Jeanie Brown

• Responsible for daily operations and process improvement.
• Trained new nursing staff on hospital policies, procedures, and best practices for patient care.
• Led quality improvement initiatives to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency within the unit.
• Mentored junior nurses, providing guidance on clinical skills and professional development opportunities.
• Assisted in the training and mentorship of new nursing staff members, contributing to a positive work environment and high-quality patient care.
• Served as a preceptor for nursing students during their clinical rotations, providing valuable real-world experience and guidance to foster professional growth.
• Improved patient outcomes by implementing evidence-based nursing interventions and individualized care plans.
• Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current on best practices in nursing care and emerging trends in healthcare delivery.
• Promoted a culture of safety within the healthcare facility by participating in quality improvement initiatives, identifying potential hazards, and advocating for best practices in nursing care delivery.
• Used first-hand knowledge and clinical expertise to advocate for patients under care and enacted prescribed treatment strategies.
• Collaborated with leadership to devise initiatives for improving nursing satisfaction, retention and morale.

• Transferred to SPD from the OR per management request to provide stronger management and team building to the department. Department had 42 direct reports.

• Worked as a staff nurse circulating and scrubbing cases.
• Accomplishments: Successfully transitioned from leadership positon to staffing position; Assisted with training new nurses; Assisted with teaching nurses to scrub

• Initially a travel assignment for 13 weeks. Recruited by executive leadership to accept Team Lead position. Responsibilities included oversight of 17 ORs and 35 direct reports.
• Accomplishments: Instrumental in improving team work within the shift; Worked with physicians and anesthesia to develop process for surgeons flipping rooms to decrease turnover times; Turnover decreased by 3% on evening shift; Instrumental in restructuring of central core to allow for quick location of supplies

• Scrubbed and circulated cases as a RN assuring patient advocacy and best practices.

• Originally a 12 month travel assignment, I became the Interim OR Manager in March 2003. Due to my success and ability to team build and develop surgeon relationships, I was asked to be Surgical Services Director before the end of my contract in December 2003. As Surgical Services Director, I managed sterile processing, endoscopy, PACU and the OR. While there, I also managed L&D and the Nursery. I served as the interim Employee Health Nurse, and transitioned into that position. I also served as the Infection Prevention Nurse and Disaster Preparedness Director, all while maintaining the Department of Surgery.
• Accomplishments: Successful training of nurses new to the OR; Implemented AORN and evidence based practices; Rewrote P&P to reflect best practices for the Operating Room as well as L&D and the Nursery; Increased surgical volume by 6% by working with referrals from ED; Negotiated and obtained new laparoscopic equipment to improve patient safety; Trained OR nurses to act as charge nurses; Trained Employee Health Nurse; Trained Infection Prevention Nurse; Worked with County and State entities to participate in disaster drill; Designed and carried out disaster drill at hospital including full hazmat and decontam; Taught new nurses how to scrub; Worked with local surgical tech schools for training; Successfully led departments to Joint Commission accreditation; Worked collaboratively to develop guidelines for transfer to tertiary facilities; Developed contracts with tertiary facilities to accept critically ill patients; Developed a MDRO protocol for reporting to PCP; Developed process for tracking of instrumentations on sterilized loads with failed biologicals

• Brookwood Medical Center is part of Orlando Health and is a 595 bed acute care hospital known for its comprehensive services. There are 23 operating rooms that provide multiple service lines, such as ortho, neuro, robotics, cardiac, vascular, thoracic, ENT, oral/maxillofacial, and general surgery. Quick growth has led to increased service lines and multiple new hires. Cases have increased by more than 800 surgeries per month. Goals for Brookwood include growth that promotes safe and compassionate care for patients, as well as growth and returning back to basics for team members. Increased accountability and Joint Commission readiness have been top priorities. Reduction in contract staff and better preparedness for OR hires play an integral part in the success of the department. Building relationships with surgeons and senior leadership through transparency and closed loop communication has led to increased satisfaction of key stakeholders. Improved productivity and evaluation of staffing patterns have been key wins.
• Birmingham, AL (B.E. Smith)

