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DENVILLE, N.J. — Suellyn Ellerbe, RN, MN, NEA-BC, joined Saint Clare’s Health System as CNO and executive vice president of clinical operations June 15. “Saint Clare’s staff is so positive about wanting to grow and do innovative things that will improve patient care and our nursing practice,” Ellerbe said. She wants to build collaborative interdisciplinary relationships, nurture a stronger sense of accountability among all disciplines, and develop a practice model based on Benner’s Stages of Clinical Competence.

“Nurses do a great job at Saint Clare’s; we can raise the bar and create a whole new level of excellence,” she added. Ellerbe looks forward to the support of the Catholic Health Initiatives, achieving Magnet status, and focusing on patient safety initiatives.

Joint clinical and faculty appointments have been a way of life for Ellerbe. “When you hold a dual position, you challenge yourself and constantly examine how you practice,” she said. Over the years, she has held dual faculty/clinical appointments while at Washington Hospital Trauma Center, UCSF, Children’s National Medical Center in D.C., Tri-City Medical Center, Calif., and Children’s Hospital, Calif.

Ellerbe is proud of the collaborative work of nurses, faculty, and administration during her time at Mercy Hospital and University of Iowa. One of her accomplishments there was helping to create the nursing management minimum data set and piloting nursing intervention classifications and nursing outcomes classifications at Mercy Hospital.

Never afraid to try new things, Ellerbe launched her own consultant business in the mid-1990s and worked at Clarian Health in Indianapolis, where she helped nurses understand budget and finance issues so they were not being told, but rather were having conversations with management about hospital resources.

“I know that we can develop a strong interdisciplinary team at Saint Clare’s, always keeping our eyes on patient outcomes and working toward zero defects,” Ellerbe said.

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Janice Petrella Lynch, RN, MSN, is a regional reporter. To comment, e-mail editorNJ@nursingspectrum.com.