Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer for Vanderbilt University Hospital, will retire after 35 years of service and leadership at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She will continue in her role until November 2025, with plans to assist in transitioning her successor.
Steaban’s commitment to collaboration, shared governance, improvement science and innovation has made a lasting impact on staff and patients alike.
“Working with Robin has been exceptional,” said Karen Keady, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, System Chief Nursing Officer for VUMC. “Her leadership has set an incredible standard for team collaboration and innovation in patient care. Vanderbilt Health’s growth in nursing is a result of her dedication to the shared vision for what nursing can be.”
Steaban earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Madonna College in Livonia, Michigan. She honed her clinical expertise as a nurse for 15 years before returning to school to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University. Prior to joining VUMC, Steaban worked as a nurse and cardiovascular clinical nurse specialist at hospitals in Michigan, New York and Rhode Island.
Throughout her career at Vanderbilt, Steaban has been in roles at the right time with the right people to champion meaningful, organization-wide work. As chair of the Shared Governance Task Force, she led the effort to re-establish and re-invigorate the Shared Governance processes and the Nursing Bylaws. As chair of the Leadership Development Task force and understanding that nurses did not feel known by their leader, she led the design of the Clinical Staff Leader (CSL) model.
She also partnered with others to lead the design and launch of the first Vanderbilt RN Professional Advancement Program. She has been committed to ensuring the voice of the front-line RN is heard and influential in things that affect their practice and work life.
“It has been my honor to work with Robin since her arrival at Vanderbilt in 1990,” said Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, senior vice president, Clinical Enterprise Administration. “From her role as the manager of the Cardiology unit through her appointment as the chief nursing officer of Vanderbilt University Hospital, Robin revealed herself as a true patient and staff nurse advocate. She was a major leader in lifting up the renewed use of the Nursing Staff Bylaws, and most importantly always represented the voice of the staff nurse.”
For 20 years, prior to becoming the CNO, Steaban partnered with physician leaders to establish and advance the Vanderbilt Heart Institute (VHI). This created the first paired leadership model that connected all heart services across the continuum under one leadership structure. She was instrumental in integrating cardiac surgery, cardiology and vascular surgery into one institute and laying the foundation for the successful program it is today.
Steaban supported VHI, now the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute (VHVI), during a time of rapid growth, integrating 23 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons and their practices within a nine-month time frame. This growth led to an increased market share of heart services across the region, the development of cohesive expansion programs for heart failure, interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, adult congenital heart, arrythmia services and the acute MI network. She proposed and implemented the Cardiac Access Center to ensure growth and patient access to Vanderbilt’s unique cardiovascular services.
Through her work with the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, Steaban led the way for high reliability and a safety focus in the VHVI. At the request of David Posch, MA, Senior Vice President for Business Consulting at VUMC, she led work to implement the first CMS bundle payment model at Vanderbilt.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Robin in her roles both as a leader of VHVI as well as VUH director of nursing,” said Posch. “Robin, throughout her career, has been a creative leader driven by excellence. She set a high standard not only for herself but for those she led while supporting growth and development. This contributed greatly to the outstanding clinical results and expansion of the VHVI as well as the VUH.”
In 2014, Steaban shifted her focus from the VHVI and became the CNO, overseeing nursing practice across the adult ambulatory and VUH footprint. She assumed leadership during some challenging times. She established the VUH nursing operating structure and strong partnerships with quality teams, recruitment and patient engagement experts to drive positive organizational performance.
In 2019, she focused on VUH where she has led nursing, case management, social work, respiratory therapy and more recently acute care physical and occupational therapy. She has consistently created an environment where care team members and leaders can excel and live out their full potential in care delivery. She brought disciplined use of data for staffing and recruitment, with staff and leaders implementing new models of care in response to a national nursing shortage.
Steaban led through the COVID-19 pandemic, staying close to staff and providers, through changes in the VUH administrative structure and recent restructuring of Advanced Practice leadership in VUH to ensure advanced practice providers are influential at the executive level of VUH. She championed the creation of the Medication Safety Champion program, virtual nursing and models of care design in response to the national RN shortage.
“It has been an honor to serve alongside Robin,” said Lee Ann Liska, MBA, Chief Operating Officer and President of VUH. “Her unwavering commitment, eloquent style and innovative spirit have elevated Vanderbilt University Hospital. We are immensely grateful for the impact she has made on nursing practice and research, and on quality and safety in patient care. Her leadership will continue to inspire many as she steps into this next chapter.”
In 2022, Steaban received the Outstanding Operational Partner Award for incorporating clinical research and clinical operations to institute processes that can advance health outcomes for patients and has also been honored by the Tennessee Hospital Association as a Distinguished Nurse Executive.
Among her other responsibilities, Steaban is an active member of numerous health care committees and initiatives within Vanderbilt and the greater health care community. She has published nine articles dedicated to improving patient care and driving operational change across a multitude of clinical areas.
“One of my favorite places will always be in proximity to practicing nurses and nursing leaders,” Steaban said. “Their cognitive and psychomotor skills, along with their expansive ability to care deeply for those they serve will never cease to inspire me. A leader is only as strong as those around them. What a gift to work in a culture of collaboration that honors the unique contributions of each profession and shares the commitment to knowledge, advancements in care, high reliability and exemplary caring. I have been surrounded by amazing people, and I am so grateful.
“It has been such a privilege. I love this work, and I love being a nurse. Vanderbilt is a place that inspires you to do more, be more, give more, and it’s been such a gift to be here. My retirement is bittersweet, but I couldn’t ask for more, it’s been an incredible experience.”
