Patti began her 38-year career with Ascension in 1984 working as a GN at Seton Medical Center Main. After one year, she began precepting new nurses and eventually took on the role of evening charge nurse. In 1988, wanting to expand her skills, Patti took a role in the PACU. During this time, she also served as a nurse recruiter and obtained her Master’s degree. In 1994, Patti was hired as nursing director to open a new rehab unit and was awarded the 1996 Ascension Nurse of the Year for Nursing Director. She expanded her director role at Seton Northwest Hospital and was responsible for Med Surg, ICU, ED, and Maternity services. Desiring more work-life balance, Patti changed directions in 1998 and took a position as Project Coordinator or medical staff services. With this role, she worked on quality initiatives and medical staff peer review. One of her most notable projects was a precursor to what is now known as SCIP or surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis for patients undergoing an appendectomy. In 2010, Patti came back to the hospital setting as Pre-OP Holding and Day Surgery at Seton Main and then moved to help open a new hospital, Ascension Seton Williamson, as nurse manager for Pre-surgery, PAT, PACU, and Endoscopy. Patti remained at Seton Williamson until her retirement in February 2022.

Here are just a few successes that Patti was able to achieve throughout her tenure here at Williamson: - Successful implementation of SCIP - Successful implementation of ERAS - Spine Certification - Bariatric Center of Excellence - Improvement in Patient Satisfaction Scores and achievement of PRC 5 Star Award for the past 3 years Beside her roles in the hospital, Patti has done some extraordinary things as a nurse. She served as Nursing Congress Chair, helped create the structure of the Shared Governance team, led the committee for Nurses week, served on Network committees for Nurse of the Year and Seton Nurse Fund Scholarships, and was chosen for a two-week nursing pilgrimage through France.

If you ask Patti what she is most proud of she would say the people she works with every day. If you ask those around her, they would say the same about her. Patti has always worked hard to give her best to each and every person she meets, employee or patient. She strives for excellence in her staff, acting as a mentor and guide. She has helped increase certification rates in her units and advocates for increased participation in our Nursing Career Portfolio and nursing innovation She has dedicated her career to advocating for patient quality and safety and innovation. She has been a mentor and a guide to so many and her passion for compassion is evident in all that she does. She is so deserving of this great award and we are so proud to have had the chance to work beside her.