During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) discussion, Aundrea Mills, VP of Nursing & Chief Nursing Officer at Compass Healthcare, answered questions about nursing workflows, workforce retention, operational challenges, and the critical role support services play in healthcare delivery.
While the conversation touched on a variety of healthcare topics, one theme consistently emerged: nurses deliver their best care when operational barriers are removed.
As healthcare organizations continue to navigate staffing shortages, workforce burnout, and increasing patient complexity, nursing support services have become an essential part of creating environments where nurses can practice at the top of their licenses and focus on what matters most: patient care.
REMOVING BARRIERS TO CARE DELIVERY WITH NURSING SUPPORT SERVICES
Nurses are among the most trusted and valuable professionals in healthcare, yet many spend significant portions of their day managing operational challenges rather than providing direct patient care.
Workflow inefficiencies, communication gaps, and operational challenges can limit nurses’ time for patient care.
While these issues may seem small individually, their cumulative impact can contribute to frustration, reduced efficiency, and burnout. Effective nursing support services help eliminate these barriers by streamlining workflows, improving communication, and ensuring nurses spend more time delivering direct patient care.
Healthcare organizations increasingly recognize that improving patient outcomes is not solely a clinical challenge. Operational excellence plays a critical role in creating environments where clinicians can work effectively and efficiently.
Support services help address these challenges by streamlining workflows, improving communication, coordinating resources, and reducing operational burdens that compete for nurses’ time and attention.
When operational teams and nursing teams work collaboratively, both patient care and workforce satisfaction benefit.
THE VALUE OF NURSE-CENTERED OPERATIONS
One of the strongest themes discussed during the AMA was the importance of including nurses in operational decision-making.
Nurses provide unique insights into workflow efficiency, operational challenges, and opportunities to improve patient care.
Organizations that seek and act on bedside nurse feedback can improve operational efficiency, strengthen collaboration, and build trust across care teams.
Effective healthcare operations rely on continuous communication between frontline nurses and operational leaders.
Structured opportunities for nurse input help align support services with clinical needs, improving teamwork and patient care delivery.
RETENTION STARTS WITH SUPPORT
Nurse retention remains one of the most significant challenges facing healthcare organizations today, prompting leaders to invest in strategies that improve workforce satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Experienced nurses provide clinical expertise, mentorship, continuity, and institutional knowledge that directly influence patient safety, care quality, and team culture. Retaining those professionals is critical for long-term organizational success.
While temporary staffing solutions can help organizations address immediate workforce gaps, sustainable success depends on maintaining a strong and engaged core workforce.
Support services play an important role in these retention efforts.
Reducing unnecessary workload, improving operational efficiency, creating more predictable workflows, and minimizing daily frustrations can positively impact the nurse experience.
When nurses feel supported, they can focus on patient care and remain engaged.
Retention is not driven by a single initiative. It is influenced by the cumulative effect of workplace culture, operational support, professional development opportunities, and effective collaboration across departments.
HELPING NURSES PRACTICE AT THE TOP OF THEIR LICENSE
Healthcare systems face increasing pressure to maximize clinical resources. Support services such as patient transportation, environmental services, patient observation, and nutrition services help nurses focus on patient care, care coordination, and clinical decision-making.
Though often behind the scenes, these services improve patient flow, streamline communication, and strengthen the overall care experience.
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN NUTRITION AND CLINICAL CARE
The AMA also highlighted the importance of collaboration between nurses, providers, dietitians, and nutrition teams. Food and nutrition services reduce non-clinical burdens, support recovery, and enhance the patient experience.
Nutrition plays a critical role in recovery, healing, and long-term health outcomes. However, achieving nutritional goals often requires balancing clinical requirements with patient preferences, cultural considerations, and quality-of-life factors.
Food and nutrition services support individualized care plans that promote nutrition while meeting therapeutic goals.
These partnerships improve patient satisfaction, support recovery, and help reduce nutrition-related complications.
In addition, addressing food insecurity and other social determinants of health after discharge has become an increasingly important part of population health strategies. Support services can help connect patients with resources that promote healthier outcomes beyond the hospital setting.
LOOKING AHEAD
The future of healthcare will require stronger collaboration between clinical teams and operational support services than ever before.
Healthcare organizations succeed when nurses spend more time on patient care and less on operational tasks.
Support services are often viewed as separate from clinical care, but in reality, they are deeply connected to the nursing experience and overall patient outcomes.
Investing in workflow efficiency, collaboration, and operational support improves outcomes for nurses, patients, and healthcare systems.
Elevating nursing is not simply about staffing levels or clinical resources. Building strong operational support helps nurses focus on patient care and improve outcomes.
To view the full AMA session and explore our other AMAs, visit our Reddit page.