In Memoriam: Dr. Linda Burnes Bolton
The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is saddened to learn of the passing of Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN, known to many as LBB. Among her many historic contributions to nursing, Dr. Burnes Bolton was the vice chair of the committee that developed the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report in 2010, which created a crucial blueprint for transforming nursing care to meet the increasingly complex demands on the health care system. That report also gave rise to the Campaign, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which was launched to implement its recommendations.
Dr. Burnes Bolton started her career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 1971 and rose to senior vice president, director of nursing research, and chief nurse executive before accepting the inaugural role of senior vice president and chief health equity officer in 2019.
Her influence, and championing of nurses and nurse leadership, was felt in many organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where she served on its board of trustees from 2012 to 2022.
“Going back to Florence Nightingale, it was never about the culture of hospitals or the culture of agencies,” Burnes Bolton said at a 2016 American Academy of Nursing policy conference. “It was about a culture of health, and who better to lead that than nurses?”
The Campaign will always be grateful to Dr. Burnes Bolton for her leadership and support. Friends of the Campaign will recall Burnes Bolton’s participation in numerous Campaign events, including co-hosting for years – along with her friend Catherine “Alicia” Georges, EdD, RN, FAAN, an annual Campaign reception to honor new AAN fellows.
Tributes to Burnes Bolton have poured in from throughout the nursing world and beyond since her passing on Jan. 11 at the age of 76.
On LinkedIn, the American Academy of Nursing, which gave Burnes Bolton its Lifetime Legacy Award in 2022, writes:
Dr. Burnes Bolton was a titan in health care, the nursing profession, and a beautiful human. Starting at Cedars-Sinai in 1971, she was a steward for change and a beacon for authentic leadership…. Dr. Burnes Bolton will be missed by so many in our community. She talked about her “healthcare heroes” and she will continue to be one of ours.
She served as the sixth president of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), which highlights some of her achievements in their biography of her:
Dr. Linda Burnes Bolton received her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from Arizona State University, and master’s and doctorate in public health from UCLA. In 1991 she became vice president of nursing at Cedars-Sinai, later become becoming senior vice president, director of nursing research, and chief nurse executive until 2019 when she accepted the inaugural role of senior vice president and chief health equity officer. She served as chair for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s National Advisory Committee for Transforming Care at the Bedside and vice chair for Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine. In addition to serving as a president of the National Black Nurses Association, she was named a 2016 living nursing legend by AAN, has received lifetime achievement awards from NBNA and [the American Organization of Nurse Leaders] AONL, and has been named a top 25 women in healthcare.
Dr. Richard Besser, president of RWJF, wrote on LinkedIn: “Burnes Bolton was a fierce advocate for nurses, the nursing profession, and for the leadership role nurses can play in creating the kind of healthcare system we all deserve. She taught us that it is possible to balance individual acts of loving, compassionate care with policy change and institutional pathways for nurses’ education and empowerment to transform healthcare.”