Susan Lacey is the Director of the Bi-State Nursing Workforce Innovation Center and the Director of Nursing Workforce and Systems Analysis at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri, an ANCC Magnet hospital. Susan was selected as a 2006 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow in which her leadership project includes her work here at the Center. Susan’s most significant contribution to nursing was as lead investigator to develop the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) pediatric indicators, now used by over 450 pediatric nursing units in the USA. NDNQI analyzes pain interventions and intravenous site infiltrations linked to nurse staffing; the first work of its kind in pediatric nursing care. She has co-authored book chapters on pediatric medication safety, evidence-based practice, leadership, and workforce collaborations. Susan serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, reviews for four major journals and holds a patent for healthcare decision-support software. Her passion and publications have focused on phenomena related to the nursing workforce that includes understanding the staff nurses’ work environment, and inter-generational conflict. She and her colleagues are helping create a new narrative for consumers about the link between nursing care and quality; specifically that, “Nurses impact the national quality agenda, one nurse at a time”. She will be inducted into the American Academy of Nurses in November 2008.
Staff
Dr. Karen Cox brings over 25 years of nursing experience in clinical and executive practice. She currently serves as Executive Vice President/Co-Chief Operating Officer for Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, a 314 bed academic pediatric medical center in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Cox led the organization to receive Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, becoming the first hospital in Missouri and the region, and only the third children’s hospital designated. Dr. Cox also serves as Assistant Dean for Clinical Partnerships at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).
Dr. Cox started her nursing career as a licensed practical nurse. Subsequent degrees include an Associates degree in Nursing from Excelsior College, a BSN from the University of Kansas, and a MSN from UMKC. In 2002 she completed a PhD in Nursing with a minor in business from UMKC. Her dissertation studied the work environment needs of inpatient Registered Nurses.
Dr. Cox has contributed articles to publications including Modern Healthcare, American Journal of Nursing, Nursing Economics, Seminars for Nurse Managers, Journal of Nursing Administration and Nursing Leadership Forum. She has presented her work nationally at conferences including American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), American Nurses Association (ANA), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and Sigma Theta Tau (STT), National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare (NICHQ).
Dr. Cox was named a Fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Executive Nurse Fellowship Program 1999-2002. Her leadership project was to conduct a community-wide nursing assessment. Dr. Cox coordinated the nursing focus group section of the report “Health Care’s Human Crisis: The American Nursing Shortage” conducted by the RWJ Foundation in April 2002. She developed an instrument, the Individual Workload Perception scale, which measures nurses’ perception of their workload. She was awarded the Midwest Nursing Research Society’s Pediatric Research Section Clinical Practice Award, the School of Nursing Alumni Achievement Award, University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Ingram’s Magazine “Heroes of Healthcare” in Administration Award, the Carrie B. Lenburg Award, Excelsior College, Albany, New York and the Distinguished Nursing Alumna Award, University of Kansas Medical Center Alumni Association. Dr. Cox holds memberships in ANA, AONE, Society of Pediatric Nurses, and STT International. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing serving as co-chair of the Child Adolescent and Family Expert Panel and co-chair of the Nominating Committee.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Levitt appointed Dr. Cox to a four-year term on the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP). She also is board chair of the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Cox serves as board member on the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc.
Adrienne recently completed her MS at Kansas State University in the School of Human Ecology and has an undergraduate degree in Psychology, also from Kansas State. She brings a wealth of expertise in program development, planning and administration. Adrienne was employed through KSU as a program assistant at the Disability Support Services department for two years where she helped assess students’ needs related to necessary accommodations and academic options for their success, and also worked as a liaison between faculty and students to ensure success.