UH News Release
Date: March 8, 2016
Contact: Alicia Reale, Department of Marketing & Communications
Phone: (216) 844-5158
CLEVELAND - Jean Barrett Blake, RN, BSN, MJ, has been appointed Chief Nursing Officer for University Hospitals health system. She will begin her new role on April 4.
As the executive for all nursing in the UH system, Blake will be responsible for managing nursing practice, education, professional development, research, administration and clinical services. Additionally, she will collaborate with leaders across the health system to identify strategies to improve the patient care experience.
Blake comes to UH from Presence Health, an Illinois-based health system, where she served as System Vice President since 2012 and interim Chief Nursing Executive. Prior to that, she served nine years in various clinical operations, patient care services and patient access leadership roles at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She also led an independent consulting firm for health care management issues, process redesign, revenue enhancement and care coordination.
“Excellence in nursing care is a University Hospitals hallmark dating back to our beginnings in 1866,” says Jeffrey H. Peters, MD, Chief Operating Officer, University Hospitals. “Jean will advance our reputation for the highest-quality patient care into the future. She will provide the vision and direction for further integration of patient care services and alignment with UH’s strategic goals and objectives.”
Blake has more than three decades of progressive experience in nursing leadership. She has successfully integrated diverse nursing management structures into collaborative teams, implemented tools to identify patients at high risk for readmission, and developed capabilities for new technologies to enhance care. She is widely recognized for her achievements in patient satisfaction improvement.
Blake earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing at St. Xavier University in Chicago, and a Master of Jurisprudence degree at Loyola School of Law, also in Chicago.
She is active in professional associations including the American College of Healthcare Executives, American Association of Nurse Executives and Healthcare Financial Management Association. She is a respected author and frequent presenter at national meetings. At the community level, she and her family coordinate neighborhood volunteer groups providing services to Chicago’s homeless population.
“Our patients benefit every day from the talents and dedication of nurses across our system. We look forward to working with Jean and the entire nursing team to further the patient-centered care for which UH is highly regarded,” said Dr. Peters.
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About University Hospitals
Founded in May 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and primary care physician offices in 15 counties throughout Northeast Ohio. At the core of our $4 billion health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center, ranked among America’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopaedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and genetics. Its main campus includes UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. UH is the second largest employer in Northeast Ohio with 26,000 employees. For more information, go to www.UHhospitals.org.