100_The Measurable Impact of Investing in Frontline Leaders with Carla Yost and Dannette Staples, Hillcrest Medical Center

On this episode of The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Dan Collard is joined by Carla Yost and Dannette Staples from Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma to discuss the work they’re doing in development with a specific focus on charge nurses and their Nurse Practice Council. Carla is the Chief Nursing Officer at Hillcrest. With 15 years of senior leadership experience, she is passionate about developing leaders and giving them a voice. Dannette is the Director of Nursing for Workforce Development and Performance Improvement. She has over 24 years of healthcare experience and shares Carla’s passion for frontline leadership development. 

Carla discusses how she recognized that leaders were seeking development opportunities within the organization and why she proposed Precision Leadership Development™ as the solution through the Nurse Practice Council.

Then, Dannette shares her experience leading the orthopedics unit during challenging times, including the staff shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she decided to invest in her charge nurses by mentoring them individually and involving them in the decision-making process, she began to see extraordinary results. 

Through this investment in leadership development, Dannette’s unit has seen:

- Engagement scores increase from 77% in 2021 to 92% in 2023

- Turnover reduced from 27% to 4% on the orthopedic unit

- Net Promoter Scores improved from 39% to 75%

- Length of stay reduced from 1.62 to 1.29

- Falls rates reduced from 4.33 to 2.79

Dannette and Carla attribute all of these results to their focus on the mid-level, “boots-on-the-ground”, frontline leaders and emphasize the need for investment and development to drive positive change in healthcare organizations. 

About Carla Yost

Among Becker's 66 CNOs to know in 2022, Carla Yost, BSN, FACHE, CPHQ, is the Chief Nursing Officer of Hillcrest Medical Center, Ardent Health System. Here, she leads the nursing and patient care operations for the 656-bed facility, successfully fostering achievements like most recently, a top-ranking hospital in patient safety, awarded by the organization, Leapfrog. She also advocates for nurses, investing in their growth, and increasing staff retention.

Carla brings with her more than 15 years of knowledge and experience in senior executive leadership. Her previous roles include System Chief Nursing and Quality Officer for Ascension Kansas, Vice President of Nursing and Quality at HCA Healthcare in Overland Park, Kansas, and a Baldridge Examiner for the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2018, Carla was named a Health Care Hero by the Wichita Business Journal. 

About Dannette Staples

Dannette Staples is a multidimensional nursing leader with more than 24 years of experience and a proven record of accomplishments built by the foundation of relationships that produce results that improve quality, efficiency, and growth. She is a dedicated nurse leader with a passion to mentor and develop new nurses by empowering and educating driven team members to become effective leaders. 

She has worked in various organizations across the country, starting with Vanderbilt University, HCA, Ardent, and Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria Oregon. She has worked in a variety of healthcare organizations ranging from large tertiary facilities to small outlying facilities, all of which have impacted her growth as a leader in healthcare. She has also created and facilitated customer service training and coached improvement skills to enhance teammate development and performance.