By: Kimberly Graf
Dr. Julie Moore, Chief Nursing Officer at St. Joseph’s Health, shaping the future of patient care through empowered leadership.
With a career shaped by compassion and a commitment to empowerment, Dr. Julie Moore is redefining nursing leadership at St. Joseph’s Health. In just six months as Chief Nursing Officer, she has launched initiatives to support nurses, strengthen patient care, and inspire the next generation of healthcare leaders.
When Dr. Julie Moore, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, accepted the role of Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at St. Joseph’s Health just six months ago, she brought not just impressive credentials, but also a deep sense of purpose, a passion for empowering nurses, and a vision for how compassionate leadership can shape the future of healthcare.
For Moore, nursing wasn’t her first career. She began in information technology, but a life-changing personal experience shifted her path entirely. “My father became ill and passed away very quickly,” she recalls. “It was a nurse caring for him who inspired me to pursue nursing as a second career. That encounter changed the entire trajectory of my life.”
That moment continues to guide her philosophy today: creating environments where nurses feel valued, supported, and empowered to give their best to patients. It is the foundation of her leadership at St. Joseph’s Health.
A Philosophy Rooted in Empowerment
Moore’s leadership style emphasizes collaboration, transparency, and listening. She believes nurses need more than direction; they need to understand the “why” behind change. “Healthcare is constantly evolving, and that can feel disruptive,” she explains. “But when nurses feel heard and included in shaping innovation, change becomes
progress.”
To strengthen communication and engagement, Moore has launched a weekly newsletter for nursing staff, cleverly titled The Moore You Know, a play on her last name. She also introduced “Ask the CNO,” a QR code on her business card that connects nurses with her directly, ensuring every team member has a voice.
Shaping the Future of Nursing at St. Joseph’s
In her short time with St. Joseph’s, Moore has wasted no time launching initiatives to strengthen nursing practice and culture. Among them are enhancements to the Vizient/AACN Nurse Residency Program™ (VNRP) and mentorship programs, expanded professional development opportunities, and new shared governance councils that give nurses direct influence over policy and practice.
She has also championed technology solutions that reduce administrative burdens, such as virtual nursing, allowing clinicians to spend more time at the bedside. For Moore, these steps are not only about recruitment but also retention and well-being. “It’s important to invest in competitive compensation and flexible scheduling, but it’s equally important to recognize and support the emotional health of our teams,” she says. “When caregivers feel valued, they provide even better care to patients.”
Carrying Forward a Legacy of Compassion
Recognition and gratitude have been recurring themes in Moore’s career. She was recently named one of the Top 50 Women Chief Nursing Officers of 2025 by Women We Admire. She has also received honors such as the DAISY Award and the Dallas Great 100 Nurses Award achievements she humbly attributes to the patients and colleagues who nominated her.
“Those moments remind me of the nurse who inspired me,” she reflects. “You never know whose life you may be touching.” At St. Joseph’s, she is building a culture of recognition, including plans to expand the hospital’s DAISY Award program from quarterly to monthly, ensuring nurses receive the appreciation they deserve.
Beyond the Hospital Walls
Moore is equally passionate about community engagement. Recently named to the American Heart Association’s Executive Leadership Team for the 2026 Heart Walk, she sees the role as both personal and professional. “My father’s undiagnosed heart condition inspired me to become a nurse,” she says. “Being part of the Heart Walk is a way to honor his legacy while building connections here in Syracuse.”
Outside of work, Moore treasures time with her family—especially her grandchildren— and enjoys being on the water. A Massachusetts native who came to New York by way of Texas, she and her family are enjoying the Great Lakes and Thousand Islands and hope to return to boating on New York’s lakes. She also hopes to resume another personal passion: fostering and rescuing animals in need.
Looking Ahead
As she reflects on her first six months, Moore is energized by the potential ahead. “I want nurses to come join our culture, come join St. Joseph’s, and be part of the amazing things to come,” she says. “We’re building something special here, and I can’t wait to look back in a year and see the difference we’ve made.”
For Julie Moore, leadership is not about titles—it’s about lifting others up, empowering nurses, and ensuring compassion remains at the heart of healthcare. And at St. Joseph’s Health, that future is already taking shape.
St. Joseph’s Health has a nursing recruiting program that includes a residency for new graduates and opportunities for experienced nurses. https://jobs.sjhsyr.org/ For questions for Julie Moore: AsktheCNO@sjhsyr.org
A native of Rhode Island, Steven Hanks, MD, has a substantial family lineage of first responders – both his father and grandfather were firefighters. Dr. Hanks developed a different yet related passion, however, and when he decided to follow that passion to study medicine, he took the tradition of his family line in a new direction.
