Penrose's chief nursing officer taking hospital job in Texas

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 14, 2005 | by DEBBIE KELLEY THE GAZETTE

A co-worker asked 61-year-old Donna Bertram in July if she had thought about retiring.

"God hasn't sent me an e-mail," the chief nursing officer for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services replied.

Two weeks later, Bertram got an e-mail about a job opening at Arlington Memorial Hospital in Texas, close to where her five grandchildren live.

"It was like God was saying, 'Send your resume,'" she said.

Bertram did, and Thursday is her last day of a 17-year tenure with Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

"I will miss the people and the spirituality here. Penrose-St. Francis has a special mission in caring for the sick and trying to impact the health of the community in the way Jesus would. It's wonderful to see that played out," Bertram said.

Bertram, a Methodist, has held several leadership positions with the health care system that's owned by Catholic Health Initiatives and runs three local campuses and several outpatient services.

She was running a hospital cardiovascular laboratory in Texas when Penrose-St. Francis recruited her in 1988 as chief nursing officer to help merge three local Catholic hospitals into one health care system.

"Pulling together one team was challenging, but it evolved positively," said Bertram, who also served as administrator at Penrose Community Hospital during the merger.

She became senior vice president and chief operating officer for the entire system in 1992, a position she held until April.

Bertram earned another prestigious title. As chief administrator from 1995 to 1998, she was the first laywoman and the first non- Catholic to lead the health care system that began in Colorado Springs in 1887. In that job, she managed more than 3,000 employees.

"She's a dynamic person with the skill sets needed to lead an organization to higher levels," said Rick O'Connell, president and chief executive officer of Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

Bertram has numerous achievements to her credit. True to her patientfirst mentality, a great source of pride is an idea Bertram resurrected from the '70s and initiated in March. A shared decision- making model for the system's 1,200 nurses means issues can be resolved at the unit level, without having to take problems to the administration.

"Patients benefit because decisions are able to be made by someone closer to the patient, rather than by somebody who isn't at the bedside. So the decision is faster and more appropriate," Bertram said.

She also started a program to help nurses rekindle their love for their career by talking about their feelings and experiences. And Bertram mentions the January opening of the E Tower, a $52 million building housing critical-care, cardiovascular care and medical offices at Penrose Hospital as a major accomplishment.

"I was responsible for coordinating everything, and it went without a hitch," she said.

In addition to her administrative roles, throughout her 40-year career in the health care industry, Bertram has worked as a clinical nurse, operatingroom nurse, cardiac nurse and surgical nurse. She has taught nursing part time at the Rueckert-Hartman School for Health Professions at Regis University and Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

She speaks passionately about her chosen profession.

"I admire what the bedside nurse does. The patients in hospitals today are very sick and nurses just handle it. They make me proud," she said, adding that she's "replaced" herself four times.

"A daughter and three of my nieces have become nurses," Bertram said. "I guess I've been a good role model."

Good enough to be named Colorado Springs' Business Leader of the Year in 2003.

"She's a great leader and presenter who engages people with her enthusiasm," O'Connell said.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Bertram has been active in the community. She served nine years on the board of the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region and helped forge a partnership between the Y and Penrose-St. Francis that led to a recreational center in Briargate. Bertram will become chief nursing officer at the 400-bed Arlington Memorial Hospital.

O'Connell said a search is under way to find a new chief nursing officer for the 522-bed Penrose-St. Francis system.

"The people here have been my extended family," Bertram said. "They've nurtured me and taken care of me, which is part of our