Vice President, Patient Care Services & CNO
Childrens Hospital and Medical Center
Omaha, NE
Debra is the Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer of Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. She also is an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Health Systems Management for the DNP program. Debra has devoted her professional career in the care of children with roles from a staff nurse in critical care to executive leadership. As the Director of Nursing Education at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, she developed a Pediatric Nurse Residency Program, greatly impacting retention of the new graduate RN. In 2000, she was recognized as an Innovative Leader in Nursing at the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Debra is involved in a number of professional organizations: American Nurses Association, Society of Pediatric Nurses, American Organization of Nurse Executives, American College of Healthcare Executives and The March of Dimes State of Nebraska Chapter. She has served nationally as the President-elect and President of the Society of Pediatric Nurses as well as the Immediate Past President and the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee for the same organization. She was the founding President of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Pediatric Nurses in Nashville, TN. Currently she serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the State of Nebraska Chapter of the March of Dimes and will be co-chairing the March of Dimes, 2014 Nurse of the Year Awards. Debra earned her master’s and doctorate degrees from Vanderbilt University with a specialty focus in Health Systems Management.