Desiree Ritter Named Chief Nursing Officer at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
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Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has appointed Desiree Ritter, MHA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, as Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) after a comprehensive national search. She has been serving in an interim CNO role since July 2026. Ritter will help develop initiatives to enhance and optimize patient care and nursing services; address the developing needs of the community; recruit, retain and optimize CHLA’s world-class nursing and patient care workforce; and respond to the changing trends in healthcare, all in alignment with the organization’s mission, goals and vision.
“Desiree has been part of the CHLA team for more than 37 years and has a deep well of experience and institutional knowledge throughout the organization,” said Children’s Hospital Los Angeles President and CEO Paul S. Viviano. “Her leadership is grounded in collaboration, accountability, innovation, professional development and an unwavering commitment to exceptional patient- and family-centered care.”
Ritter holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of La Verne and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mount Saint Mary’s University and is a board-certified Nurse Executive. She began her career at CHLA as a clinical nurse, caring for cardiothoracic, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, hematology and step-down bone marrow transplant populations.
Prior to serving as interim CNO, Ritter served as Executive Director and Associate Chief Nursing Officer – Acute Care and Operations. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Ritter developed and operationalized CHLA’s COVID-19 screening process for team members, patients, families and visitors. She is a strong advocate for healthy work environments, as published in the Journal of Nursing Management.
Content for this story was sourced from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
