Kara Evans
Summary
A nursing leader with experience in progressive nursing leadership. Focused on patient centered care, quality and compliance processes. Proven problem solver and excellent communicator. Strong organizational skills, superb understanding of data collection and performance metrics. Recognized for staff development leading to high performing teams.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chief Nurse Executive (CNE), VP Patient Care Services
Mark Twain Medical Center
08.2021 - Current
- Direct reports include Nursing Directors and Managers, Education, Respiratory, Manager of Employee Health, Infection Control, Workers Compensation, a dotted line to Director of Pharmacy, Director of Care Coordination, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, and House Supervisors directly report to me
- Implemented the Nurse Practice Council
- Restructured RN Clinical Ladder program, increasing project participation and adding new members
- Patient Experience Leader with excellent HCAHPS
- Interim Manager of Employee Health, Infection Control and Workers Comp role for about two years in lieu of vacancies while simultaneously maintaining my other duties
- Helps develop Strategic Plan and Short Term Goals for facility
- Manages the financial and operational aspects of nursing by monitoring expenditures, and identifying cost-saving opportunities.
- Promotes quality initiatives and develops action plans with leaders for any gaps
- Ensures regulatory compliance with TJC, CMS, CDPH, OSHA, CDC, HACI, and any other governing standards and regulations
- Helped to Implement High Reliability Organization (HRO) for our facility
- Participates in many hospital committees
- Policy Manager Site Admin in lieu of vacancy
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to develop comprehensive care plans tailored to individual patient needs.
- Streamlined hospital operations by reviewing and updating policies, procedures, and protocols to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
- Ensured high-quality patient care by staying informed of advancements in nursing practice and clinical research; applied new knowledge to daily operations.
- Supported staff development by providing mentorship, guidance, and resources necessary for career growth. Mentored two nurses through their MSN program.
- Optimized resource allocation by regularly analyzing staffing patterns, patient census data, and budget constraints.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion through proactive efforts aimed at recruiting a diverse talent pool, creating an inclusive work environment, and fostering cultural competence among staff members.
- Enhanced staff performance by conducting regular evaluations, providing constructive feedback, and offering professional development opportunities.
- Contributed to organizational strategy development process through participation in executive-level meetings; provided insight from nursing perspective.
- Promoted a culture of accountability among staff members through clear expectations, transparent reporting mechanisms, and recognition for outstanding performance.
- Established and maintained effective communication with staff, physicians and community organizations to promote high quality patient care.
Director of Patient Care Services
Mark Twain Medical Center
07.2019 - 12.2021
- 64 FTEs
- Direct reports include House Supervisor Group and Respiratory Therapists as well as Med Surg and ICU RNs (no manager replaced me when I became Director)
- Reported to CNE
- Increased productivity again by 40%, in ICU went from 70% to 107% and for Med Surg from 90% to 142%
- Served as an advocate for patients'' rights while collaborating with families, physicians, and other stakeholders to ensure comprehensive care was provided.
- Coordinated with other hospital departments to optimize scheduling efficiency while maintaining adequate staffing levels for optimal patient care delivery.
- Championed patient-centered care initiatives, leading to increased patient satisfaction scores.
Nurse Manager of Medical Surgical and Intensive Care Units
Mark Twain Medical Center
06.2017 - 07.2019
- 50 FTEs between both units
- Leadership provided for Volunteer Staff
- Achieved #1 Status in The Amazing Race, a nursing competition across all Dignity facilities, focusing on HCAHPS survey results in Communication with Nurses, Responsiveness of Nursing and Communication about Medicines
- Increased productivity in both units by> 10% from prior fiscal year and manager
- Employee engagement scores increased from prior manager for employee satisfaction, ranked high.
- Fostered improvement in staff development, personnel training, and standards of patient care.
House Nursing Supervisor
Mark Twain Medical Center
12.2015 - 06.2017
- Maintained schedule for the group
- Assisted Nurse Manager with timecards, PTO requests for MS/ICU staff
- Staffing office coordinator for multiple departments
- Bed control and patient throughput
- Crisis Management with patients and families.
- Interviewed, hired, instructed and mentored employees and promoted high level of care quality to patients.
- Trained new nurses in proper techniques, care standards, operational procedures, and safety protocols.
- Provided direct nursing care to patients when personnel was short-staffed.
Clinical Resource Manager of Intermediate Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
04.2015 - 12.2015
- 18 bed step down unit
- Responsible for 50 FTEs
- Reported to Director of Critical Care
- Organized orientation program to open hearts
- Worked with Studer Group to implement bedside shift report and patient rounding to improve HCAHPS scores
- House supervisor shift holes-started orientation to assist with coverage.
- Enhanced team productivity with regular performance evaluations and targeted training programs.
RN in Intensive Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
08.2012 - 04.2015
- Charge nurse
- Preceptor for new nurses
- Member of Professional Practice Committee (PPC)
- Smart User for Cerner implementation launch.
RN in Intermediate Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
07.2011 - 07.2012
- Cross trained to hemodialysis
- Assumed charge nurse responsibilities on night shift
- Provided bedside nursing care to step down unit patients, ratio 4:1, primary nursing care.
Charge Nurse
Community Skilled Care Centre
10.2010 - 08.2011
- Charge nurse of skilled wing for long term care facility.
Education
Master of Science - Nursing Administration And Management
Aspen University
Denver, CO08.2017
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH06.2010
Skills
- Quality Improvement
- Critical Care
- Effective Communication
- Nursing staff leadership
- High level of autonomy
- Healthcare Policy
- Patient Safety
- Multitasking Abilities
Certification
- BLS certification
- PALS certification
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification
- Stroke Certified
- Nurse Executive Advanced- Board Certified (NEA-BC) from ANA
- Dual licensed for Registered Nurse (RN) California and Ohio Boards of Nursing
Affiliations
- ANA Member
- AONL Member
- ACNL Member
Awards
- 2020 Values in Action Recipient for exhibiting our core value of Stewardship
- Acts of Humankindness Award nominee for the years 2016-2020
- 2018 Dignity Health Emerging Leader
Timeline
Chief Nurse Executive (CNE), VP Patient Care Services
Mark Twain Medical Center
08.2021 - Current
Director of Patient Care Services
Mark Twain Medical Center
07.2019 - 12.2021
Nurse Manager of Medical Surgical and Intensive Care Units
Mark Twain Medical Center
06.2017 - 07.2019
House Nursing Supervisor
Mark Twain Medical Center
12.2015 - 06.2017
Clinical Resource Manager of Intermediate Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
04.2015 - 12.2015
RN in Intensive Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
08.2012 - 04.2015
RN in Intermediate Care Unit
Trumbull Memorial Hospital
07.2011 - 07.2012
Charge Nurse
Community Skilled Care Centre
10.2010 - 08.2011
Master of Science - Nursing Administration And Management
Aspen University
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Youngstown State University
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