Nancy McCabe, a doctoral student at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, has been named a 2012 Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar by the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence.
The Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar program provides tuition support for nurses pursuing doctoral degrees. The program addresses the nation’s shortage of nursing faculty by preparing nurses with doctoral degrees for careers as nurse educators.
McCabe is one of 142 Ph.D. and doctor of nursing practice scholars from across the United States who will receive more than $2 million in funding from the Jonas Center.
McCabe’s research focuses on the study of adult congenital heart disease issues surrounding the transition from pediatric to adult care, self-management and illness representation.
National leader: Jennell P. Charles, associate professor of nursing at Clayton State University, has been selected to join an elite network of more than 5,000 women as a member of the Leadership America Class of 2012.
Charles, Ph.D., RN, CNE, is one of 53 outstanding women leaders selected from across the nation to participate in the longest-running women’s leadership development program in the United States. As part of the year-long program, Charles will visit Washington D.C., San Francisco and Houston to learn from some of the nation’s top decision-makers.
GHS night shift leader: Gerald Battaglia, a charge nurse with two decades of experience, has been named nursing (house) supervisor at Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center in Augusta. He will supervise clinical and administrative patient care activities throughout all nursing units during the night shift.
Battaglia, who joined the nursing staff at GHS in 1992, has been a charge nurse in the medical intensive care unit since 1998. He is a member of the hospital’s rapid response team, a group of critical care specialists who intervene when a non-ICU patient’s condition worsens.
Beacons of care: Gwinnett Medical Center's intensive care units in Duluth and Lawrenceville have received silver-level Beacon Awards for Excellence from The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
This is the first year Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth has received the award. Gwinnett Medical Center-Lawrenceville also was recognized for its commitment to critical care quality improvement in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The Beacon Award was created in 2003 to help set the standard for distinction in acute and critical care environments by collecting evidence-based information. Units receive points for leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and engagement; effective communication; knowledge management and best practices; evidence-based practices and processes; and patient outcomes.
Patient care program: DeKalb County has added Grady Memorial Hospital to a care program designed to reduce repeat visits to hospitals after patients are discharged.
The county partners in the Care Understanding program with DeKalb Medical Center’s two campuses, Emory Hospital Midtown, Atlanta Medical Center and Piedmont Hospital.
Under the program, a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission pays for visiting nurses to teach patients 60 or older who are discharged from those facilities how to handle their treatment needs at home.
Program re-accredited: The Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions' Division of Physical Therapy recently was re-affirmed a full 10-year accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation on Physical Therapy Education for the doctor of physical therapy degree program.
“This re-accreditation gives us the green light to admit our next class of students,” said Margaret Wilmoth, dean of the school at Georgia State University.
The physical therapy program has a 98 percent first-time pass rate on the required licensing examination since 2008, when the first DPT class graduated. The national average is 87 percent.
WellStar Kennestone COO: WellStar Health System has named Dan Woods chief operating officer of WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. Woods is responsible for the oversight of all operations at the hospital.
Prior to joining WellStar, Woods was senior vice president of Verras. He also has experience as the vice president of operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
New COO at GHS: Steven M. Scott has been named chief operating officer at Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center in Augusta. The post includes supervising the daily operations of the 478-bed adult hospital and the 154-bed Georgia Health Sciences Children's Medical Center.
Previously, Scott served as executive administrator for professional services at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
Making the grade: Gwinnett Medical Center (GMC) was recently named one of HealthGrades America's 100 Best Hospitals. GMC, with hospitals in Duluth and Lawrenceville, was the only hospital system in metro Atlanta and one of only three in Georgia to make the list.
To be recognized, hospitals must have risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates that are in the top 5 percent in the nation. On average, patients treated at America’s 100 Best Hospitals have nearly a 30 percent lower risk of death.
The other Georgia hospitals to make HealthGrades America’s list are Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins.
Hail to the chief: WellStar Health System in Marietta has named Kem M. Mullins senior vice president and WellStar Cobb Hospital president. As president of WellStar Cobb, Mullins is responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic planning for the hospital.
“Kem brings tremendous experience and an impressive track record to WellStar Cobb Hospital,” said Mike Graue, executive vice president and chief operating officer for WellStar Health System.
Mullins brings more than 16 years of hospital administration experience, including stints as chief operating officer at Atlanta Medical Center and at Tenet Healthcare’s Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
Most recently, he was chief executive officer at St. Francis Hospital-Bartlett in Memphis.
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