Cleveland Clinic Announces New Chief Nursing Officer at Medina Hospital

With more than 30 years of leadership and broad-based clinical experience, Julie A. Fetto, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, OCN, was named the new chief nursing officer (CNO) at Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital.

Medina Hospital is one of Cleveland Clinic’s long-standing community-based hospitals. The facility has 171 inpatient acute care beds, more than 30 specialty care areas, including a new Wound Healing Center, and features three Centers of Excellence (emergency department, orthopaedics and surgery).

Nursing caregivers practice in every facet of Medina Hospital’s operations using advanced clinical treatments and therapies to deliver leading-edge care. As CNO, Fetto provides oversight for all strategic planning of the hospital’s nursing initiatives, as well as resource allocation, and budget and operational management of inpatient and outpatient care and support areas.

“Julie is perfectly suited to lead our growing Medina Hospital nursing team. She is dedicated, driven and focused on advancing the nursing profession while raising the bar in patient care,” says Cleveland Clinic Executive Chief Nursing Officer K. Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, NE-BC. “She has a clear desire to accelerate key nursing practice initiatives such as professional development, employee engagement, continuous improvement, and patient quality and safety – and brings added value to the Medina Hospital community.”

Progressive and serving leader with community hospital experience

A nurse since 1985, Fetto has a vast background that spans both academic medical centers and community hospitals. She is known as a progressive and serving leader who values collaboration and strives to ensure that nursing caregivers provide superior, outcomes-driven patient care.

Fetto has been a member of the Cleveland Clinic Stanley Shalom Zielony Institute for Nursing Excellence since 2005. Most recently, she served as the director of nursing for Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute, Women’s Health Institute and Dermatology/Plastic Surgery Institute. In her prior role, she led inpatient and ambulatory nursing practice, providing oversight of quality, patient experience, employee engagement and financial stewardship.

Fetto also served as interim director of the Cleveland Clinic Imaging Institute and has held leadership positions in several other areas, including staffing, palliative care, ambulatory oncology and chemotherapy infusion, and inpatient medical-surgical, oncology, and intensive care nursing.

Committed to competent, confident nursing practice

Always looking to the future, Fetto strongly believes continuing education and professional development are imperative in all levels of nursing practice – from the bedside to the boardroom.

She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree to accompany her already-earned Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees. Additionally, she holds active certifications as an oncology nurse and nurse executive. Fetto says maintaining nursing certifications allows nurses to practice to the best of their abilities and demonstrate experience, knowledge and skills while illustrating that they value the latest healthcare evidence.

One of Fetto’s career priorities is to mentor nursing staff on the importance of quality nursing care, which she plans to do in her new role through a number of strategies.

“As healthcare transforms, the role of the nurse is pivotal to ensuring the highest quality and experience for the patients we serve,” she says. “Some of the ways I aim to mentor our nursing caregivers is by empowering them, engaging them in continuous improvement, supporting them in their professional growth and creating strategies that lead to a satisfying and rewarding experiences.”

Fetto officially accepted her CNO position in July.