Petrena Saunders, MSHI, BSN, Named Chief Nursing Informatics Officer

Petrena Saunders, MSHI, BSN, RN, LSSGB, CENP, has been appointed chief nursing informatics officer at ChristianaCare, effective Oct. 6.

In this role, Saunders is responsible for leading the strategy and implementation of technologies and tools that support nursing caregivers across the health system. She will play a key role in the successful launch of the Epic electronic health record and will help advance ChristianaCare’s commitment to safe, efficient and patient-centered care through the use of innovative technologies.

Saunders brings extensive experience in aligning digital transformation with clinical quality and safety. She most recently served as executive nurse informatics advisor at Vizzia Technologies, where she provided industry insights on AI-powered workflow automation, data analytics and performance improvement. Prior to that, she was system vice president and chief health informatics officer at Trinity Health, where she directed enterprise informatics strategy and led a system-wide Epic implementation to improve clinical workflows and compliance.

Saunders holds a Master of Science in Health Informatics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Austin Peay State University. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Augusta University.

She reports to Danielle Weber, DNP, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC.