The Miriam Hospital Names New Chief Nursing Officer
(posted July 27, 2010)
The Miriam Hospital has appointed Maria Ducharme, MS, RN, NE-BC, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer effective immediately. Ducharme has served as interim chief nursing officer for the past three months.
In her new role, Ducharme is responsible for all nursing services, including developing and maintaining professional nursing practice and standards of care. She also will oversee all patient care services at The Miriam Hospital, including the emergency department, inpatient and outpatient surgical services, social work and several other clinical areas.
Ducharme has held various leadership roles throughout her 23 year career at The Miriam, most recently as administrative director of patient care services. She has been instrumental in leading efforts to increase patient satisfaction, and develop and improve system-wide quality indicators. Ducharme has also played a crucial role in the hospital achieving Magnet status three times – the most esteemed award an organization can receive for nursing care – and has spearheaded The Miriam’s fourth Magnet application.
“Maria has amassed a tremendous breadth of experience in virtually every area of strategic, clinical and operational leadership during her tenure at The Miriam Hospital,” says Arthur J. Sampson, executive director, The Miriam Hospital. “She has continuously demonstrated that she has the leadership skills, determination and commitment to exceptional patient care that we want and expect at The Miriam.”
A resident of Barrington, Ducharme is a graduate of Rhode Island College and received her master’s in nursing from the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and she sits on the board of the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives (MONE).