Allina Health's new chief nursing executive has a background that includes leadership positions at Jefferson Health, Baylor Scott & White, VCU, and UnityPoint Health.
D'Andre Carpenter, DNP, RN, knew he wanted to be a nurse at age 13. For a while, he was convinced not to go into nursing, and worked in computer science and software engineering instead. However, he never stopped thinking about his dream of being a nurse, and so he decided to pursue becoming a registered nurse full time while working and raising a family.
Carpenter has held leadership positions at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas, and the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond, Virginia. He also served as senior vice president and chief system nursing officer for UnityPoint Health in Iowa.
He was recently appointed senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Allina Health, where he will be developing strategies to improve retention rates and patient satisfaction.
For our latest edition of The Exec, we sat down with Carpenter to discuss his thoughts on recruiting and retention strategies, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), technology in nursing, and how to prevent workplace violence. Tune in to hear his insights.
G Hatfield is the nursing editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
CNOs need to work on optimizing pathways for nurses to enter and succeed in the healthcare industry.
Health systems should recruit staff who reflect the communities they serve and promote internal equity among team members.
Virtual nursing will be a sustainable part of the nursing industry, and leaders must innovate and implement technologies that will help streamline processes.