Wendi Goodson-Celerin of Tampa General Hospital Named a Hospital and Health System Chief Nursing Officer to Know

Goodson-Celerin, senior vice president and chief nursing officer, is recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review for excellence in nursing leadership.

 

Tampa, FL (Oct. 5, 2023) – Tampa General Hospital (TGH) announced that Wendi Goodson-Celerin, DNP, APRN, NE-BC, senior vice president and chief nursing officer (CNO), has been named by Becker’s Hospital Review to its list of “Hospital and Health System Chief Nursing Officers to Know” for 2023. Goodson-Celerin’s inclusion on the list reflects her success in leveraging clinical and leadership experience to advance initiatives that ensure world-class patient care.

In her 35-year career with Tampa General, Goodson-Celerin has served in various leadership roles, most recently as interim chief nursing officer. As CNO, she leads all nursing services across the 1,040-bed academic health system, as well as spearheading the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program, a prestigious designation Tampa General has achieved four times since 2005. Goodson-Celerin also oversees compliance with accrediting bodies and regulatory groups systemwide, including the implementation of strategies to achieve or exceed quality and patient safety goals.

“Wendi is an exceptional, dedicated and compassionate leader and a standout example of how leaders can achieve their full potential and transform their organizations for the better by harnessing the principles of authentic leadership,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “We are tremendously proud to see Wendi — and by extension, our entire nursing team — recognized for bringing a solutions-oriented approach that strengthens our entire system and empowers us to deliver world-class care to our community.”

Leading with a focus on establishing strong multidisciplinary collaboration, Goodson-Celerin successfully integrated team members from departments such as Information Technology, Performance Improvement, People and Talent and Patient Experience to collaborate with nursing to improve coordination and quality of care as well as the patient experience.

This method has empowered Tampa General to take a data-based approach to managing throughput and workflow across all nursing units. For example, the health system has dedicated team members from the Performance Improvement department to observe and interview nurse leaders and identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, streamline the process for discharging patients and customize electronic health records to best meet the unique needs of care teams.

Goodson-Celerin has developed systemwide best practices, including the implementation of the “patient experience bundle,” comprised of purposeful hourly rounding, bedside shift reporting and nurse leader rounding, which has directly resulted in consistent improvements to patient experience scores over the past six months.

Amid a nationwide nursing shortage, Goodson-Celerin has prioritized efforts to strengthen Tampa General’s core nursing team, meaningfully reducing the system’s reliance on agency staffing support and reducing vacancy rates for various nursing departments to well below national benchmarks. To train and recruit the best nursing talent, Goodson-Celerin partners closely with the USF Health College of Nursing to maintain its clinical education and pipeline programs.

In recognition of her career growth and commitment to the nursing profession, Goodson-Celerin was presented with the “Outstanding Recent Alumni” award from the USF Health College of Nursing on Sept. 28.

“Tampa General is where I’ve spent most of my nursing career and have grown as a leader, so it holds tremendous significance to be honored by Becker’s as a representative of our organization,” Goodson-Celerin said. “Ours is a story of teamwork and resilience, and this recognition is an important testament to the way our team members have relentlessly supported each other and cared for the patients we are fortunate to serve.”

The Becker's Hospital Review “Hospital and Health System Chief Nursing Officers to Know” list recognizes exemplary chief nursing officers at hospitals and health systems across the U.S. Learn more about Goodson-Celerin and the full list of honorees here.