HCA Florida North Florida Hospital announces Michelle Farris as Chief Nursing Officer

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital announced today the appointment of Michelle Farris as chief nursing officer for the hospital, its outpatient centers and four free-standing emergency rooms. Farris comes to HCA Florida North Florida Hospital from HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, a 407-bed Level II Trauma Center in Kissimmee, where she served as the chief nursing officer for the past two years.

“Our nursing teams are at the heart of our care, and we are thrilled to have Michelle bring her 30 years of invaluable nursing experience to our team,” said Eric Lawson, chief executive officer of HCA Florida North Florida Hospital. “Michelle is a proven nursing leader who is passionate about improving our patients’ experience and maintaining our omnipresent focus on clinical quality. I am confident that she will lead our team in exceeding our clinical expectations of excellence for our patients here in north central Florida.”

At HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, Farris drove cultural transformation through improved employee engagement, leading to the highest rates of engagement of registered nurses across the North Florida Division of HCA Florida Healthcare. Through Farris’ leadership, she also improved the hospital’s patient experience score quarter-over-quarter. Additionally, Farris managed nurse-driven protocols and processes to reduce healthcare-associated infections, helped reduce turnover of RNs and patient care technicians, established shared governance councils and initiated the Pathway to Excellence Journey with the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Prior to serving as CNO at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, Farris served as the chief nursing officer at HCA Florida West Marion Hospital in Ocala from 2017 to 2022. She was instrumental in establishing a culture of service and quality excellence. Farris achieved nationally ranked top quartile performance in patient experience and drove the facility’s score from Leapfrog, a national nonprofit organization that rates healthcare quality and safety, to an ‘A.’  Under her leadership, the hospital also achieved top performance in physician, employee and nurse engagement. In addition, she led several significant expansion projects, including new operating rooms and cardiac catheterization labs, as well as an addition of 139 inpatient beds, including an inpatient rehabilitation unit, emergency department expansion and intensive care beds.

Prior to joining HCA Florida West Marion Hospital, Farris served as the assistant chief nursing officer at Terre Haute Regional Hospital in Indiana. She started her career as a staff nurse, rising to the director of women’s services and director of surgical services before becoming the assistant chief nursing officer.  Farris earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and Master of Science in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University.