Kelly Watson, DNP, MHA, RN, FACHE, vice president and chief nursing officer (CNO) and Elizabeth Kyhill, MSN, RN, vice president, medical group operations, at Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) were recently chosen to participate in the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship (JJNIF) program offered by Penn Nursing and the Wharton School.
The JJNIF program, which kicked off on April 22, is designed to bring together nurse leaders from a variety of backgrounds representing a diverse cross section of hospitals in terms of size, location, and types of services offered.
This ground-breaking, one-year, team-based nursing fellowship is for chief nursing officers, nurse executives, and senior nurse leaders. Only ten teams from diverse health systems nationwide were chosen to participate in this prestigious program, which seeks to advance healthcare through nurse-led innovation. Watson and Kyhill are the only participants selected from New England for the 2024 program.
“We are grateful to have been chosen to participate in this year’s Nurse Innovation Fellowship,” said Watson. “We are very much looking forward to meeting and working with peers from around the country, learning from each other, and returning with creative solutions to implement at RRMC.”
Over the course of the year-long program, participants will immerse themselves in human-centered design and design thinking which they can then apply to their unique healthcare environments. The goal of the program is to develop innovative solutions that will drive transformative change in the healthcare environment where both patients and nurses can thrive.
“One of the things that Kelly and I really liked about the JJNIF program is the opportunity to develop concrete ideas and plans that we can begin to implement at RRMC,” said Kyhill. “Nurses are great teachers and learners by nature, and to be focused on innovative solutions, with the help of nurse leaders from around the country, is a phenomenal opportunity for our small rural hospital.”
Rutland Regional Medical Center is the largest community hospital in Vermont and is supported by a medical staff of 256 physicians, nurse practitioners and advanced practice providers trained in 37 specialty areas. The 144-bed hospital is supported by approximately 1,700 employees.
For more information, visit: rrmc.org.
Above: Elizabeth Kyhill, MSN, RN, vice president, medical group operations, at Rutland Regional Medical Center
Below: Kelly Watson, DNP, MHA, RN, FACHE, vice president and chief nursing officer
