Kathy Sanford Named a Top 50 Clinical Executive 2026

CommonSpirit Health’s Chief Nursing Executive Officer Kathleen Sanford, R.N., DBA, FAAN,  was recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives of 2026.

This prestigious recognition honors licensed clinicians in executive roles who are selected by the senior editors of Modern Healthcare for their exceptional achievements in driving innovation, improving outcomes, serving their communities and demonstrating exemplary leadership within and beyond their organizations.

Modern Healthcare recognized Sanford’s leadership in driving significant improvements in quality and patient experience scores, and nurse retention rates – including a system-wide nurse residency program with a retention rate of 91% for new nurses, compared with the national average of 67%. Sanford oversees CommonSpirit’s Care Base and Virtually Integrated Care (VIC) programs. Care base is an integrated, centralized virtual hospital that provides care to patients at 258 CommonSpirit home health branches, hospitals and clinics across 19 states, expanding access. The VIC model, in which virtual nurses are integrated with hospital staff to provide inpatient care, supported 808,200 virtual visits in 2025, led to a 21% decrease in ED hold hours and helped improve patient safety.

The complete ranking and profiles of all the honorees are available online at ModernHealthcare.com/50Most and can also be found in the most recent issue of the Modern Healthcare magazine.