Chandra Anderson, 2021 Central Community College Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

*The Outstanding Alumni Award is the highest honor that Central Community College bestows upon an outstanding alum. The award salutes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose personal lives, professional achievements and community service exemplify the mission statement,"Central Community College maximizes student and community success."

Chandra Anderson

Chandra Anderson is a 2009 graduate of the nursing program at Central Community College’s Kearney Center. 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 Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. This was unique because most new nursing graduates do not immediately go into critical care. Anderson said during this time, she began to understand the importance of quality care and how it builds trust in both the patient and their family. She was able to teach those concepts when she became a clinical coach. In 2011, she won the Clinical Coach of the Year for Nursing Award from CHI Health Good Samaritan Hospital.

Anderson then relocated with her family to Pahrump, Nev., where she worked in hospice care for two years. Saying she missed 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 including night shift nurse, charge nurse and department manager 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 was named chief nursing and quality officer at Cozad Community Health System. In this role, Anderson oversees hospice care, assisted living and nursing all with a focus of quality, something she is passionate about.

Anderson speaks highly of Central Community College and how her instructors set her up for success.

“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.”

Anderson and her husband, Justin, are the parents of two children.

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