Who: Debi Pasley
New role: Senior VP and chief nursing officer of 23-hospital Christus Health, Irving, Texas.
Background: Pasley has served since August 2016 as interim CNO of the not-for-profit system. She replaces Lillee Gelinas, who left in July after three years in the role. Gelinas is now editor-in-chief of American Nurse Today, a journal published by the American Nurses Association. Previously, Pasley was CNO of OU Medicine in Oklahoma City.
International efforts: Christus operates facilities in Mexico, Chile and Colombia, in addition to 21 hospitals in Texas and operations in five other states. “Understanding how to offer effective support (overseas) requires rethinking many concepts U.S. healthcare leaders have considered constants,” she said. “While it is challenging, it is also an enlightening mental exercise in how to approach universal issues from a new angle.”
Focus on safety: The system is in the midst of rolling out its Safety Experience Triad program, which aims to reduce patient harm by implementing new practices. The program involves hourly rounding on patients, nurse leader rounding and bedside shift support. “We have confidence in the potential for improvement because representatives of our domestic regions, which included our valued direct-care nurses, came together to design the methodology.”
