient care services at Stanford Health Care since 2017. He has more than two decades of nurse leadership experience, previously serving as CNO of University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences Systems in Chicago; CNO and vice president of patient care services at San Diego-based Sharp Grossmont Hospital; and chief nurse executive and vice president of patient care services at St. Francis Hospital and Health Center in Blue Island, Ill.
Editor's note: This article was updated July 29 at 11:58 a.m. CT.