Gail Daly, registered nurse and system senior vice president of clinical operations, integration and optimization at CommonSpirit Health, has received the 2026 Innovator Award from Modern Healthcare, according to an April 13 announcement. The award honors leaders who advance patient care through new ideas and improvements in safety and efficiency.
Daly was recognized for developing Care Base, described as a “virtual hospital without walls” that aims to deliver appropriate care to patients wherever they are. Care Base combines virtual nursing staff with artificial intelligence-powered monitoring to help provide timely interventions and smooth transitions between different types of care.
Under Daly’s leadership, the Transfer Center managed over 236,000 cases including nearly 65,000 new patient transfers. The Virtual Companion program assisted more than 24,000 patients while preventing over 157,900 adverse events. Remote cardiac monitoring expanded across 18 hospitals and enabled more than 16,000 virtual discharges so patients could return home sooner.
Kathleen Sanford, senior executive vice president and chief nursing officer at CommonSpirit Health said: “Gail and her remarkable team have done extraordinary work in creating and expanding Care Base. Gail’s dedication to enhancing the Transfer Center, establishing the Virtual Companion program and extending remote cardiac monitoring to more hospitals is remarkable. Through these initiatives, she and her team have meaningfully expanded access to crucial care for our patients while significantly reducing the administrative burden on our bedside teams, making an incredible difference in patients’ lives.”
Chi Memorial Hospital Georgia is part of the CommonSpirit Health system according to its official website. The hospital includes three hospitals among its facilities as well as a network of 65 care sites according to its official website. Chi Memorial Hospital Georgia also features freestanding outpatient imaging centers according to its official website.
The hospital has received recognition for quality and patient safety from leading organizations according to its official website, aiming “to enhance lives through superior care and optimal patient results” according to its official website. Janelle Reilly serves as president of Chi Memorial Hospital Georgia according to its official website.
Profiles of all honorees can be found online or in the latest issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.