ENDORSEMENTS: VONEL

A Message from the office of Stephanie Jackson, DNP, RN, NE-BC

President

VP, Nurse Executive

Sentara Obici Hospital

With great pleasure, I am writing to VONEL membership to endorse Deb Zimmermann, RN, for the office of President-Elect in the upcoming AONL Election.

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Deb Zimmermann, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, is the chief clinical officer and principal of Leaders in Care and is running for AONL President-Elect. Deb served in the United States Army Nurse Corps, practiced as a nurse practitioner, and for 25 years served in executive positions in New York and Virginia. She is the past chairperson of the ANCC Commission on Magnet®, currently a member of the DAISY Foundation Boards of Directors, and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She co-chairs the AACN-AONL Academic Practice Council and chairs the AONL Foundation Board of Directors.

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As many of you know, Deb served on the Board of the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders and chaired the Scholarship Committee for the last 7 years. She has tirelessly supported advancing nurse leader education and attendance at the AONL Annual Conference. Deb has also served as a speaker for our VONEL conferences on many occasions, bringing her expertise on nursing excellence, recognition, and nursing leadership. 

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Throughout her career as an exemplary nurse leader, Deb’s professional efforts have been dedicated to strengthening the education and influence of nurses, creating collaborative interprofessional care models across the continuum, and quantifying the contribution of nurses in improving health outcomes.

In 2018, Deb was recognized by the New York Organization of Nurse Executive and Leaders for her partnership with the New York State Board for Nursing, state legislature, college deans, and healthcare association on academic progression for nurses and the introduction of legislation advancing educational requirements for registered nurses on baccalaureate education (BSN in 10) that was signed into law in December 2017.

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As Chair of the Magnet® Commission, Deb introduced and facilitated approval of Magnet® standards on education, innovative nursing models across the care continuum, and nurse-sensitive outcome measures.  In Virginia, she co-led a coalition that increased RN baccalaureate preparation by 20%. Deb is currently working with the Virginia Board of Nursing and academic leaders on redesigning clinical nursing education and collaborating with AACN and AONL leaders on lessons learned from the global pandemic and roll-out of the 2021 AACN Essentials.

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As a Chief Nursing Officer, Deb led teams that reduced mortality, decreased hospital-acquired infections, improved access, achieved an 82% BSN prepared workforce, enhanced nurses’ role in hospital governance, instituted a transition to practice fellowship for advanced practice nurses, and reduced lost employee workdays caused by workplace violence. She led listening forums on racism in healthcare and introduced policies on care for the LGBTQ community. In 2021, Deb worked with community leaders on equitable access to and education on the COVID-19 vaccine and served as lead investigator on a national grant highlighting sustainable healthcare innovations introduced during the pandemic. She currently serves on the AONL Diversity and Belonging Committee.

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Deb received her Master of Science in Adult Primary Care Nursing from the University of Rochester and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from St. John Fisher College. She is an ANCC certified Nurse Executive, Advanced, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

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Her vision for AONL’s future accomplishments is described by Deb as follows: “Nurses are ready to assume roles in national healthcare re-design and institute models of care which have demonstrated improved clinical outcomes, expanded access to care, broken down racial barriers, and incorporated patient-centered approaches to care. The Edge Runner, Magnet®, and Future of Nursing Campaign for Action have all identified promising innovations ready for expansion. By working with policy experts, corporations, and insurers on new models of care, AONL will facilitate sustainable improvements in health, reduce social disparities, and create robust environments for well-being.”

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I urge all VONEL members who are AONL members to vote for Deb Zimmermann to become the next AONL President-Elect. Please share this endorsement with your AONL member colleagues!

Voting opens on September 7th.  All of the candidates’ campaign videos can be found on the AONL election page: https://www.aonl.org/about/board-election