Clinical integration is accomplished through a governance structure consisting of executive councils of physicians, chief nursing executives, and chief executive officers.  Strategic plans, approved by the Network Board of Directors, are operationalized using multidisciplinary committees, whose collaborative efforts target activities such as innovations in critical care, patient safety, and evidence-based best practices.

Sub-committees of the Nurse Council are forums to advance nursing science, practice, and education through collaborative leadership and sharing best practices.  For instance, the Collaborative Research Model supports new research studies; educational forums develop nurse leadership; and sharing organizational policies improves patient satisfaction. These initiatives increase nursing knowledge and accelerate the application of evidence-based practice.  

The Network’s track record of multidisciplinary collaboration includes publication of its study on timely stroke care in Stroke, a Press Ganey grant to study the relationship between patient satisfaction and nurses’ satisfaction with their nurse manager, and new business ventures like StepOne^©, a demographic data collection software for Magnet application submission, published in JONA.  Outreach to healthcare professionals locally, nationally and in Russia and South America extend collaborative boundaries.

Network hospitals are healthcare competitors, but improve clinical performance through a shared vision of healthcare excellence and commitment to collaboration and clinical integration.  Network hospital recognitions, such as ANCC Magnet Designation, the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, The Quality NJ Award for Performance Excellence as well as consumer awards for clinical excellence confirm that leadership collaboration improves and sustains quality.