The Exec: Why CMOs Must Help Lead Innovation Initiatives at Hospitals

There are no shortcuts for physician leaders to engage frontline staff in innovation initiatives, says this CMO.

Innovation and continuous improvement are important areas for CMOs because they optimize services for patients, improve clinical outcomes, and boost provider experience.

Kristie Ross, MD, MS, the new CMO of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's has extensive experience in leading innovation initiatives.

Ross became CMO of the children's hospital and University Hospitals children's market in January after serving as interim CMO of the hospital since June 2025. Ross' prior leadership experience includes serving as chief of pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine at Rainbow Babies & Children's.

When launching and implementing innovation initiatives, it is crucial to engage frontline staff, according to Ross.

"Frontline staff are going to be using innovations, and they are going to be impacted by innovations," Ross says. "By engaging the frontline staff in innovation initiatives, senior leaders can understand what may get in the way of full adoption of innovations."

There is no shortcut for a CMO to engage frontline staff in innovation initiatives, and the effort should go beyond talking with the people who could be impacted by an innovation initiative, Ross explains.

"A CMO should leverage department leaders to get their input and find out whether there are staff members in their departments who could be helpful in implementing an innovation initiative," Ross says. "This can help a CMO find supporters or champions for an innovation initiative and engage them early in the innovation process."

Innovation initiative champions have a couple of essential qualities, according to Ross.

"The most important quality of an innovation champion is a willingness to devote time beyond typical duties to talk with colleagues about an initiative, as well as determine the positives and negatives associated with an innovation," Ross says. "An effective innovation champion also gets excited about an innovation initiative and sees it as an opportunity to improve care for patients."

Ross helped to lead innovation initiatives associated with Rainbow Babies & Children's adopting Epic as the hospital's electronic health record three years ago, including the development of homegrown care pathways for sepsis and asthma care. Engagement of frontline staff to design and implement those pathways included working with staff members in the emergency department, ICU, nursing floors, and IT department.

"Those care path tools were designed in a way that automated the work that was being done as much as possible," Ross says. "We used decision support to help the providers to identify patients who were at risk and make it easy to do the right things for patients."

When there are challenges in implementing an innovation initiative, a CMO must ensure that there is a learning environment at their health system or hospital. In a learning environment, people who have invested time in an innovation initiative see challenges in implementation not as mistakes, but as opportunities to make the initiative better, Ross explains.

"A CMO must not take negative feedback about an innovation initiative personally," Ross says. "A learning environment focuses on continuous improvement, where people are encouraged to speak up and share their feedback."

A CMO can play a pivotal role in promoting continuous improvement, particularly when challenges arise, according to Ross.

"It may not be comfortable receiving negative feedback, but a CMO must be curious, ask questions, and listen to staff," Ross says. "Then, a CMO must close the loop, and get back to staff members who raise concerns and let them know what has been accomplished."

Effective Clinical Education Programs at Hospitals

At academic medical centers such as Rainbow Babies & Children's, clinical education is core to the mission, and a CMO must help the organization rise to challenges in clinical education such as workforce shortages and financial pressures, Ross explains.

"We need to balance the clinical work that generates revenue with training the next generation of clinicians," Ross says. "We need to support faculty members who train residents and other learners, which includes giving them time to be engaged in educational duties."

Medical educators need time for structured activities such as curriculum development and delivering lectures, but it does not take much time to work with learners in care settings such as hospitals and clinics, according to Ross.

"Medical educators can integrate trainees into the care they provide on a daily basis without a lot of additional effort," Ross says. "Most of the people who go through medical training don't remember the lectures as much as they remember the experiences and interactions with their mentors."

Effective residency programs have a couple of essential elements, Ross explains.

"At a minimum, you must have structures in place such as curricula and meeting regulations," Ross says. "You also need engaged faculty who are excited to teach trainees, willing to devote time to teaching, and are committed to establishing a supportive environment for trainees."

The most important factor for an effective medical educator is a willingness to share expertise and knowledge with trainees, according to Ross.

"This can be accomplished in many ways, including giving lectures and having trainees accompany a medical educator as they see patients," Ross says.