Catherine Shull Fernald joins Christiana Care as chief nursing officer, Acute Care

Catherine Shull Fernald, DNP, RN, RNC-OB, NEA-BC, joined Christiana Care in December as chief nursing officer, Acute Care.

Fernald has more than 27 years of experience in managing clinical operations, nursing, ancillary and support services across the continuum of care.

She most recently served as chief operating officer at Carepoint Health at Bayonne Medical Center, Bayonne, N.J., where she was responsible for operations of a 275-bed hospital, including patient care, nursing, ancillary clinical services and quality and safety.

Before that she was assistant vice president of patient care services for Carepoint Health at Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J., where she oversaw the operational, financial and strategic responsibility to drive evidence-based nursing practice for value-added patient outcomes. She previously was vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer of Canton Potsdam Hospital, Potsdam, N.Y., and served at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility over a period of 10 years.

As chief nursing officer Acute Care, she works closely with Chief Medical Officer, Acute Care, Kert Anzilotti, M.D., MBA, to ensure a unified clinical strategy for the optimization of care delivery at the acute care level. She oversees nursing care in Christiana Care owned and affiliated hospital and facility-based acute care related services, focusing on strategic visioning, network development, clinical technology implementation and leveraging nursing informatics.

In partnership with operational leadership, she drives optimal health, exceptional experience and organizational vitality within the acute care environments of Christiana Care Health System.

Fernald received a doctor of nursing practice degree from American Sentinel University, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from DeSales University.