Forrest General Hospital Launches Indicator Sciences' CareEffects Facility-Wide Following a Successful Pilot

Nurse leaders used the monthly insights to reach nurses who quietly needed support and recognize those whose efforts lift the whole team — now every inpatient unit gets the same proactive view

HATTIESBURG, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forrest General Hospital will launch CareEffects^®, Indicator Sciences’ analytics-guided nursing leadership service, facility-wide following a 90-day pilot on multiple inpatient units. Forrest General is the 547-bed flagship of the Forrest Health system in Hattiesburg.

CareEffects gives nursing unit leaders a monthly, risk- and context-adjusted view of nursing practice on each unit — revealing where strain is building among direct-care nurses and highlighting those whose work helps the next shift succeed. Each month, a credentialed nursing professional development expert from Indicator Sciences reviews the analysis with unit leaders in peer-to-peer sessions.

The service operates entirely from operational data hospitals already generate — including ADT, eMAR, and basic workforce data (role, hire date, and seniority) — without staff surveys, new documentation, or changes to frontline nursing practice. The methodology recovers clinically meaningful signals that are not directly measured in the electronic health record.

During the pilot, Forrest General unit leaders confirmed the strain and recognition patterns identified for their teams and acted on the analysis every month — holding focused, supportive one-to-one conversations, strengthening mentorship and recognition, and refining assignments and scheduling across their units.

“Our leaders immediately recognized their teams in the analysis,” said Heather Keys, MSN, RN, Executive Director of Nursing Services at Forrest General Hospital. “It helped them proactively identify nurses who quietly needed support and nurses whose work deserved recognition. Those beneficial conversations are why we are bringing CareEffects to units across the hospital.”

The launch extends Forrest General’s longstanding investment in its nurses and advances the hospital’s goals of attracting and retaining strong nursing teams and sustaining the work environment that enables high-quality patient care.

“Forrest General’s nurse leaders made this pilot successful,” said Ecoee Rooney, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Indicator Sciences. “Our part was pointing them to the right conversation at the right time. Their part was stepping in early, and they did, month after month. That kind of proactive leadership builds a leader’s confidence and improves the working environment for every nurse on the unit.”

CareEffects applies proprietary, interpretable econometric methods developed by Indicator Sciences to routine operational data to recover clinically meaningful indicators of nursing practice and strain. Nationally, turnover risk is highest among early-tenure nurses: nearly one in four newly hired RNs leaves within the first year, according to the 2026 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. CareEffects strain indicators are predictive of retention and separation, particularly in this cohort, giving leaders the chance to step in while support can still change the outcome.

CareEffects received a 2025 American Nurses Association Innovation Award Honorable Mention, selected from more than 600 applicants, and has been successfully deployed in hospitals ranging from under 100 to more than 500 beds. Health systems interested in a nursing leadership briefing may contact Indicator Sciences below.

About Forrest General Hospital

Forrest General Hospital is a 547-bed Level II trauma center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the flagship of the Forrest Health system, serving a 19-county region of south Mississippi. The hospital anchors nursing workforce development for the region: it has partnered with The University of Southern Mississippi College of Nursing and Health Professions to establish Dedicated Education Units where Bachelor of Science in Nursing students train alongside Forrest General nurses, hosts senior nursing students from schools across Mississippi each summer through the statewide Nurse Extern Program, and honors extraordinary nurses and nurse leaders through the DAISY Award program. Learn more at www.forresthealth.org.

About Indicator Sciences and CareEffects

Indicator Sciences develops operational analytics that recover clinically meaningful signals from routine healthcare data. Its flagship service, CareEffects, helps inpatient nursing leaders identify where support and recognition are most needed using data hospitals already collect. The benefits are more confident nurse leaders, better nursing work environments, and higher direct care nurse retention. Learn more at www.indisci.com.