Helene Burns, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Jefferson Health – New Jersey, has been named president of Nurse Leaders New Jersey, ONL-NJ, for a two-year term beginning in January. The organization also announced the appointment of Assistant Vice President of Clinical Services Diane Juliano to the ONL-NJ board for a two-year term.
With more than 600 members, ONL-NJ engages and develops nurse leaders in advocacy, research, education, mentorship and collaborative relationships.
Burns became a member of the organization in 2008. She is also a member of its Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Councils Task Force and served as co-chair of the Education Committee.
In her role at Jefferson Health – New Jersey, Burns has overall responsibility for patient care services and nursing operations, with oversight of its more than 1,400 nurses and nursing staff.
An inspiring and engaged leader, Burns has championed many key initiatives linking patient and employee satisfaction, including leading a healthy work environment nursing council with clinical nurses, enculturing shared governance councils within the organization, and improving nurse communication through nursing hourly rounds and bedside communication initiatives.
Burns has also implemented several nursing retention initiatives, including Nurse Intern, New-to-Practice Nurse Residency, Perioperative Residency, Critical Care Residency and Nurse Mentorship programs. With more than 40 years of experience in the health care industry, she was honored in 2018 with the Gloucester County Women of Achievement Award.
Juliano — who was recently promoted to her current position as assistant vice president of clinical services — joined Jefferson – New Jersey in 2019 as corporate director of nursing for the Stratford hospital. With more than 20 years of nursing and leadership experience, Juliano has been a member of ONL-NJ since 2006 and currently serves on its marketing committee.
