The First 90 Days

Hospital chief executive officer (CEO) turnover in 2015 held steady at 18%, which is equal to that reported in 2014 and among the highest rates reported in the past 2 decades.1 The continuing trend of mergers and acquisitions, the emergence of new models of care, retirement of leaders from the Baby Boomer era, as well as increased financial challenges, may all be contributing factors to this level of turnover. According to Jones et al.,2 there are 4 central themes for involuntary chief nursing executive (CNO) turnover: hospital financial concerns, conflict with senior leadership, appointment of a new CEO, and concerns about the CNO's financial management capabilities. As expected, CNO turnover is continuing to be high as CEO turnover continues to increase and is further impacted by retirements of many tenured CNOs.