Chandra Anderson

Chandra Anderson graduated from the Kearney Center in 2009 with an associate degree in nursing. She later earned a BSN followed by dual master’s degrees in health care leadership and business, all through Grand Canyon (Ariz.) University’s online program.

After graduating from CCC, Anderson began her career as a critical care nurse at CHI Health Good Samartian Hospital in Kearney. This was unique as most new nursing graduates do not immediately go into critical care. Anderson said in this role, she began to understand the importance of quality care and how it builds trust in both the patient and their family. She taught those concepts when she became a clinical coach. In 2011, she won Good Samaritan Hospital’s Clinical Coach of the Year for Nursing Award.

Anderson relocated to Pahrump, Nev., where she worked in hospice care for two years. Missing the energy rush of hospital care, Anderson went to work in the emergency department at Desert View Hospital. She worked in a number of capacities before being named chief nursing officer. While at Desert View, Anderson was nominated for and won the 40 Under 40 Up and Coming Nurse Leader Award for the State of Nevada.

In 2017, Anderson returned to CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney where she served as the RN professional practice/magnet coordinator. After three and a half years, she assumed her current position as chief nursing and quality officer at Cozad Community Health System.

“I don’t know if I would have had the same impact if I would have gone to a bigger school,” said Anderson, who was a single mother at the time. “It allowed me to care for my family in two years as opposed to going to a four-year college. CCC is responsible for my golden ticket, my nursing degree.”