Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living are profiling the McKnight’s 2021 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 6 through Aug. 6. To see the 2021 McKnight’s 2021 Women of Distinction awards ceremony, register for free here. For additional profiles of McKnight’s Women of Distinction, visit this page.
As chief nursing officer of Citadel Care Centers in Brooklyn, NY, Nathalie Francois proves every day the importance of quality leadership in the nursing profession.
Francois received her nursing license in 2007, then went on to earn her BSN in 2014, earning a nursing leadership award in the process.
After earning her first degree, Francois started her career in 2008 as a nurse supervisor at Holliswood Care Centers, a 300-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility.
After working in long-term care for a year, Francois decided to take on the challenge of emergency nursing, working at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. In 2014, she decided to transition back toward long-term care and became nurse surveyor in the long-term-care division at the New York State Department of Health.
In her current role as chief nursing officer at Citadel Care Centers, Francois uses her diverse expertise and strong leadership skills to oversee 30 skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, as well as more than 6,000 employees.
She received the Citadel Leadership Award in 2019 for her outstanding leadership and management skills. Colleagues say that she uses her creative problem-solving and unique attention to detail to facilitate Citadel’s smooth operation and that Francois is a “hands-on nurse who is prepared to lead at the bedside and in the boardroom.”
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare, and the Roundtable Sponsor is Paycor.
