Sophia Villalba joined the Denver7 news team in October 2025.
DENVER — As nurse burnout and staffing shortages continue to plague the healthcare industry nationwide, AdventHealth says they found a solution.Its clinical ladder program is helping nurses advance their careers while improving patient care.
“When you do the same thing, day in and day out, you can get burned out as well,” said Ellery Reed, AdventHealth Castle Rock chief nursing officer.AdventHealth Castle Rock launched its clinical ladder program in August 2023. “I found different avenues to be more engaged and more interested in,” said Nichole Searle, acute care RN & charge nurse.The voluntary program is designed to give bedside nurses more opportunities. “To engage our nurses in activities that take them beyond the bedside,” said Reed.Nurses earn points by serving on committees, leading improvement projects, continuing their education, or earning certifications.“For all these points that they obtain, they go into a different level of the clinical ladder, which has a different additional payment assigned to it,” said Reed.AdventHealth also reimburses for certification tests that you want to take, so there's no loss there,” said Sarah Sachs, AdventHealth Castle Rock RN and nurse leader.The chance to earn more money is a major draw for nurses, and the numbers reflect that. “Right now, at AdventHealth Castle Rock, 70% of our nurses have completed the clinical ladder program and are at some level within the program,” said Reed.Chief Nursing Officer Ellery Reed said the program has helped combat burnout, which spiked during the pandemic. “In some units, we've decreased turnover by 75% since the implementation of this program,” said Reed.“It's just a difficult job, emotionally and physically. I just needed something new and something different to be more engaged with and learn more,” said Searle.The clinical ladder program not only improved morale among nurses, but it also improved patient care.“What you're doing behind the scenes to further yourself as a nurse makes a huge difference in your patient care,” said Sachs.AdventHealth Castle Rock said the success of the program has them ready to roll out another clinical ladder program for other healthcare professionals within their system.
Clinical Ladder Program Healthcare Nurses Nursing
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