Katie is a highly skilled nurse executive who brings over 30 years’ experience directing patient care services and overseeing clinical operations to Force 10’s healthcare specialty team.
As the Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer for over 20 years, Katie oversaw clinical operations for St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, a 467 bed facility. Over this time she gained a deep understanding of the complex requirements and competing priorities involved in delivering fiscally responsible, high quality acute care. She also redesigned Patient Care Services for St. Joseph’s following its separation from Children’s Hospital, contributing to $30 million in hospital-wide cost savings.
Prior to joining the St Joseph Health System Katie spent 16 years with the City of Hope, the renowned cancer research and tertiary referral center, serving as Chief Nursing Officer for her last four years. During her tenure she eliminated a siloed structure, integrating all clinical departments, including nursing, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, radiation oncology, nursing research, and rehab, under one umbrella. Katie’s leadership produced significant cost-savings with these cross-functional teams. She also directed professional recruitment, labor relations, and union negotiations, and successfully staffed the hospital during a 12-day strike with no loss of patient census and no untoward events.
Previously, Katie was a magnet appraiser for the American Nurses Credentialing Corp. She traveled to top-performing hospitals globally to evaluate their nursing practices. This later informed her efforts in leading St Joseph Hospital to four Magnet designations, the top award for nursing excellence.
Katie has received numerous leadership awards. She was recognized as Azusa Pacific University’s Outstanding Graduate Student in 1992 and was later inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. Georgetown University’s School of Nursing honored her with its “Excellence in Nursing Leadership”, and she received the “Values in Action” Excellence Award from St. Joseph Hospital in 2005. Katie was also honored by the Association of California Nurse Leaders with its “Excellence in Leadership Award” in 2006. In 2020 the medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital designated her as the inaugural recipient of its Friend of Physician Award.
Katie received a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Georgetown University and a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration from Azusa Pacific University. She is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business Fellows Program for Nurse Executives and earned an MBA at Claremont Graduate University.