Nursing Leadership

Laura Canfield, DNP, RN, CNS, SCRN, CNRN

Vice President, Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Officer

Laura is the Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Cottage Health. In addition to the Chief Nursing Officer's responsibilities at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital and Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Laura also oversees, Palliative Care, Education, Respiratory Care and Trauma departments. Laura is a strong advocate for professional advancement and seeking higher education for nursing and nurse leaders.

Laura started her nursing career at Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. She then moved to Southern California gaining more than 20 years of progressive professional nursing leadership experience. She joined Cottage Health as the Clinical Nurse Specialist in Neuroscience in 2011. Laura held the Administrative Director of Acute Care Services position, which includes oversight of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Administrative House Supervisors, Bed Control and Transfer Center, Staffing Office, and the Clinical Stroke, Coordinator.

During her tenure, she provided leadership to Cottage Health’s Magnet program as the Exemplary Professional Practice Committee's co-chair. She has led efforts in many areas, including improving HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) patient satisfaction scores to the 95th percentile and supported the achievement of Comprehensive Stroke Certification.

Laura earned a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Grand Canyon University and started her position as VP and CNO in February of 2021.