• Meadowview Regional Medical Center is a 100 bed facility that is part of the Lifepoint system. Meadowview has 4 Operating Rooms and performs approximately 3,500 surgical cases annually and approximately 2,000 GI procedures annually. Service lines include general, orthopedics, gynecology, pain, ophthalmology, podiatry, and ENT. This position is responsible for the operating room, same day surgery, GI lab, post anesthesia care unit, sterile processing department, pre-admission testing, and infusion therapy with 45 FTEs. Brought staff up to date on best practices including fire score for time outs. Implemented process to assess amount of local anesthesia that could be given intraop when a patient has had a block and/or spinal pre-procedure. Cross trained all staff to majority of surgical services departments to eliminate contract labor. Educated on practices that were not aligned with standards, such as reprocessing sterile items, disinfection of capsulotomy lenses, surgical counts, storage of sterile trays, storage of endoscopes, compliance with patient privacy when being questioned pre-operatively, and many others. Developed strong relationships with surgeons and improved relationships with staff based on transparency and closed loop communication. Improved productivity, increased accountability, and provided guidance for staff growth.
• Maysville, KY (Core Medical)

• Baptist Health Medical Center - Little Rock is part of the Baptist Health system and is the largest provider of health care in Arkansas. The system includes multiple locations. Baptist - Little Rock is the largest facility with 23 ORs, and multiple service lines. It is a center of excellence for bariatrics and neurology, but supports multiple disciplines including cardiac, ortho, general, ENT, OMF, thoracic, robotic, and transplant. Garnered a culture of safety specifically regarding consents and patient marking. Improved time out process by working with staff to develop a whiteboard system that supported time out information and consistency between all cases. Empowered staff to be responsible for documentation and follow up of their own time. Worked with anesthesia to improve on time starts and turnovers. Turnover times improved by 25% and on time starts increased by 10%. Time outs became more universal with no abbreviations used on board, which provided clearer understanding of what each case was to everyone.
• Little Rock, AR (Magee Resources)

• University Hospital is part of the Methodist system and includes 5 facilities in the surrounding area. University is the flagship of the system and performs complex cases in all service lines. Service lines include, general, general oncology, robotics, gyn, orthopedics, ortho spine, neuro spine, neuro, ENT, OMF, dental, ophthalmology, cardiovascular, thoracic, and transplant. There are 24 ORs, but all do not function daily. Current projects are to open an additional 5-7 ORs to accommodate the requests of current surgeons as well as those who want to join the facility. Upgraded staffing and hired into positions that have been vacant for some time. Built relationships with surgeons who have been reluctant in the past related to prior management both permanent and interim. Working to develop a procurement program for greater Memphis area. Updated standards and assisted staff in adhering to evidence-based practices. Built a culture of trust and mutual respect while holding accountability. Working to decrease LOS by tracking a patient from admission to consultation to OR booking. Improved case volume by 10% initially by working collaboratively with anesthesia and surgeons to provide services on Saturdays for elective procedures.
• Memphis, TN (Magee Resources)

• CHI St. Alexis, is a critical access hospital in southwest ND. The facility has 7 ORs, and provides service lines of ophthalmology, orthopedics, general surgery, OB/GYN, GI lab, and podiatry. While there, multiple improvements for patient safety related to adherence to standards. Most staff had not been trained outside of the on-the-job training as circulators. I implemented a periop 101 program, and cross trained RNs to scrub. All policy and procedures were updated and brought in line with standards of practice for the OR, pre/post-op, and GI lab. An infusion service was started to accommodate the community for infusions so they were not required to drive over 100 miles to Bismarck. Equipment was updated that was past the end of life including colonoscopes which frequently failed during procedures. Improved relationship with orthopedic surgeons who provided approximately 62% of volume. Increased general surgery volume by 35% with the addition of new surgeons and working to align their practices with open OR block. Successful JC survey with no deficits.
• Dickinson, ND (BE Smith)

• Responsible for daily operations and process improvement.

• NARMC is a 174 bed community hospital serving rural areas in the Northern portion of the state. The facility has 7 ORs including a cysto suite, as well as 2 GI lab suites. Service lines include general, orthopedics, urology, gynecology, oral surgery, ENT, and dental procedures. This position is responsible for 8 departments including surgery, pre and post-op, GI lab, ambulatory treatment area, pre-admission testing, sterile processing, and anesthesia. Accomplishments include reducing turnover times by 24%, improving culture by promoting teamwork, clear and concise communication, encouraging, and active listening to staff concerns with closed loop communication. Multiple improvements in patient safety including charting real time at bedside, correcting count processes, medication administration, conscious sedation, and increased reporting. Savings of approximately $302,000.00, by finding contracts for equipment no longer owned, reducing the price of total knee replacements by $400 per case, as well as other findings and negotiations for price reductions. Updating policy and procedures to current standards and best practices. Improved Press Ganey scores 19%, as well as engaged staff in ownership of departments. Improved communication with all stakeholders and presented a leadership of transparency and closed loop communication.
• Harrison, AR (American Consultants)

