Parkland names new Chief Nursing Officer

DALLAS – Mary K. Eagen has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Parkland Health & Hospital System. She will join Parkland on Jan. 30, 2012.

Eagen comes to Parkland from CHRISTUS Health Southeast Texas in Beaumont, where she served as the Regional Chief Nurse Executive since 2004. During her tenure, she was responsible for nursing, pharmacy and education roles for the surgery service line at CHRISTUS Hospitals St. Elizabeth, St. Mary and Jasper. Under her guidance, Magnet Designation status was achieved in 2007, and Eagen successfully re-engineered the nursing division to enhance quality and improve patient outcomes which contributed to the financial turnaround of the hospitals.

Prior to that, she was the Associate Administrator/Chief Nursing Officer at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Memorial in Corpus Christi where she was responsible for the clinical service of the 397 tertiary bed teaching hospital associated with the University of Texas San Antonio residency program.

“One of our primary goals is to strengthen nursing operations throughout the Parkland system,” said Thomas Royer, MD, Parkland’s Interim CEO. “Mary brings with her an energized and focused approach to designing and establishing a centralized, systems-oriented nursing model.”

While Eagen will be fully engaged in Parkland’s nursing operations beginning Jan. 3, she will not be on campus full time until Jan. 30.

“I’m very excited to join the Parkland family,” said Eagen. “As we redesign the nursing and clinical operational enterprise – as well as our patient safety and quality initiatives – I believe the result will be the creation of the ideal patient experience.”

Eagen holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman’s University in Denton and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University, Los Angeles. She currently serves on the Board of the American Heart Association and is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, American College of Healthcare Executives and Texas Nurses Network.