A People Person

To Dr. Linda Burnes Bolton, the profession of nursing is about accountability.

“We’re accountable to the patient, first and foremost,” Burnes Bolton says. “And we keep that in mind in everything that we do.”

Burnes Bolton, chief nursing officer emeritus at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, dedicated her life and career to the nursing industry, having joined the healthcare organization in 1971 and retiring at age 72 in 2022.

Dr. Linda Burnes BoltonShe was recently applauded for that dedication by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), which chose her as the winner of its 2022 Lifetime Legacy Award for her leadership and contributions to nursing and healthcare. Burnes Bolton, a former AAN president, says she was appreciative of the honor bestowed on her, despite not being able to accept the award in person due to illness.

Throughout her more than 50-year career, Burnes Bolton has served Cedars-Sinai and its patients in multiple capacities, including senior vice president and chief health equity officer.

Outside of Cedars-Sinai, Burnes Bolton spent time as president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (now American Organization for Nursing Leadership); president of the National Black Nurses Association; trustee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF); chair of the RWJF National Advisory Committee for Transforming Care at the Bedside and Veteran Affairs Commission on Nursing; and vice-chair of the RWJF Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine.

Burnes Bolton says that one of the feats she was most proud of accomplishing during her tenure was being able to increase the number of staff with baccalaureate degrees at Cedars-Sinai.