MERGING NURSING DEPARTMENTS - AN EXPERIENCE

In 1979, two of the largest private, not-for-profit hospitals in New York City merged to become one institution under the aegis of a single corporate administration. The integration of two large and disparate nursing departments, each with its own distinct identity and organizational structure, into what would become a unified department of nursing with a shared vision and goals was a complex task. The author, the nurse executive who oversaw this transition, describes the process 12 years after the merger.