May 2021
Maureen
Padilla
,
DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Executive Administration
Harris Health System
Maureen is a mentor and an inspiration
Maureen Padilla has been described by those who work with her:
She has helped mentor me over the years to consider different viewpoints, to take risks, and to know that I have her support. She is someone I model my leadership off of because of her professionalism and poise in difficult situations. I always appreciate her feedback and experience, whether I want to hear it or not, because it's honest and poignant.
***
She has been a mentor, guide, counselor, and friend. Her true support and advocacy for nursing has led the way for many notable successes, as well as navigated our difficult challenges. Her genuine support of lifelong learning and development has helped to make me a stronger leader and I am forever grateful.
***
Thank you for all the time and energy you devote to us! You're such an amazing leader, I continue to learn so much from you. Thanks for being a valued mentor and boss! You're simply the best Harris Health hero!
***
Sincerely thank you for your leadership and commitment to the growth and development in us as leaders, as well as the tremendous support, even through our struggles.
***
Thank you. Our team rocks! Thank you for leading us and being the steadfast role model and mentor for us all. I truly appreciate your transparency, honesty, inclusiveness, strong advocacy for Nursing, and support.
***
Thank you for seeing my value and potential. For being supportive, encouraging, a mentor, and an inspiration. Your down-to-earth approach coupled with grace, compassion, honesty, and transparency has made your leadership transformational for not just nursing but all of Harris Health System.
***
Highlights of Maureen Padilla’s career:
Growing up the oldest of my many siblings I was fortunate to be able to witness and experience the positive outcomes stemming from my mother's decision to become a nurse. Dr. Padilla began her nursing career, completing the ADN program with Galveston College. At first, we had no idea what this meant, we were so excited that our mom was a nurse that brought babies into the world. How fun is that?! Our perspectives shifted as we got older, she kept going to school, adding more responsibility to her plate as well as more children. I mean, why? When she became a Midwife in 1998, I recall being so proud of the fact that she had achieved an Advanced Practice Nursing Practice degree, despite not knowing what that truly meant. What I did know, was that she loved nursing and she loved taking care of moms and babies. We would sit around the table listening to her stories, HIPPA compliant of course, completely intrigued.
Then she decided to switch paths away from APRN and become a nurse leader. This was a game-changer. While she was always fantastic at multi-tasking, now she was becoming better at dodging, weaving, and engaging in all the obstacles that family and advancing her education can place in that path. She had made a decision to step into a role where she could turn her passion into action.
When I needed to figure out my path in life, it was all of these examples and so many more that I reflected on, making my decision to become a nurse so much easier. It was not until I graduated and joined the nursing profession that I began to understand the type of leader she was, and still is today.
Dr. Padilla came to Harris Health in 2011, initially as the ADON of Women and Infants service line at Ben Taub Hospital. Her addition to the Women and Infants Team also came with the addition of TeamSTEPPS. Her leadership and determination to create a culture of collaboration shifted the perspectives of the leaders within the department, so much so, that this culture of collaboration continues today ten years later.
As CNO of Ben Taub, Dr. Padilla continued her pursuit of improving collaboration and communication at a bigger level. Her advocacy and innovation mixed with a knack for getting herself invited to a table where she could perform these skills are all critical pieces of a ladder she created for herself here at Harris Health. While she climbed this ladder, she always made time to mentor DNP and MSN students, recognizing the importance of supporting new leaders in the nursing profession.
In 2014, Dr. Padilla became Harris Health's Senior VP for Nursing Services while also continuing her role as CNO of Ben Taub Hospital. It was during this time, she set her sights on achieving Magnet status. You all don't even know how many times my sisters and I had to hear about how wonderful Harris Health is and how much they already do that is Magnet level. At this point, I was ten years into the profession and my sister, who had also been converted, had six years of nursing under her belt. Even with her optimism and love for this system, there was still so much work to be done.
In 2015 she was promoted to Senior VP and Chief Nurse Executive for Harris Health System. As the CNE, Dr. Padilla instilled the Just and Accountable Culture, began tirelessly standardizing nursing throughout the system, and began building a structure for nursing informatics.
Finally, in 2019 Dr. Padilla was promoted to Executive Vice President and CNE, a significant but deserving change to her title as it represented not only her hard work and leadership, but the value that Harris Health holds for nursing. She continued to advocate strongly for nursing. Leading and preparing for challenges an unprecedented pandemic created, always ensuring that nurses were, as she always says, "where patients need them most", maintaining an RN turnover rate that was below the median average for the Texas Gulf Coast region, and last but definitely not least, finally achieving Magnet status that she had envisioned five years earlier at both Ben Taub and LBJ. What began as a love for bringing babies into the world has expanded to a passion for ensuring all patients receive high-quality nursing care. An achievement only a servant transformational leader can meet at such a challenging time.
