Francesca Levitt, DNP, RN-BC, ACNS-BC has dedicated more than four decades to the nursing profession. Throughout her career, she built an expert-level practice that has positively shaped generations of nurses and healthcare team members.
A nurse since 1979, Francesca’s career has spanned a wide range of clinical settings. She has followed patients through every surgical phase of care. In 2017, she joined Hendricks Regional Health as its first Perioperative Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). Since then, she has fundamentally transformed surgical care and nursing practice across the organization.
Francesca’s passion for patient safety and evidence-based care ensures that every individual served at Hendricks receives the safest, highest-quality care. One of her earliest and most enduring contributions at Hendricks was leading the implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program. This work expanded across multiple surgical service lines and helped drive an 80% reduction in surgical site infections over three consecutive years, avoiding an estimated $720,000 in costs while significantly improving patient outcomes. Her dedication to patient-centered care is further demonstrated through her collaboration with the Patient & Family Advisory Council and her work with Gastrointestinal providers to clarify pre-procedure instructions, directly reducing patient confusion and procedure cancellations.
Francesca is a tireless advocate for nurses, championing their growth while fostering a culture of excellence and empowerment. She is widely respected for how she leads and teaches. She normalizes the expectation of thinking deeply, going beyond the checklist to understand the why and how behind the care they deliver. She inspires those around her to keep patients at the heart of everything they do and holds both individuals and the art of nursing itself to the highest possible standard.
A natural encourager, Francesca leads with exceptional expertise, warmth and grace. She lends her leadership to critical system roles including:
- establishing Hendricks’ CNS Fellowship program
- Chair of the Institutional Review Board
- Co-Chair of the Ethics and Pain Management Committees
- as a valued member of Hendricks’ Resiliency in Stressful Events team
- and contributor to nurse residency and leader orientation programs.
Nationally, she has influenced nursing practice through professional leadership, scholarly publications, and recognized excellence as a DAISY Faculty Award recipient and National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Preceptor of the Year.
Francesca’s well-deserved retirement will leave a void, but she has prepared Hendricks to continue her work of elevating our nursing practice to provide the best outcomes for our patients. Her legacy endures through the countless nurses and leaders she has shaped, ensuring sustainable excellence long after her retirement. Having presented so many DAISY Awards to exceptional nurses at Hendricks, it is both fitting and profoundly deserved that Francesca Levitt now be recognized with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award. She stands as one of the finest examples of what a nurse can and should be – an exceptional nurse and an extraordinary human being.
