UW School of Nursing appoints Honorary Assistant Deans of Clinical Practice

Eight Chief Nursing Officers and administrators have been appointed as Honorary Assistant Deans of Clinical Practice in recognition of their particularly significant role in the School of Nursing and our community.

“Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) and other administrators play an integral part in nursing by providing vital input and support for our educational, public service and policy making efforts,” said Dr. Azita Emami, executive dean of the UW School of Nursing. “We benefit from their knowledge and community connections of those who work outside academia. We are thrilled to have them as an Honorary Assistant Deans and are grateful of what they contributed to not only the, but also to our institutions, the community, and profession.”

The new honorary assistant deans include:

Theresa Braungardt, MN, RN, NE-BC, SVP

Chief Nursing Officer
UW Medicine, Valley Medical Center

Braungardt, ’94, ‘08, has twenty-nine years of experience in clinical care and hospital operations management from staff nurse to senior vice president, and an educational background in nursing leadership and healthcare management.

She has a passion for creating opportunities to inspire and motivate all members of the healthcare team to achieve clinical excellence, and has managed many outstanding teams to improve clinical care systems. As a result, she has improved quality and safety for patients.

Braungardt currently serves as a Board member of Seattle Pacific University, Renton Technical College, and on the Clinical and Community Advisory Board at the University of Washington School of Nursing.

Paula Minton Foltz, MSN, RN

Assistant Administrator
UW Medicine, Harborview Medical Center

Foltz started her 17-year career at Harborview as the Manager of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation and for the past 10 years has been the Assistant Administrator for Education, Quality, Patient Safety and Professional Practice.  Before coming to the west coast, she initially worked as staff nurse at the National Cancer Institute, then as a nurse and manager at Columbus Hospital, and for more than a decade as a CNS and AVP with Rush System for Health before moving to the West Coast.

She has been appointed to the National Quality Forum Board (2011, 2014), which analyzes and sets standards for metrics from an evidence and practicality-based viewpoint. Paula is also on the Washington State Hospital’s Ten Best Practices Council.

Patty Hayes, RN, MN

Director
Public Health – Seattle & King County

Hayes has more than 25 years of experience in public health, policy development and advocacy.

She was the Executive Director of WithinReach, a statewide non-profit that connects families to food and health resources. She also previously worked for the Washington State Department of Health in various positions. Hayes received the Cynthia F. Shurtleff Award, a statewide honor that recognizes extraordinary leadership and dedication to the health and well-being of women, children and families in Washington. She also received the Heroine of Health Care award from the Center of Women and Democracy and was inducted into the Washington Nursing Hall of Fame in 2002.

 

Darcy Jaffe, MN, A.R.N.P., NE-BC

Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Associate Administrator
UW Medicine, Harborview Medical Center

As the Chief Nursing Officer, Jaffe, ’83, ‘89, oversees nursing practice throughout HMC and her operational responsibilities include Critical Care, Acute Care, Rehabilitation Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Science, Cardiology, Neurosciences, The Burn Center, Pediatrics, Respiratory Care, Sleep Medicine and the outpatient procedural areas.

Jaffe has worked at Harborview for more than twenty years in multiple leadership positions. She serves as the UW Medicine Co-Chair for service excellence initiatives dedicated to improving the experience of all patients, and those who care about them. In partnership with the UW School of Medicine Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, she co-chairs the UW Medicine Behavioral Health Strategic Planning Committee. She also is a School of Nursing adjunct clinical faculty member.

Susan Marie Manfredi DNP, MBA, RN, FACHE

Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer
UW Medicine, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center

Manfredi’s nursing career spans more than 30 years of nursing leadership in both academic and community based hospitals and spans experiences from California to Boston.

She has worked for UW Medicine for more than 22 years. As Chief Nursing Officer, she is responsible for planning, organizing, directing all administrative and clinical functions for patient care.

Having designing numerous quality enhancing programs including Comprehensive Stroke, Sleep Disorders, Gamma Knife, Epilepsy Monitoring, and Fragility Fracture Programs, she has a great interest in care transitions for patients with complex clinical and social needs. In addition, she has designed and implemented process improvements to enhance care coordination to improve outcomes and improve efficiency of care.

Susan “Sam” Miller, ARNP, MN, RN

Chief Executive Officer
Careforce Inc.

Miller, ‘82, is an innovator in the provision of quality home care services in this region, and serves as CEO and co-founder of Careforce, Inc, an award-winning home health care organization. She embraces the latest scientific evidence, successfully translates this science into practice throughout her organization, and demonstrates a commitment to excellent, ethical care.

Her expertise as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and former university educator, commitment to quality nursing care, and business acumen make her an exemplary alumni of the School of Nursing. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UW School of Nursing in 2017 and also serves on the board of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging.

 

Cindy Sayre, PhD, RN

Chief Nursing Officer
UW Medical Center

With 32 years of nursing experience, Sayre, ’95, ‘99, has spent 16 years at UW Medical Center, which included staff nursing positions in hematology/oncology, pediatric blood and marrow transplant, and administrative roles.

As a strong proponent of nursing education, she helped lead the increase of nurses prepared at the BSN and higher level at UWMC to more than 80 percent through her robust relationships with the UW School of Nursing and other local nursing programs.

Sayre is especially proud of the work she has done with UW Continuing Nurses Education to create and build the Medical Surgical Specialty Program course offerings and the impact to improved patient care and nurse education that has resulted.

Barbara Trehearne, PhD, RN

Vice President, Clinical Excellence, Quality, and Nursing Practice
Kaiser Permanente Washington

Trehearne has worked for Group Health now, Kaiser Permanente for more than 30 years. She is responsible for supporting clinical excellence and quality throughout the care delivery system, providing leadership for the development and support of nursing professionals at Kaiser Permanente Washington, and for Infection Control and Employee Health. She also oversees Continuum of Care including Care Management, Home Health/Hospice, and Consulting Nurse services.

Trehearne has served as chair of the Washington Center for Nursing, is a fellow in the Western Academy of Nursing and the Center for Nursing Leadership. She has received the Distinguished Career award from the Northwest Organization of Nursing Executives, and the Mountain West Region NurseWeek Nursing Excellence Award for Advancing and Leading the Profession.