Cooper is among the first institutions nationwide pioneering the industry’s first commercially available AI clinical assistant for nursing.

(CAMDEN, NJ) Cooper Norcross Health today announced that it is the first hospital in New Jersey — and among a select group of  institutions nationwide — implementing Microsoft Dragon Copilot for its nursing workforce. Cooper Norcross University Hospital is currently piloting the technology, which is the first commercially available AI clinical assistant designed specifically for nursing workflows.

Nurses nationwide face significant workplace demands, with documentation and administrative tasks accounting for more than a quarter of each shift and reducing time available for direct patient care. Dragon Copilot changes that equation. As a nurse cares for a patient, the AI clinical assistant “listens” to the nurse-patient interaction — spoken observations, assessments, and clinical conversation — and intelligently transforms it into structured flowsheet documentation within the electronic health record. The nurse reviews, edits, and approves every entry before it is filed, keeping clinical judgment firmly in the nurse’s hands while eliminating much of the manual charting that follows every encounter.

 “Nurses are at their best when they can focus fully on their patients,” said Kathy Devine, DrNP, RN, NEA-BC, senior vice president and chief nursing executive for Cooper Norcross Health. “This technology supports that goal by reducing time spent on documentation and helping nurses remain more present at the bedside. By allowing nurses to speak naturally during care and review AI-generated documentation before it is filed, Dragon Copilot helps protect clinical judgment while giving nurses more time for meaningful patient interaction.”

“Clinical technology should simplify care, not add steps,” said Snehal Gandhi, MD, chief medical information officer (CMIO) at Cooper Norcross Health. “Ambient AI has already helped physicians and advanced practice providers streamline documentation in the office and expanding it to inpatient nursing offers significant opportunity. This solution was developed with frontline nurses, works within existing tools, and keeps nurses in control by requiring their review and approval before documentation is filed.”

 How it works

Using a mobile device already integrated into the nursing workflow, nurses begin an ambient recording during routine patient care. Dragon Copilot securely listens in the background, extracts clinically relevant details, and automatically drafts structured flowsheet entries — vital signs, assessments, and other required documentation. Nurses can pause a recording to preview what’s been captured, make edits for accuracy, and then review and file the final documentation in the electronic health record (EHR). Patient consent is obtained before any ambient recording, in accordance with Cooper’s privacy policies.

 

Key benefits that Cooper Norcross Health is evaluating during the pilot:

  • Less time typing — clinical conversations and observations are captured ambiently, reducing manual data entry after each encounter.
  • Reduced cognitive burden — nurses no longer need to mentally carry assessment details from room to workstation.
  • Automated flowsheet documentation — improving the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of the clinical record.
  • More time at the bedside — returning nurses’ focus to direct patient care and human connection.

Microsoft developed the nursing capabilities of Dragon Copilot through a multiyear collaboration with nurse leaders and frontline nursing staff at health systems across the country — an approach that aligns with Cooper’s own philosophy of designing technology with, not just for, the clinicians who use it. The nursing workflows in Dragon Copilot continue to expand, with growing capabilities and support for additional care settings.

 

The pilot builds on Cooper’s broader enterprise AI strategy, led by the health system’s Center for Digital Innovation, which already includes more than 1,300 Dragon Copilot licenses supporting ambient documentation for physicians and advanced practice providers. Cooper will evaluate documentation time savings, accuracy, and nurse satisfaction on the pilot unit to guide expansion across additional units and both hospital campuses.

 

About Cooper Norcross Health

Cooper Norcross Health, formerly Cooper University Health Care, is a leading academic health system affiliated with Cooper Norcross Medical School of Rowan University. Headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, Cooper Norcross Health has revenues of more than $3 billion and an A+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch Ratings.

Cooper Norcross Health has nearly 14,000 team members, including more than 2,200 nurses, more than 1,200 employed physicians representing 95 specialties and subspecialties, and more than 700 advanced practice providers.

The health system operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as four hospitals – its 663-bed flagship Cooper Norcross University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper Norcross University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, Children’s Hospital at Cooper Norcross Health in Camden, and The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper, a substance abuse rehabilitation and inpatient treatment facility, in partnership with Advanced Recovery Systems.

Cooper Norcross University Hospital in Camden is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region. The hospital has been recognized as a top-performing regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals annual survey for eight years.

More than 2.54 million patients visit Cooper Norcross Health facilities annually. Its ambulatory network encompasses three outpatient surgery centers, seven urgent care centers, a wound care center, and more than 130 physician, physical therapy, and radiology offices extending from the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore.

Cooper Norcross Health, a not-for-profit health system, was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2026 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation. Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.

 

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