• Marshfield Clinic is part of a The Marshfield Health system. The hospital is a Level II trauma center and has service lines for neuro, ortho, general, gynecology, urology, robotics, cardiothoracic, vascular, dental, oral-maxillofacial, ears/nose/throat, and plastics. Facility has 20 ORs and OR manager has approximately 93 direct reports. Responsible for changing processes to address compliance with current standards and best practices. Improved turnover times by 13%. Changed process for OB call by moving responsibility to OB department and working with OB manager to determine staffing needs. Built training program for OB nurses to learn to circulate c-sections. Improved sterilization processes by evaluation of IUSS and how to change. IUSS rates dropped from 4% to > 1%. Improved surgeon relationships and relationship with anesthesia providers. Successful JCHAO survey. Served on multiple committees. Adjusted staffing to cover late days thus reducing forced stays by staff resulting in improved employee satisfaction.
• Marshfield WI (Telemed/Triage)

• Good Sam Hospital is part of a 10 hospital system of Catholic Health Initiatives. There are 183 beds at Good Sam, and 12 operating rooms with approximately 60 direct reports. Multiple service lines are at this facility, including neuro, cardio vascular, robotics general ENT, OMF, dental, and gyn, performing approximately 6,500 surgical cases annually. As interim director, I was responsible for the Operating Room and Surgical Scheduling. I implemented best practices including the time out process which went from a 18% compliance to 97%. I also implemented processes to be more in line with productivity which improved from 73% to 97.6%. Reintroduced back to basics re-education to improve adherence to AORN standards, including surgical counts, gowning and gloving, and specimen handling. Asked to serve on the corporate policy and procedure committee because of my expertise in standards. Improved surgeon relationships with staff and leadership. Implemented cost savings programs for service lines through product evaluation, and reduction of vendors. Improved participation in Surgical Services committee. Served on block utilization committee, and co-management committee. Adjusted staffing shifts to reduce call back. Performed employee evaluations as well as coached staff in areas of improvement.
• (B.E. Smith)

• Lake Area Hospital is a community hospital with 100 beds and performing approximately 4,000 surgeries annually. There are 10 operating rooms, and 2 endo suites. As interim director, the departments of responsibility included pre-admission testing, Pre and Post Op, Operating Room, Sterile Processing Department, and Surgical Scheduling. Implemented processes to be more in line with productivity which has improved from a high overage of 10.7 to a low of 1.4. Brought staff in line with standardized time outs and back to basics re-education to improve adherence to AORN standards. Re-wrote policies for all areas to meet compliance with standards and conditions of participation. Implemented cost savings programs for service lines through product evaluation, and reduction of vendors. Improved participation in Surgical Services committee. Re-designed and developed a block utilization format which improved block usage by 18%. Increased reporting of issues by 73%, implementing de-briefs for near misses and other issues. Started a program of daily huddles for every department supervised. Improved Press Ganey Scores by 23%.
• (Talemed)

• BJCSP is part of the Barnes Jewish Healthcare system. This facility serves the communities of St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties while performing approximately 4,000 surgeries annually. There are 7 operating rooms, and 2 endo suites. As interim director, I was responsible for Pre-admission testing, Pre and Post Op, Operating Room, GI lab, Sterile Processing Department, and Surgical Scheduling. I implemented several cost savings programs, as well as processes to decrease SSIs, which were at 0% the 4th quarter of 2018, and the 1st quarter 2019. I increased employee participation in the employee engagement survey to 100%, with an increase in satisfaction of 27%. Surgical growth increased by 7% in part related to evaluating and adjusting the block time to allow 5 additional surgeons to bring their cases to BJC. Successful completion of Joint Commission survey.
• (Telemed)

• Carteret Health Care is an independent community 135 bed hospital with 5 operating rooms, c-section room, 3 endo rooms and a cysto suite.
• (American Traveler)

