Vitello Named Executive Director of Perioperative Nursing and Clinical Services
Joan M. Vitello, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAHA, FAAN, was named executive director of Perioperative Nursing and Clinical Services in January.
“I feel like I’ve come home,” said Vitello. “I love the Brigham and its commitment to patient satisfaction, quality and safety.”
Vitello brings to BWH decades of experience in nursing and administrative leadership, serving most recently as the chief operating officer of Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Her nursing accomplishments have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Living Legend Award from the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses in 2009. She first came to BWH last year filling various roles, including interim director for Perioperative Nursing.
“Throughout her career, Joan has advanced the practice of nursing in both academic medicine and in community hospitals through her work as a staff nurse and nursing leader,” said Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services. “She is a renowned leader, educator and researcher, and we are thrilled to welcome her to BWH.”
In her role at BWH, Vitello oversees nursing practice in the hospital’s 44 operating rooms, 66-bed PACU/Pre-op holding area and 22-bed Day Surgery suite. She also oversees nursing practice and standards at the Weiner Pre-admission Testing Center, the pain management service at 850 Boylston St., and the Day Surgery service in Foxborough. She manages more than 500 FTEs throughout the Perioperative service.
Vitello speaks with great enthusiasm about the accomplishments of perioperative nursing staff and projects on the horizon. “We’re really at the cutting edge, and there is such commitment on the part of staff to improving patient and family care,” she said.
Recent accomplishments include the barcoding of surgical sponges to improve patient safety, as well as a nursing research study on staff perceptions of the safety of barcoding the sponges. Vitello, whose own research background focuses on emotional intelligence of nursing leaders, is one of the co-investigators of the study.
Prior to joining BWH, Vitello has served in many leadership positions, including system vice president and chief nursing executive for Hallmark Health System in Melrose, vice president of Patient Care Service and chief nursing executive at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, and patient care director of Emergency and Community Services at Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. She is well known in the field of cardiovascular nursing; Vitello was the former co-editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, has published more than 40 articles in that field and is a fellow of the American Heart Association.
She earned her associate’s degree in nursing from Massasoit Community College, her BSN from UMass Dartmouth, MSN from University of Alabama in Birmingham, MA in organizational development from the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., and PhD in human and organizational systems from the Fielding Graduate Institute.
Vitello Honored for Making a Difference
Joan Vitello, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAHA, FAAN, was honored in March by Zonta International as one of three recipients of an award given annually to women who make a difference.
The Malden club for Zonta, a global organization of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy, annually recognizes women who give the time and effort to contribute to the community.
Vitello is honored for her missionary work in Honduras, where she provided health care to mostly women and children, as well as her volunteerism in the Medford, Malden and Stoneham communities.