The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have developed key standards and measures that influence payment, accreditation and patient care. Every healthcare organization has developed a strategic agenda to meet these standards. The purpose of this article is to examine the role nurses play in supporting a healthcare facility's strategic agenda. Quality Staff Interview Interviewee and Context To get a more detailed picture of how nurses directly influence patient care, including satisfaction and safety, one should look toward a safety specialist in a healthcare system. Cassie has worked in the healthcare field for over 25 years in areas including social work, case management, HIPPA compliance, quality management and patient relations. She plays the role of intermediary between nursing and organization management to achieve top marks in their strategic agenda. She graciously agreed to sit down and answer questions regarding her role and that of direct nursing care in support of key measures. The interview took place in a quiet conference room without any predetermined set of questions. Despite this, many new insights have been discovered. InterviewWith just an introduction and the simple question of how she believed direct nursing influenced the organization's strategic agenda, Cassie provided several insights. She illustrated the importance of nurses participating in initiatives and compiling incident reports. The number of initiatives developed is too numerous to list them all. Some examples of those that have been implemented in recent years throughout Banner Health include CAUTI, central line infection prevention, deep IV sepsis...... middle of paper ......Draper, D. , Felland, L., Liebhaber, A, & Melichar, L. (2008, March). The role of nurses in improving hospital quality. Retrieved from http://hschange.org/CONTENT/972/The joint commission. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/national_quality_forum_nqf_endorsed_nursing-sensitive_care_performance_measures/Merwin, E & Thornlow, D. (2009). Managing for quality improvement: The relationship between accreditation standards, safety practices, and patient outcomes. Health Care Management Review, 34(3), 262-272. DOI: 10.1097/HMR.0b013e3181a16bceThompson, C & Yang, H(2009). Nurses' decisions, irreducible uncertainty, and maximizing nurses' contributions to patient safety. Healthcare Quarterly, 12, 178-185. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5680139&Survey=1&47=8442907&ClientNodeID=403327&coursenav=1&bhcp=1