Ms. Patterson oversees nursing and patient care services for a 439-bed academic medical center and level 1 adult trauma center, leading more than 2,100 staff across nursing and clinical support services. Under her leadership, the organization has achieved multiple Joint Commission certifications and advanced designations, including primary stroke center, sepsis, hip fracture, palliative care and perinatal care, while earning national recognition from U.S. News & World Report for maternity care and specialty performance. She has maintained a registered nurse turnover rate of just 3%, far below the national average, and reduced the use of traveling nurses by 97% following a large-scale post-pandemic recruitment effort. Ms. Patterson is the executive sponsor of Lean transformation initiatives that produced measurable gains in patient flow, including a patient flow center that reduced average length of stay from 6.8 days to 4.1 days and a discharge lounge that has supported more than 8,100 patient transitions. She also empowered frontline-led innovations such as the nurse-driven “Fluff and Tuck” program, cutting call lights during shift change by 50% and increasing patient experience scores by 26%. Her crisis leadership during Covid-19 included supporting staff wellbeing while helping expand inpatient capacity by 121 beds to meet sustained surge demand.
