Joan Pirrung Named Chief Nursing Officer for Union Hospital

Joan Pirrung, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, has been appointed chief nursing officer for ChristianaCare’s Union Hospital, starting June 27.

Since April 2019, Pirrung has served as the vice president of Patient Care Services for Nursing at Union Hospital. She has partnered with campus leadership to drive changes and advance our system goals of optimal health, exceptional experience and organization vitality. Pirrung is involved in integration efforts for both inpatient and outpatient services and is a member of the Maryland Strategic Planning Committee. The chief nursing officer position replaces the vice president position.

Pirrung joined ChristianaCare in 1993 and has nearly two decades of progressive leadership experience here, spanning emergency, acute inpatient surgical and trauma services. In her many career accomplishments, she has been instrumental in systemwide engagement and influence for positive patient flow outcomes, nursing-sensitive outcomes and regulatory readiness. Through her Trauma Service leadership, she provided oversight and coordination for Christiana Hospital’s Level-1 Adult Trauma Center designation and Wilmington Hospital’s Level-3 Adult Trauma Center.

As a past president of the Society of Trauma Nurses and an American College of Surgeons site reviewer, Pirrung has brought her expertise in establishing and maintaining interprofessional collaboration with key stakeholders in the tri-state area to advance trauma care. Pirrung has presented and published nationally on a variety of clinical topics.

She received both her MSN as a cardiopulmonary clinical nurse specialist and BSN from the University of Delaware. She was awarded a certificate in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Delaware and will be a graduate of the Health Management Academy GE Fellows Program for Nurse Executives, Class of 2021. She is board certified as a clinical nurse specialist for Adult Health. She has received numerous honors including a Delaware Today Top Nurses 2018 recognition and the University of Delaware Alumni Star Award in 2019.

She reports to Chief Nurse Executive Ric Cuming, EdD, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.