In his role, Dr. Hanks is responsible for over 20 different organizations within Trinity Health, including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, large physician practices, urgent care centers and more. He shared that one of the reasons he’s an effective leader is because he is often present at many different locations within the healthcare network, and he values open communication from all of his colleagues.
Exciting innovations and new accreditations at both SPHP and St. Joseph’s Health have been a focus of Dr. Hanks’ efforts as President and CEO, and they are further evidence of his effective manner of leadership. Specifically at St. Joseph’s Health, which has long been at the forefront of robotic surgery, the recent acquisition of the DV5, a next-generation, multiport surgical robot, has brought even more advancements to the technologies the hospital offers to its patients. The first healthcare system in the Syracuse area to fully embrace robotics, as Dr. Hanks explained, St. Joseph’s offers a full array of robotic approaches, including all generations of the Da Vinci robot, the Xi, and now the DV5.
“One of the things I’ve always insisted on is if we’re going to offer a service, like hernia surgery, I want to provide it at the highest possible level. And so, for areas where there are existing accreditations available, I like to push our organization to seek those accreditations, and that’s exactly what happened with our Center of Excellence for hernia surgery at St. Joseph’s. We’ve met rigorous standards for outcomes, safety, patient satisfaction, and continuous improvement of our quality. For patients, this means they can be confident in the care they’re receiving when they seek hernia care at St. Joseph’s Health. Hernias can be very complex and difficult to care for. We have a variety of approaches that we’ve brought together under the Center of Excellence that allow us to offer many options for patients with the best outcomes in the safest delivery of care possible.”
speaking with a patient, and it creates a note. Now, the doctor or PA no longer needs to either dictate or type the note. This process decreases the amount of time the provider spends on documentation, so they can see more patients and spend more time face-to-face with patients. These are exciting things that are happening, which directly help us improve the experience of and care for our patients.”
“At Trinity, we’re already investing in these trends,” he stated. “We’ve deployed virtual nursing, and we’re leveraging telehealth for virtual visits with our physicians, including our specialists. We’re growing our home-based services, our value-based care models, and our population health models. We’re reimagining how we support the workforce of the future.
Along with such changes, there will certainly be many challenges, as Dr. Hanks pointed out. These challenges include cuts to government funding, increasing government payer and decreasing private payer models, an aging population with higher healthcare needs, and more centralization of super subspecialities leading to a need for patients to travel longer distances for highly specialized care. To confront these challenges head-on, Dr. Hanks emphasized the need for transparent communication and collaboration across the entire healthcare system and beyond.
With Dr. Hanks at the helm, the providers, staff, and patients at St. Joseph’s Health and SPHP can rest assured the organization will tackle the coming changes and challenges by staying true to its foundational mission.
When Micron Technology announced its historic plan to invest up to $100 billion in a semiconductor megafab in Clay, New York, it made national headlines. But for manufacturers across Central New York, this announcement isn’t just exciting, it’s transformative. Micron’s presence is expected to bring thousands of high-tech jobs, create a robust innovative ecosystem, and fundamentally change the regional economy. For small to midsized manufacturers, the opportunity is clear: Micron’s arrival will open the doors to new markets, new partnerships, and long-term, sustainable growth.
We are witnessing what some are calling “generational change” in our region. Like most leaders, I view change as both inevitable and largely positive. But while change brings new opportunities, we also understand that it brings new challenges and risks. As leaders, we are compelled to consider how change will impact our communities and our companies. One way to manage through change is by playing out scenarios. Scenario planning enables you to prepare for multiple plausible futures by identifying key uncertainties, mapping out strategic responses, and monitoring leading indicators. Bringing together teams to play out scenarios allows for more creative thinking and development of solutions that anticipate challenges and smooth out volatility and risk.
The construction industry is entering a transformative era where artificial intelligence (AI) is set to redefine traditional estimating processes. Accurate project cost estimation has always been a critical factor in the success of construction projects. AI technologies, particularly those involving machine learning and predictive analytics, are poised to enhance the speed, precision, and efficiency of estimating, enabling contractors to remain competitive in an increasingly data-driven market.
Recent conversations with families seeking mental health resources have highlighted the severe challenges in accessing psychiatric care in our community. What began as routine inquiries have exposed a healthcare system stretched beyond capacity, with primary care physicians increasingly unable to connect patients with psychiatric specialists. The backlog, initially attributed to COVID-19 disruptions and workforce shortages, has reached critical levels that demand innovative solutions.
