As CNE, Cooling will provide strategic direction aligned to the future development of nursing and advanced practice within health care transformation, overseeing nursing and advanced practice providers (APP) across all clinical areas. Additionally, Cooling will be accountable for the executive leadership and strategy for the College of Health Sciences and the Nursing Innovation Hub.

Cooling has served OSF HealthCare since 1997, most recently as senior vice president of Advanced Practice, chief clinician executive of OSF OnCall and interim president, College of Health Sciences.

Cooling earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Illinois College of Nursing in Peoria. Additionally, she earned a Master of Business Administration from Baker College in Flint, Michigan, and a Doctor of Nursing from the University of Illinois College of Nursing in Chicago.

Lori Wiegand, DNP, chief nursing officer, will retire in May after 32 years with OSF HealthCare. She began her career with OSF in 1993 as a student nurse extern at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center, later becoming one of the first 6 Sigma Black Belts in the Ministry and the first Nursing Master Black Belt at OSF Saint Francis. Wiegand was named vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for OSF Saint Francis in 2008 and then was named chief nursing officer for the Ministry in 2013.

As chief nursing officer, Wiegand worked with facility chief nursing officers on innovative solutions such as implementation of robust nursing recruitment and retention strategies inclusive of the first nursing career ladder program; Precision Staffing technology; clinical resource team for nursing resources across the Ministry; and patient flow strategies including the design of the OSF CareHub. In addition, Wiegand championed the development of educational frameworks for the OSF Corporate University and the College of Health Sciences 
which will continue the commitment and investment in current and future Mission Partners.

In her new role, Shields will work with executive leadership to develop and execute strategic initiatives that drive the organization's growth, innovation and overall success. She will also manage the health system’s brand and oversee Business Development, Marketing & Communications and Planning.

Shields has been with OSF since 2010 when she was hired as a physician recruiter. She has served in several leadership positions, most recently as the vice president of Business Development. Some of her recent accomplishments include successfully helping to lead four new hospital acquisitions, increasing the OSF footprint to 17 hospitals, and initiating and shepherding new joint venture opportunities on behalf of OSF HealthCare, including an inpatient behavioral health hospital and an ambulatory surgery center.

Shields earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration and marketing from the University of Illinois in Champaign.

She begins her new position on February 2.