Tara Floyd Named Chief Nursing Officer at Nationwide Children’s

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Nationwide Children's has named Tara Floyd, MPH, BSN, RN, NE-BC, as its new senior vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer, effective immediately.

In this role, Floyd will lead the hospital's largest employee group, including more than 4,000 nurses and 6,000 additional patient care staff across more than 60 locations.

Floyd joins Nationwide Children's from Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she most recently served as vice president and associate chief nursing officer. A pediatric nursing leader with more than 20 years of experience at Children's National, Floyd oversaw inpatient nursing operations and helped advance quality, safety and clinical outcomes across critical care and acute care services. Throughout her career, she has championed nursing excellence, workforce development and employee engagement while keeping patients and families at the center of care.

"Our nurses and patient care services staff are the heart of Nationwide Children's, and we conducted a comprehensive national search to find the right person to lead those teams into the future," said Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children's. "Tara has spent more than two decades caring for children, inspiring her colleagues, nurturing professional growth, collaborating with partners and improving outcomes. She's an ideal leader for such a large, crucial part of Nationwide Children's."

Floyd holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in maternal and child health. She is a board-certified nurse executive whose leadership approach is grounded in evidence-based practice, collaboration, health equity and continuous improvement.

"Nationwide Children's has an extraordinary legacy of putting children and families at the center of everything it does, and I am honored to join an organization so deeply committed to its mission," Floyd said. "I believe exceptional care begins with empowering nurses and care teams to thrive, grow and bring their best selves to work every day. I look forward to partnering with our clinicians and staff to ensure every child and family receives the highest quality care and experience possible."

Floyd succeeds Lee Ann Wallace, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, who has served as chief nursing officer since 2020. Wallace joined Nationwide Children's in 2012 as the neonatology service line administrator and was promoted to vice president of Neonatal Services in 2016 before assuming the chief nursing officer role. Wallace is retiring following a distinguished career that shaped the organization's nursing culture, quality outcomes and commitment to family-centered care. Under Wallace's leadership, the hospital earned two Magnet^® designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest national recognition for nursing excellence and quality patient care.

"Lee Ann's impact on Nationwide Children's has been extraordinary," Robinson said. "Her leadership, compassion and unwavering commitment to nursing excellence have strengthened our organization, elevated patient care and influenced countless caregivers. We are deeply grateful for her service and the lasting legacy she leaves behind."

About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report's 2025-26 list of "Best Children's Hospitals," Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of America's largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children's to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children's has a staff of more than 17,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.9 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children's physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.

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