From breast cancer surgery, hernia repairs and laparoscopic surgery, to endocrine surgery, ulcer care, bariatric surgery and more, the Crouse Medical Practice General Surgery team offers a wide array of surgical procedures to help patients return to health and continue enjoying their lives. The team of 12 physicians brings a vast depth of knowledge and experience that combine to create a supportive practice that consistently focuses on patient-centered care. This patient-focused philosophy is built upon collaboration with the team, including primary care providers, as Clinton Ingersol, MD, Hillary McMullin, MD, Benjamin Sadowitz, MD, FACS and Angelina Schwartz, MD each explained in their own words.
Similarly, for Dr. Schwartz, her approach to patient care is focused on open communication and reaching decisions together as a team.
Open lines of communication and support apply not only to patient care, but also to how the team works together to provide optimal healthcare for patients, as Dr. Schwartz emphasized.
Dr. Ingersol echoed these ideas, highlighting the streamlined communication process within the Crouse healthcare network specifically. “It’s great for patients when everyone is on the same page and communicating in a multidisciplinary fashion. Especially within the Crouse network, it’s so easy to communicate with our primary care colleagues. We can send direct messages to each other to coordinate patient care and ask questions. Our office staff does a great job of coordinating referrals from primary care offices, making sure that patients are seen according to urgency, and making sure things are followed up on and communicated properly,” he explained.
“We have a wide range of practitioners at Crouse General Surgery. Some of our more senior partners have been in practice my entire life. Then we have a few surgeons who have only been practicing for one or two years. That range of experience really offers a lot of benefits to patients because our more senior partners obviously have a great deal of experience – they’ve seen many different conditions and anomalies, whereas the younger practitioners trained in an era where technology is more common and prevalent – for example, we received robotics training in residency,” said Dr. McMullin. “Our senior partners have been very gracious about including us in their patient care. They really enjoy having us come along and assist with interesting or challenging cases. They also elicit our feedback on some of the cases they’ve managed to see what we would do, with our fresh perspectives.”
Advanced Robotics and Innovative Surgical Techniques
“The administrators asked us surgeons, ‘Do you think this is the future?’ and ‘Do you think this is something that we should invest in?’ To their credit, once we told them robotics really is going to be the future for many service lines in surgery, they jumped in with both feet. They made an investment of both time and money because they saw how robotics was going to be better for patients, and they trusted our judgment,” said Dr. Sadowitz, adding that the general surgery team at Crouse now has 11 robots at its disposal, including the DV5, one of the newest systems, as well as an SP robot, Xi systems and a smaller X system.
“Dr. McMullin and I happened to go to a residency that is more advanced in its surgical robotic training than most other programs. We came out of training having a really good grasp on robotic techniques. I think I graduated with more than 100 cases that I had performed on the robot already, which is fantastic,” shared Dr. Schwartz.
“The future is very bright for Crouse in terms of overall surgery, with many great surgeons and a lot of advanced technology. The administration has made it a priority to make sure we stay technologically ahead of the game, so that’s a big piece of it,” said Dr. Sadowitz. “Crouse has always had the right mindset of ‘patients come first’ from the top down. The hospital always aims to keep very talented people in the hospital doing cases, so that not only are the patients highly satisfied, but the surgeons are, too. It’s a unique mix you really don’t find in many places, and it’s a hard balance to maintain, but Crouse has always excelled at doing just that, and as long as we keep that focus, I think it will continue into the future.”
Driving across the western side of the Adirondacks, I made my way to a board strategy session held at The Beeches Manor in Rome, NY—a vibrant place in years past, once known for hosting weddings and proms. I knew it had recently been acquired by Nascentia Health, and I was delighted to see a beautifully restored restaurant and conference center, along with signs of new construction. The site is being transformed into a wellness-focused campus that will eventually offer a variety of assisted living levels and home-like services promoting active aging.
When I asked Andrea what guidance she gives clinicians whose patients are aging and asking questions about the future, she emphasized the importance of early planning. Her advice: choose the best housing option early so you can age in place.
Technology plays a major role in the healthcare sector’s ability to store and handle private patient data. This has improved the efficiency of healthcare delivery, but it has also increased the susceptibility of healthcare providers to cyberattacks. The healthcare industry has witnessed a rise in cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, phishing scams, and data breaches. As a result, medical professionals need to take precautions against online threats to both themselves and their patients. A comprehensive Cyber insurance policy is one way to accomplish this.