Karen Davis, PhD, was placed as associate vice president and chief nursing executive for the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, and as assistant dean for the University of Rochester School of Nursing. University of Rochester Medical Center is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, forming the centerpiece of the university’s biomedical research, teaching, patient care, and community outreach missions. The URMC system is anchored by the 844-bed Strong Memorial Hospital, which is the largest and most specialized hospital in the Finger Lakes region, providing numerous distinguished tertiary and quaternary services. Established in 1972, the School of Nursing is also under the umbrella of URMC, and offers myriad high-quality degree programs from baccalaureate through doctoral, a robust research portfolio, and extensive clinical and educational partnerships. An early pioneer of the nurse practitioner model, the school also serves as home to the Center for Research Implementation and Translation, a national model for schools of nursing.
In her role, Dr. Davis will have oversight of the entire nursing practice of Strong Memorial; Highland Hospital, a 261-bed community hospital; the 84-bed Wilmot Cancer Center; and the 124-bed Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, the leading pediatric referral center in western New York. She will be responsible for the strategic, clinical, financial, and operational nursing goals of these entities, and for ensuring the integration of various disciplines to provide comprehensive patient care. As the leader of nursing practice, Dr. Davis will be actively involved in collaborative decision-making and care delivery, creating an environment that fosters patient advocacy, clinical competence, and accountability for patient outcomes, and driving a culture of engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Prior to joining URMC, Dr. Davis served as the vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for the 267-bed Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Maryland, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine. In this capacity, Dr. Davis was responsible for case management, utilization review, social work, chaplaincy, the Emergency Department, all inpatient units, and an array of outpatient clinical services. During her tenure, Dr. Davis worked to align the hospital with its academic medical center partner and installed the infrastructure required for a successful Magnet journey. She also effected a significant improvement in overall patient experience, one component of which was leading a Lean team in re-staffing the ER with a model to improve left-without-being-seen rates.
Dr. Davis has spent almost three decades with the Johns Hopkins system, where she began as a clinical nurse in the neuro critical care and pediatric intensive care units of Johns Hopkins Hospital. She subsequently served as a nurse manager in cardiology, and as assistant director and director for the Department of Medical and Radiology Nursing within the academic medical center. Dr. Davis earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Towson University, and both her MSN and PhD in nursing from Johns Hopkins University. Outside of work, Dr. Davis enjoys golfing, sewing, and hiking, with a goal to visit all national parks.
QLK’s Sharman McGurn led the search to recruit Dr. Davis to URMC, where her duties will begin on June 1, 2018.
