Message from Brian Stahulak, Chief Nursing Officer

Reflecting on this past year, I am humbled and inspired by the Power of All who dedicate themselves to advance the mission of the Department of Nursing & Allied Health Professionals and the Center for Advanced Practice. Despite the challenges of the past 3 years, our nurses have embraced opportunities and identified innovative approaches to caring for our patients.

This has led to inspiring change in the way we manage our patients with mental and behavioral health issues to provide a safer environment for our staff and the patient. Additionally, we have addressed the workforce challenges that required us to think creatively and implement new ways of onboarding more than 1300 nurses, APPs and allied health professionals in the past 18 months. Reducing the documentation burden through the Within Defined Limits project has allowed our nurses to spend less time in the medical record and more time at the bedside. And lastly, we have embraced the wellbeing initiatives and celebrated more than 200 APPs and nurses who have been promoted through new professional advancement models. These are just a few of the countless examples of innovation and impact across our entire department.

We are poised to continue the tradition of nursing excellence that defines us as Lurie Children’s nurses. We will proudly demonstrate this by submitting for our sixth Magnet Designation in April 2024, an accomplishment shared by less than 5% of all hospitals across the nation. More than just a document, this milestone embodies our accomplishments, accolades, innovations and exemplary practices that put Lurie Children’s among the most elite settings for pediatric nurses to work and train. We do not achieve these successes on our own, but share these celebrations with our physician partners, interdisciplinary team members, and the patients and families we serve.

Our team inspires me each and every day with the steadfast reminder that we will emerge from the past three years stronger than we were before. We will rebuild the relationships that have been forced apart by COVID-19 and reestablish trust to drive us forward together. Our nurses are impactful innovators, compassionate leaders and a driving force. I hope you, too, read this report and take a moment to reflect and feel a sense of pride in all that has been accomplished in a challenging time.

Brian M. Stahulak
DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC
Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer
Fred Love Krehbiel Chair in Nursing Excellence