As the CEO of Ranken Jordan, I lead all inpatient and outpatient operations and strategy, ultimately working to achieve our vision of a world where every child with complex medical needs lives their best life.

A key priority of our strategic plan is advancing and sharing our unique care model, Care Beyond the Bedside. As part of that goal, we recently announced our new research department, created to focus on conducting and publishing scientific research to illustrate the model’s benefits.

Another part of the plan is a newly created role at Ranken Jordan: Chief Health Transformation Officer.

Our longtime Chief Medical Officer, Nick Holekamp, MD, has been appointed to this position, in which he will lead our team in bringing systemic change to the care of children with complex medical needs.

Our unique care model, Care Beyond the Bedside, focuses on getting children out of their hospital rooms and using the power of play for healing. With this model, we work to lower the risk of neurodevelopmental delay–a challenge children with prolonged hospitalizations are especially vulnerable to–while promoting psychological well-being and family well-being.

While the model originated at Ranken Jordan, we don’t want to keep it to ourselves. We know getting kids out of their hospital rooms and giving them time to play leads to better health outcomes so we want to invite other healthcare professionals to do the same.

There are not many hospitals like ours in the U.S. While we do serve children from across the midwest, we unfortunately do not have the size and scale to serve everyone. At the same time, with medical advances helping more children survive NICU and PICU stays, the number of children with complex medical needs continues to grow.

That’s why we have already started sharing our model with other healthcare professionals, teaching it to medical students and residents, and dedicating more time to academic research to prove its results.

We don’t want Care Beyond the Bedside to be a best kept secret–we want as many pediatric healthcare professionals as possible to know its benefits and how it can be implemented in existing healthcare settings.

No one is more passionate about spreading the Care Beyond the Bedside message than Nick Holekamp, MD.

Nick has been with Ranken Jordan since 2000, assuming the role of Chief Medical Officer in 2006.

Since then, he has become a sought after expert in the pediatric complex care field and the biggest champion of Care Beyond the Bedside.

The idea behind the model was first conceptualized by hospital founder Mary Ranken Jordan, but Nick gave it a name and made the model what it is today. He has tested and studied Care Beyond the Bedside through caring for more than 2,000 patients and their families, and he and the Ranken Jordan team have created innovative programs and practices, such as the Patient Play Associate role and the OZ program, to encourage kids with complex medical conditions to play more and get out of their hospital beds.

When our leadership team decided we needed a CHTO, I knew Nick would be perfect for it. In September 2025, Nick stepped into the new role.

Nick has an ambitious mandate in this new position. His objective is to drive transformative and systemic change in pediatric healthcare for children with complex medical needs.

We are currently looking at how we will measure the impact–I know asking him to lead Ranken Jordan’s efforts to transform this critical component of the pediatric healthcare industry is no small feat!

But if anyone can do it, Nick can. That’s why I am so excited to see how he and our team at Ranken Jordan can bring about more positive change for children with complex medical needs.

If you’re interested in supporting our life-changing work for kids at Ranken Jordan and beyond, please consider giving to the Ranken Jordan Pediatric Hospital Foundation at rankenjordanfoundation.org/donate.