Breen Steps Down, Hands Baton to LancasterBWH Nurse - For and about the Nursing Staff of Brigham and Women's HospitalBreen Steps Down, Hands Baton to LancasterBWH Nurse - For and about the Nursing Staff of Brigham and Women's Hospital

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Breen Steps Down, Hands Baton to Lancaster

After a 35-year nursing career that touched five decades and five health care facilities, Catherine “Cathy” Breen, RN, MSN, CNAA, retired this month. Breen was BWH's first program manager for nursing quality, a post created in 1999.

“With her inherent professionalism and dedication to quality nursing and patient safety, Cathy transformed a job description into a vital role,” said Judy Hayes, director of Professional Practice, Quality and Staff Development.

Breen had a hand in reviewing every nursing incident report, reviewed and promoted best practices and served as Nursing's representative with Risk Management, Center for Clinical Excellence and Pharmacy. Also, she routinely represented BWH Nursing externally with JCAHO and the Department of Public Health.

Breen, who earned her bachelor's degree in Nursing from UMass-Amherst and master's degree from Boston University School of Nursing, began her career at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain in 1961. She served as a head nurse and nursing coordinator at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1964 to 1975, and during that time she played a role in developing and implementing nursing procedures for the Bone Marrow Transplantation program.

Her career in 1975 took her to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she served as a clinical nurse leader and director and chairman of MGH's Medical Nursing Service from 1978 to 1986. She also served as the top nursing administrator and then vice president of nursing at Youville Lifecare Inc. before returning to BWH in 1999.

Diane Lancaster, RN, PhD, from BWH's Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice, has been appointed to succeed Breen as program manager for nursing quality.

“Diane has a strong background in quality management. We are confident she will prove to be an asset not only in crafting and cultivating the highest quality patient care but also in moving toward a new era of evidence-based care,” Hayes said.