Executive Director, The Institute for Patient Care
Massachusetts General Hospital
Silver Spring, MD
Dr. Gaurdia Banister is the first executive director of the Institute for Patient Care at Massachusetts General Hospital. Established in 2007, The Institute provides a next-generation infrastructure that is designed to serve as a catalyst for promoting interdisciplinary research, education and innovation. The ultimate goal of the Institute is to advance the delivery of patient- and family-centered care by supporting an exemplary practice environment for nurses and members of the health professions.
Dr. Banister also serves as the co-project director of the Clinical Leadership Collaborative to Diversify Nursing with the University of Massachusetts College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The initiative supports the education of diverse nursing students pursuing a BSN or advanced degree. The purpose of this program is to develop diverse nursing leaders to influence health care delivery, policy and administration.
Prior to accepting this position, Dr. Banister served as senior vice president for Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse at Providence Hospital, a major metropolitan community hospital in Washington, DC. Prior to assuming that role, she was the Director of Behavioral Health Services at Providence where she received over 13 million dollars in funding to support addiction treatment programs.
Most recently, Dr. Banister has appointments as a visiting scholar at William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College, a clinical assistant professor at the MGH Institute for Health Professions and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Massachusetts of Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Dr. Banister is a former Johnson and Johnson Wharton Nurse Fellow. In 2008, she was selected as the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing distinguished alumna at the University of Wyoming, where she received her bachelors in Nursing. In 2009, she was selected as the distinguished alumna at the University of Texas at Austin where she earned both her master