• Park West is part of a 10 hospital system. It is a 283 bed acute care hospital comprised of 19 operating rooms, including a hybrid suite, a cysto suite, and an ESWL suite. Services include Cardiovascular, Thoracic, Orthopedics, ENT, General, Neurosurgical, Gyn, Urology, Plastics, Vascular, Robotics, and ENT. It is a center for Orthopedic Excellence and utilized Mako robotics for orthopedics. The hospital performs almost 15,000 cases per year. Accomplishments at this facility included a reduction in surgical site infections by 13%. Turnover time was reduced and sustained from 28 minutes to 25 minutes. Successful training and conversion from MSM electronic records to Cerner. Developed education plan for new hires, and new to the OR. Maintained FTEs below budget and improved productivity targets. Assessment of compliance with best practices with implementation of AORN guidelines in counts, antisepsis, principle of sterile technique and specimen handling, as well as others. Errors in specimen handling decreased by 93%. Improved understanding of reporting issues and increased reporting by 40%. Improved vendor relations as well as setting forth expectations for tray delivery to SPD, and compliance with hospital rules and regulations.

• UNC is an 884 bed Level 1 Trauma Center. The sterile processing department (SPD) processed over 35,000 trays annually as well as single items, and provided processing for multiple departments outside the OR. Decreased tray error rate by 7%. Active participant in plans for expansion for SPD. Prepared areas for Joint Commission Survey with successful completion. Worked to improve relationship between SPD, OR, and surgeons. Reassessed shift times and number of staff per shift to better fill the needs of processing for peak times. Initiated educational opportunities, and increased professional memberships. Changed process for case cart preparation which led to a reduction of 7 minutes to pull a case and reduction of 40% in pulling of duplicate supplies. Increased number of certified technicians by 15%.
• (Chapel Hill)

• UNC has 32 ORs and covers all service lines including cardiothoracic, orthopedics, surgical oncology, general surgery, neurosurgery, colorectal surgery, robotics, bariatrics, vascular and endo vascular, transplants, ENT, Plastics, Burns, GYN, and urology.
• Developed this position for UNC, from the OR liaison position that was solely an OR position. Assessed patient through put from pre-surgical admission to discharge. Assembled a team to evaluate discharge process that was holding up movement inside the hospital and affecting surgery. Evaluated processes for patient safety and satisfaction. Worked closely with the Medical Director in improving on time starts and decreasing turn over time.
• (Chapel Hill)
• Accomplishments: Implemented same/similar name policy after near miss; Developed and implemented Malignant Hyperthermia protocol; Increased process for notification of cancellations and scheduling changes that affected other departments; Led cultural changes that included promoting better hand hygiene resulting in 95% hand hygiene compliance; Improved communication between departments resulting in improved satisfaction and better patient flow; Authored 12 posters and co-authored 6 posters for AORN based on process changes implemented; Worked collaboratively with surgeons to discharge patients in more timely manner; Helped transition to EPIC from CPM, with no major issues on go live day; Decreased turnover time from 43 minutes to 31 minutes; Increased first time starts by 18%; First OR staff member asked to join Pharmacy and Therapeutics Team; So successful in position that I originally filled as the liaison, UNC made this a permanent position; Served as Back to Basics team member to increase patient safety and P&P adherence based on AORN standards; Participated and designed process for OR in mass disaster drill; Served on Infection Prevention Committee; Lean Six Sigma Training (green belt); Peri-operative Nurse of the Year in 2014; Nominated to Top 100 nurses in North Carolina (finalist 2015)

• UNC ASC is a part of the UNC Hospital System. It has 8 ORs and includes service lines of ophthalmology, gyn, sports medicine, orthopedics, ENT, and general.

• Duke Regional Hospital is a Level II trauma community-based hospital that was managed by Duke then fully absorbed. DRH is 369 beds and 17 ORs. Service lines include cardiothoracic, general, bariatrics, orthopedics, neuro, and vascular.
• (formerly Durham Regional)

• Cabell Huntington is the teaching hospital for Marshall University, with 303 beds with 12 ORs offering services of orthopedics, neurosurgery, plastics, ENT and general surgery. It serves as a Level II trauma center alternating Level status every other week with another local hospital.

• Williamsburg Regional Hospital is a critical access hospital. It transitioned from a 72 bed community hospital in 2002 to a 25 bed critical access facility in 2007. WRH has 3 ORs and an endoscopy suite. OR nurses also recover the patients as well. Services offered included general, gyn, orthopedics, podiatry, and endoscopy.

• Responsible for daily operations and budget adherence for the Operating Room, Endoscopy, Pre and Post Op, Pre-Admission Testing, Sterile Processing, and Infusion Services. There are 23 direct reports for this position.

Graduated summa cum laude