AONL 2026 continues as nurse leaders brainstorm staffing solutions, workforce pipeline opportunities, and involving nurses in the financial side of the industry. After the first day of AONL 2026, in Chicago, it’s clear that CNOs are looking to the future to solve some of the industry’s most systemic challenges: staffing, the workforce pipeline, and the financial ROI of nursing. Staffing for sustainability CNOs who are struggling with staffing should consider innovative solutions to increase nurse engagement and reduce turnover. At Intermountain Health, Dr. Ann Gantzer, CNO at Good Samaritan, and Amanda Feild, CNO at Saint Joseph Hospital, tried new staffing and payment model approaches in women’s services and surgical services. After a key partnership ended and they lost 60% of their volume in 2024, there was a sense of instability for their nurses, and previous attempts to solve for that loss such as cross training for floating, staggering shifts, were not working. For women’s services, Feild implemented a guaranteed hours model with the goal of stabilizing staffing levels, reducing turnover, enhancing employee engagement, and improving efficiency. With the same goals in mind, Gantzer implemented call weeks for surgical services, where each RN was on call for one week, with guaranteed hours up to FTE. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(“dfp-ad-hl_native1”); }); Both strategies were successful, and yielded positive outcomes, with women’s services saving almost $1 million yearly, and surgical services saving over $250,000 over two quarters. These strategies also allow for flexible coverage that balances out staffing during high and low census periods…
