Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pa., has selected Maria Lariccia Brennan, DNP, RN, to serve as its chief nursing officer, effective June 21.
Dr. Brennan has more than 30 years of nursing leadership experience, overseeing patient care and clinical operations. Most recently, she worked for the New Jersey Nursing Initiative in Princeton as a healthcare consultant. In that role, she had a hand in developing a statewide program focused on helping nurses cope with stress.
Before that, Dr. Brennan was the vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for Camden, N.J.-based Lourdes Health System and Trenton, N.J.-based St. Francis Medical Center, part of Trinity Health. In her first chief nursing officer role, she worked at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.
"Her focus on mentoring, nurse recruitment and retention, nursing theory, and fostering healthy work environments will strengthen our clinical operations and enhance our patient experience," said Joseph Frank, interim regional president of Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center.