Hospital CEOs and presidents with nursing backgrounds are still rare in healthcare — but not at Sparrow Health System. The Lansing, Mich.-based system has appointed four nurse leaders to top leadership positions in the last two years, a spokesperson told Becker's April 3.
"Sparrow has and continues to thrive under the leadership of strong women who are dedicated to the very best in leading-edge #medicine," the health system wrote in a recent LinkedIn post.
In total, nurse presidents oversee four of the system's six hospitals in Michigan. A brief description of each leader is below.
Beth Daugherty, BSN, RN, serves as president of Sparrow Clinton Hospital in St. John's, Mich. She joined the health system in January 2015, most recently serving as acting hospital administrative officer and chief nursing officer of Sparrow Clinton.
Tina Gross, MSN, RN, is the president and CNO of Sparrow Specialty Hospital in Lansing. Ms. Gross stepped into her president role in April 2021 and has been with Sparrow Health System since 2005.
Helen Johnson, MSN, RN, became president of Charlotte, Mich.-based Sparrow Eaton Hospital on Jan. 1, 2021. She previously spent 15 years in various leadership positions at Spectrum Health Ludington (Mich.) Hospital, including CNO, COO and interim president.
Linda Reetz, BSN, RN, is the president of Sparrow Ionia (Mich.) Hospital. She joined Sparrow Health System in 2011, previously serving as acting hospital administrative officer and CNO for Sparrow Ionia.