Nursing innovation comes to life at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub
UC’s College of Nursing hosts national speaker and industry roundtable
The University of Cincinnati’s College of Nursing recently assembled chief nursing officers from across the region for an event aimed at empowering nurses to recognize their innovative and entrepreneurial abilities.
This was the second instance of the Joan and Mark Hurray Visiting Professor Lectureship Series on Nurse-Led Innovation and Chief Nursing Officers Roundtable, an initiative launched in March 2024 to foster conversations on nurse-led innovation.
Offered in a hybrid format, the event allowed both in-person and virtual participants to earn continuing education credits.
This initiative is designed to empower nursing professionals to rethink and revolutionize healthcare practices.
Melissa Cheeks, DNP, RN Joan and Mark Hurray Professor of Innovation, UC College of Nursing
Championing nurse-led innovation
UC played host to a conference on nursing innovation. Photo/UC College of Nursing
Organized by Melissa Cheeks, DNP, RN, the Joan and Mark Hurray Professor of Innovation at the UC College of Nursing, the event took place at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub and emphasized the role of nurses as innovators.
“This initiative is designed to empower nursing professionals to rethink and revolutionize healthcare practices,” Cheeks said.
With a background in nursing and an extensive career at Johnson & Johnson, she highlighted how nurses have long been problem-solvers, creating on-the-spot innovations to improve patient care.
The choice of venue was intentional — the 1819 Innovation Hub provides access to programs like the UC Venture Lab, which supports early-stage startups.
“The industry doesn’t always recognize nurses as entrepreneurs,” Cheeks said. “We need organizations to see nursing leaders as catalysts for innovation.”
Shaping the future of nursing innovation
Bryan Burrs and Oriana Beaudet take questions from nurse participants. Photo/UC College of Nursing
The event featured Oriana Beaudet, DNP, RN, FAAN, vice president of innovation at the American Nurses Association Enterprise, as its distinguished speaker. Beaudet explored how technology, evidence-based practice and workforce efficiency are driving the next wave of nursing innovation.
Beaudet started by posing a critical question: “Nursing may be the most trusted profession, but isn’t it the most respected?”
She followed the question with a keynote address encouraging nurses to see themselves as change agents, equipped with the creativity and skills to tackle modern health care challenges.
“Nursing is built on a social contract with the public — our work is guided by the question: ‘What is happening, and how can we help?’”
The discussion highlighted real-world examples of nurses and teams devising innovative solutions in patient care, including:
- AI and predictive analytics: Enhancing diagnostics, patient monitoring and workload management
- Wearable devices and smart technology: Enabling real-time vital tracking to improve patient outcomes
- Personalized medicine: Developing customized treatment plans tailored to individual patient needs
- Community health interventions: Addressing social determinants of health through outreach programs
- Scaling innovation in healthcare systems: Designing ways to boost future-forward technologies
After Beaudet’s presentation, she joined an exclusive roundtable discussion moderated by Bryan Burrs, a go-to-market leader at Johnson & Johnson. The conversation centered on strategies to scale nursing-led innovation within health systems, reinforcing the importance of nurses as front-line problem solvers.
"While nurses continuously create solutions, many go unnoticed,” Beaudet said. “The pandemic spurred groundbreaking health care innovations, yet too many remain unshared.”
With more than 5 million nurses in the U.S., their contributions are vast. Beaudet stressed that opportunities for nursing innovation are about elevating those who are actively making a difference.
“Nurses are leaving the profession because they lack opportunities for growth, have little flexibility and struggle with work-life balance,” Beaudet said. “Change is essential — nurses need the resources, visibility and support to thrive.”
UC’s commitment to nursing innovation
Oriana Beaudet conducts roundtable discussion with chief nursing officers. Photo/UC College of Nursing
The event reaffirmed the UC College of Nursing’s commitment to preparing nurses with the tools and resources needed to revolutionize patient care through innovation and entrepreneurship.
At the 1819 Innovation Hub, nurses and students can explore and refine ideas through the Venture Lab’s digital pre-accelerator program, which provides foundational knowledge to validate solutions and fast-track ideas from concept to commercialization.
Additionally, the UC Ground Floor Makerspace offers access to 12,000 square feet of equipment, training and resources, empowering creative problem-solvers from ideation to implementation. Here’s why you should be using the 1819 Makerspace.
By fostering a culture of nurse-led innovation, UC’s College of Nursing is taking another step forward as a national leader in transforming health care through nursing expertise and innovation.
Featured image at top: UC's 1819 Innovation Hub played host to the Joan and Mark Hurray Visiting Professor Lectureship Series on Nurse-Led Innovation and Chief Nursing Officers Roundtable. Photo/UC College of Nursing
Innovation Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Nursing innovation comes to life at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub
February 28, 2025
Chief nursing officers from across Greater Cincinnati gathered at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub to celebrate the profession’s many contributions and to highlight the potential for cutting-edge healthcare advances.
1819 makerspace transforms into innovation boot camp
January 21, 2025
Kinetic Vision selected the Ground Floor Makerspace at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub as the perfect place to provide Bearcat co-ops with advanced engineering skills.
UC-backed startups receive funding from $1.4 million state grant
February 11, 2025
Two startups based on UC technology and supported by the UC Tech Transfer team and the 1819 Venture Lab were awarded $200,000 each from Ohio’s Technology Validation and Startup Fund.