CEO's Corner: Issue #206

Last July, Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s Chief Nurse Executive Jayne Scalise announced her plans to retire at the end of this calendar year. Her announcement caused me to reflect back on everything she has accomplished during the past 14 years in her role.

Jayne was the catalyst for a significant transformation that took place in our nursing department. She approached each seemingly insurmountable problem positively, professionally and with a “can do” attitude. For example, to solve a nursing shortage, Jayne helped bring qualified nurses here from the Philippines, selecting the very best for our organization and community.

She improved nursing leadership at LVMC by implementing educational standards for all nurse managers. Initially, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) was the minimum to be considered for a leadership role. Under her guidance and mentorship, the BSN requirement transitioned to a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). Currently, every nurse director at LVMC has obtained an MSN and are unquestionably the most talented group of nurse managers I have had the honor to work within my career.

Jayne also has a remarkable talent to hire qualified and competent staff that embrace our culture of providing safe, high quality, compassionate and patient-centered healthcare services to our community. Many of the current nurse managers are “homegrown” due to Jayne’s ability to recognize talent and her skill in mentoring those individuals to improve themselves while concurrently improving LVMC.

Jayne has been a treasure to our organization and will definitely be missed. She deserves a wonderful retirement and plans to visit her children, grandchildren, and travel. As she embarks on a new chapter of her life, she can always look back and be proud of her legacy as Chief Nurse Executive while at LVMC. Thank you, Jayne!