Los Angeles - March 5, 2007 – Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles, has been named the recipient of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. 

This award, announced on March 1, honors an AONE member who is recognized by the broader nursing community as a significant leader in the nursing profession and who has served AONE in an important leadership capacity, demonstrating the qualities of leadership and service to the nursing profession by their professional and personal example. Burnes Bolton, who began her career at Cedars-Sinai as a staff nurse in 1971 and has subsequently served in numerous capacities, has been the medical center’s chief nursing officer since 1994.

Renowned nationally for her professionalism and innovative programs designed to improve quality of care as well as the health of the community, Burnes Bolton is uniquely qualified to receive this award. She has dedicated her career to improving access to health care for all members of society and to the advancement of nursing practice in the United States.

As founder of the recently renamed Geri and Richard Brawerman Nursing Institute at Cedars-Sinai, she oversees development of educational programs in collaboration with nursing schools to increase the supply of nurses, supports research and innovation to improve clinical outcomes, and creates outreach programs to inform students about careers in nursing. Her primary research focuses on women’s health, health policy and organizational development.

She has also taken an active leadership role in groundbreaking nursing initiatives such as Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB), a national program to improve patient care created and sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

She serves as chair of the National Advisory Committee.

Burnes Bolton’s professional experience includes positions as staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, public member of government advisory boards, health care executive, community and public health nurse, university faculty and consultant. She holds graduate faculty appointments at the University of California, Los Angeles; California State University, Los Angeles; and at the University of California, San Francisco.

Currently President of the American Academy of Nursing, Burnes Bolton also serves on various national, regional and local health boards and committees, including Case Western University Board of Trustees, Duke University School of Nursing Advisory Board, Yale School of Nursing Advisory Board, Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Advisory Committee, Joint Commission Nursing Advisory Council, Chair of the National Commission on VA Nursing, National Black Nurses Foundation board of directors, California Institute for Nursing and Health Care, and California Nursing Outcomes Coalition Steering Committee. She also serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Nursing, CINAHL Online Nursing Journal of Health Care Quality, NurseWeek, Nurse Leader, Journal of National Black Nurses Association, Nursing Administration Quarterly and Hispanic Health Care International.

She has been a member of AONE for 22 years and is also a member of the National Black Nurses Association, American Academy of Nursing, Center for Nursing Leadership, American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, Chi Eta Phi, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, Children’s Defense Fund and the Black Congress on Health, Law and Economics. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Burnes Bolton is the author of several articles, books, book chapters, videos and audiotapes and is the co-developer of the National Black Nurses Association Community Collaboration Model. A framework for improving community health, the model has been tested and is now used in more than 100 communities throughout the United States.

To honor Burnes Bolton, the AONE Institute for Patient Care Research and Education is accepting donations in her name for the 2007 calendar year. To make a donation, please click here.