Ann Hendrich, RN, PhD. Senior Vice President and Chief Quality/Safety and Nursing Officer of Ascension Health (St. Louis).
In her role at Ascension, Dr. Hendrich guides the implementation of clinical excellence initiatives for one of the largest nursing operations in the country. She is also the principal investigator at Ascension for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant focused on improved patient safety and reduced medical liability in obstetrics. In 1998, Dr. Hendrich oversaw the development of a 56-bed coronary care unit at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis that consolidated the coronary critical care patient room and the transitional care room into a single private room that could adapt to the patient's changing needs. The unit won widespread acclaim, including the AACN-SCCM-AIA award for the best national design in critical care delivery.