MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile Infirmary has named Mary Tabor as its new chief nursing officer, bringing in a nurse executive with more than 30 years of nursing and health care leadership experience, including two decades of service in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps.
In the role, Tabor joins the hospital’s executive leadership team and will oversee nursing strategy and operations across the Mobile hospital. Her priorities, according to the hospital, include strengthening the nursing culture, developing the next generation of nurse leaders, recruiting and keeping a highly skilled workforce, and advancing patient safety and clinical quality.
Coming from HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital
Tabor most recently served as chief nursing officer at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, located in Orange Park, Fla., in the Jacksonville area. There, she concentrated on leadership development, workforce stability, patient safety, clinical quality and building a stronger workplace culture.
Her career also includes several senior nursing leadership positions across HCA Healthcare, the Nashville-based hospital operator that runs facilities in many states, including Florida.
Those areas of focus closely mirror the goals she will carry into her new job in Mobile, where she is expected to put emphasis on the people side of nursing: mentoring future leaders, retaining experienced staff and maintaining high standards of care at the bedside.
Twenty years in the Navy Nurse Corps
Before moving into civilian hospital leadership, Tabor spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, retiring with the rank of commander.
The Navy Nurse Corps, established by Congress in 1908, is made up of commissioned officers who are registered nurses. Navy nurses care for active-duty service members, their families and veterans in military hospitals and clinics in the United States and overseas, aboard hospital ships and in deployed settings. Commander is a senior officer rank in the Navy, typically held by officers who lead departments or larger teams.
Military nursing careers often combine clinical work with administrative and leadership assignments, and many nurses who serve in the Navy go on to leadership roles in civilian health systems after they retire.
Education and certification
Tabor’s academic and professional credentials include:
- A Bachelor of Science in nursing from Boston College
- A Master of Science in nursing in leadership and management from Western Governors University
- Board certification as a Nurse Executive through the American Nurses Credentialing Center
The American Nurses Credentialing Center, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, offers specialty certifications that recognize nurses’ knowledge and experience in particular fields. Its nurse executive certification is designed for nurses who hold leadership roles responsible for the daily operations of a unit, department or organization.
Western Governors University is a nonprofit, online university, and Boston College’s nursing program is housed in its Connell School of Nursing in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
What a chief nursing officer does
A chief nursing officer is the top nursing executive in a hospital. The position typically carries responsibility for nursing practice standards, staffing, budgets for nursing departments, quality and safety programs, and the professional development of the nursing staff. Because nurses make up the largest share of most hospitals’ clinical workforces, the chief nursing officer has a significant influence on patients’ day-to-day experience of care.
At Mobile Infirmary, Tabor will serve on the executive leadership team, giving nursing a direct voice in the hospital’s top-level decisions.
Her stated priorities reflect challenges hospitals across the country have faced in recent years, including competition to hire and retain experienced nurses and the need to develop new nurse managers as longtime leaders retire. Workforce stability, in particular, has been a common focus for hospital leaders, since consistent staffing is closely tied to quality and safety.
About Mobile Infirmary
Mobile Infirmary is the flagship hospital of Infirmary Health, a nonprofit health system based in Mobile that operates hospitals, clinics and other services across southwest Alabama. Founded in 1910, Mobile Infirmary is located just off Spring Hill Avenue in Midtown Mobile and is one of the largest hospitals on the central Gulf Coast.
Infirmary Health has also been recognized as an employer in recent years, appearing for a fifth consecutive year on a national list of best employers by state in 2026.
The appointment of a new chief nursing officer comes as hospitals in the region continue to compete for nursing talent, and as health systems in Mobile expand their specialty services. For patients, the most visible effects of a nursing leader’s work tend to show up over time in staffing, training and the consistency of care on hospital floors.
Looking ahead
Mobile Infirmary has not announced a timeline for specific initiatives under Tabor’s leadership. Based on the hospital’s description of her role, her early work is expected to center on:
- Strengthening Mobile Infirmary’s nursing culture
- Developing future nurse leaders
- Recruiting and retaining a highly skilled nursing workforce
- Advancing patient safety and clinical quality
Nurses and nursing students interested in careers at the hospital can find employment information through Infirmary Health’s website.
