Mission Health Chief Nursing Officer Expands Role to become Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Health today announced that Kathy Guyette, RN, MSN, previously Chief Nursing Officer, will expand her role to become Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services for the Mission Health system.  In that role, she will support the optimization of care across Mission Health in partnership with Chief Medical Officer Dale Fell, MD.  Guyette's expanded responsibilities will include identifying best practices – both internal and external – and guiding the implementation of those practices on a system wide basis in support of Mission Health's BIG(GER) Aim: to get each patient to the desired outcome, without harm, without waste and with an exceptional experience.

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Across the region, Guyette will be working with each clinical service area to identify ways to enhance care through improved quality, higher reliability and greater efficiency.  Working side-by-side with other Mission Health leaders and clinicians, she will guide the propagation of those best practices and processes across the system. Among other responsibilities, Guyette will be working on the following:

• Identifying opportunities to standardize (where appropriate) and share services among the various members and functional areas within Mission Health
• Establishing consistent nursing practice standards across the health system and representing Mission Health nursing within the community, governmental agencies and peer organizations
• Leading system wide clinical support areas, such as pharmacy and laboratory services, with the goal of creating the highest quality, most efficient operating model for the system and its affiliated physicians' practices, with a particular emphasis on new program and growth opportunities
• Leading system wide clinical councils such as nursing, pharmacy, laboratory and others to share best practices, enhance collaboration and ensure that all Mission Health members contribute to the health system of the future

"Mission Health has been recognized as a regional and national leader in care quality and efficiency, including a Thomson Reuters designation as a Top 15 Health System," said Ronald A. Paulus, MD, President and CEO of Mission Health.  "To maintain that leadership position and to prepare for an increasingly challenging future we must fully develop and exploit our 'system-ness.'  As we have grown over the past several years, we need to increasingly leverage our economies of scale, in terms of both resources and care knowledge. Kathy is a terrific leader, who has a unique combination of leadership skills and care model design experience with a deep understanding of what's involved in delivering world class care to real patients every day. She is the right person and a great person to assume this important responsibility."

"I look forward to my new responsibilities and recognize the significant impact that this role can have on the improved health of the communities we serve," said Guyette. "Mission Health's emphasis on improving both the quality of healthcare and the efficiency of its delivery is critical to being able to continue to deliver high-quality, affordable healthcare in the future."

Guyette brings more than 18 years of experience in nursing leadership. Prior to Mission Health, she served as Vice President and Associate Chief Nursing Officer for University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals in Chapel Hill for seven years. In this role, she led multiple clinical information technology initiatives, developed advancement and leadership opportunities for nurses, and was instrumental in a number of clinical and business improvements throughout the organization. Prior to joining UNC Hospitals, Guyette served in multiple capacities at VIA Health, Rochester General Hospital and Strong Memorial Hospital, all in Rochester, New York. Guyette holds a Master of Science in nursing administration from the University of Rochester and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the State University of New York at Brockport.

About Mission Health

Mission Health, based in Asheville, N.C., is the state's sixth-largest health system and the region's only not-for-profit, independent community hospital system governed and managed exclusively in western North Carolina. In 2012 Mission Health was named one of the nation's Top 15 Health Systems by Thomson Reuters – the only health system in North Carolina to receive this recognition.

Mission Health, which traces its roots in the region back to 1885, operates five hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, and the region's only dedicated Level II trauma center. Its medical staff consists of more than 1,000 physicians and is certified in over 50 medical specialties and sub-specialties. Mission Health has seven Centers of Excellence: Cancer, Heart, Mission Children's Hospital, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Trauma and Women's Health. Mission Hospital, located in Asheville, is the system's flagship hospital and is licensed for 730 beds. It is the regional referral center for tertiary and quaternary care and is the busiest surgical hospital in North Carolina. It also includes Mission Children's Hospital– the region's only children's hospital. Other Mission Health member hospitals include Angel Medical Center in Franklin, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine, McDowell Hospital in Marion and Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard. With approximately 8,800 employees and 700 volunteers, Mission Health is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the people of western North Carolina.

SOURCE Mission Health