Dear Colleagues:

Innovation in healthcare and ongoing creative thinking are now absolutely essential to any hospital’s ability to continue to deliver optimal care to every patient.  At the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, we understand that new approaches to today’s complex and rapidly changing healthcare environment must start with professionals on the front line, especially bedside nurses and nurse managers who are there at every stage of patient care.  That’s why North Shore-LIJ has established its landmark Institute for Nursing, one of only a handful of such institutions in the nation.

The Institute for Nursing represents an exciting new framework for the advancement of nursing practice and new avenues for the professional development and enhancement of nurses.  What will it mean for patients?  The Institute will serve as a vehicle for providing better patient care, more efficient clinical operations, better outcomes and greater patient satisfaction.  What will it mean for nurses? The Nursing Institute will help enhance the professional status and pride of the approximately 7,000 North Shore-LIJ nurses who perform their jobs with integrity, skill and dedication on a daily basis.

With numerous challenges facing the field of nursing and the national healthcare system, there is urgency to our mission. The North Shore-LIJ Health System is committed to providing the most professional practice environment for nurses and the practical support they need to succeed.  Through the Institute for Nursing, the health system will continue its leadership by example and innovation, with you as an integral part of new problem-solving strategies, and new cooperative and collaborative efforts.

In the weeks and months ahead, through new communications, new education and professional development opportunities, and through greater integration of procedures, you will have the opportunity to contribute to The Institute for Nursing  and its mission.  Above all, through this effort, North Shore-LIJ and its exceptional community of healthcare professionals will be better organized and positioned to help the hundreds of thousands of patients and families who turn to us for care every year.  This new Institute is a historic and important way to honor the trust and confidence our patients have in us, because it signals our commitment to do not just a better job, but the best job possible.

I invite you to explore this section and read the brochure about the Institute.  I also look forward to a positive and far-reaching dialogue within our professional community on how to take maximum advantage of this new initiative. I would be pleased to receive your feedback.

Sincerely,

Michael Dowling
President & CEO
North Shore-LIJ Health System