She has helped mentor me over the years to consider different viewpoints, to take risks, and to know that I have her support. She is someone I model my leadership off of because of her professionalism and poise in difficult situations. I always appreciate her feedback and experience, whether I want to hear it or not, because it's honest and poignant.
***
She has been a mentor, guide, counselor, and friend. Her true support and advocacy for nursing has led the way for many notable successes, as well as navigated our difficult challenges. Her genuine support of lifelong learning and development has helped to make me a stronger leader and I am forever grateful.
***
Thank you for all the time and energy you devote to us! You're such an amazing leader, I continue to learn so much from you. Thanks for being a valued mentor and boss! You're simply the best Harris Health hero!
***
Sincerely thank you for your leadership and commitment to the growth and development in us as leaders, as well as the tremendous support, even through our struggles.
***
Thank you. Our team rocks! Thank you for leading us and being the steadfast role model and mentor for us all. I truly appreciate your transparency, honesty, inclusiveness, strong advocacy for Nursing, and support.
***
Thank you for seeing my value and potential. For being supportive, encouraging, a mentor, and an inspiration. Your down-to-earth approach coupled with grace, compassion, honesty, and transparency has made your leadership transformational for not just nursing but all of Harris Health System.
***
Highlights of Maureen Padilla’s career:
Growing up the oldest of my many siblings I was fortunate to be able to witness and experience the positive outcomes stemming from my mother's decision to become a nurse. Dr. Padilla began her nursing career, completing the ADN program with Galveston College. At first, we had no idea what this meant, we were so excited that our mom was a nurse that brought babies into the world. How fun is that?! Our perspectives shifted as we got older, she kept going to school, adding more responsibility to her plate as well as more children. I mean, why? When she became a Midwife in 1998, I recall being so proud of the fact that she had achieved an Advanced Practice Nursing Practice degree, despite not knowing what that truly meant. What I did know, was that she loved nursing and she loved taking care of moms and babies. We would sit around the table listening to her stories, HIPPA compliant of course, completely intrigued.
Then she decided to switch paths away from APRN and become a nurse leader. This was a game-changer. While she was always fantastic at multi-tasking, now she was becoming better at dodging, weaving, and engaging in all the obstacles that family and advancing her education can place in that path. She had made a decision to step into a role where she could turn her passion into action.
When I needed to figure out my path in life, it was all of these examples and so many more that I reflected on, making my decision to become a nurse so much easier. It was not until I graduated and joined the nursing profession that I began to understand the type of leader she was, and still is today.
Dr. Padilla came to Harris Health in 2011, initially as the ADON of Women and Infants service line at Ben Taub Hospital. Her addition to the Women and Infants Team also came with the addition of TeamSTEPPS. Her leadership and determination to create a culture of collaboration shifted the perspectives of the leaders within the department, so much so, that this culture of collaboration continues today ten years later.
As CNO of Ben Taub, Dr. Padilla continued her pursuit of improving collaboration and communication at a bigger level. Her advocacy and innovation mixed with a knack for getting herself invited to a table where she could perform these skills are all critical pieces of a ladder she created for herself here at Harris Health. While she climbed this ladder, she always made time to mentor DNP and MSN students, recognizing the importance of supporting new leaders in the nursing profession.
In 2014, Dr. Padilla became Harris Health's Senior VP for Nursing Services while also continuing her role as CNO of Ben Taub Hospital. It was during this time, she set her sights on achieving Magnet status. You all don't even know how many times my sisters and I had to hear about how wonderful Harris Health is and how much they already do that is Magnet level. At this point, I was ten years into the profession and my sister, who had also been converted, had six years of nursing under her belt. Even with her optimism and love for this system, there was still so much work to be done.
In 2015 she was promoted to Senior VP and Chief Nurse Executive for Harris Health System. As the CNE, Dr. Padilla instilled the Just and Accountable Culture, began tirelessly standardizing nursing throughout the system, and began building a structure for nursing informatics.
Finally, in 2019 Dr. Padilla was promoted to Executive Vice President and CNE, a significant but deserving change to her title as it represented not only her hard work and leadership, but the value that Harris Health holds for nursing. She continued to advocate strongly for nursing. Leading and preparing for challenges an unprecedented pandemic created, always ensuring that nurses were, as she always says, "where patients need them most", maintaining an RN turnover rate that was below the median average for the Texas Gulf Coast region, and last but definitely not least, finally achieving Magnet status that she had envisioned five years earlier at both Ben Taub and LBJ. What began as a love for bringing babies into the world has expanded to a passion for ensuring all patients receive high-quality nursing care. An achievement only a servant transformational leader can meet at such a challenging time.