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Catholic Health East Names Nora Triola, Ph.D., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., as System's Chief Nursing Officer

April 29, 2010

Nora Triola

Newtown Square, Pa., Thursday, April 29, 2010 – Catholic Health East (CHE) announced today that Nora Triola, Ph.D., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., has been named the System’s executive vice president and chief nursing officer. Dr. Triola currently holds the position of senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Holy Cross Hospital (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Mercy Hospital (Miami, Fla.), both members of the Catholic Health East system.

In this new position, Triola will be a member of CHE’s senior management team, responsible for leading CHE’s nursing practice in anticipating and adapting to changes in the health care environment. She will also help provide mission and values-based vision and leadership in the achievement of nursing excellence throughout the continuum of care. Triola is expected to assume her new position by early summer 2010.

“We are very excited to have Nora join us at the Catholic Health East System Office,” said Judith M. Persichilli, CHE’s chief operating officer who officially becomes president and chief executive officer on May 1. “She has a proven track record of initiating quality improvement programs and a strong focus on person-centered health care. Nora is a true leader and will be an asset to CHE system-wide.”

Under Triola’s leadership, Holy Cross achieved Magnet® redesignation, enhanced shared governance and implemented the use of evidence-based practice to improve quality outcomes such as decreasing hospital-acquired conditions. During her four-year tenure, Holy Cross achieved a decreased length-of-stay by one full day resulting in a $6.5 million cost avoidance and implemented a nurse residency program that decreased vacancy rate to three percent and agency dollar reductions of over $5 million. Under her guidance, Holy Cross achieved Joint Commission designation as a Primary Stroke Center, and received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Award for stroke care and the HealthGrades® Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for the past three years. At Mercy, she has led the organization toward Magnet document submission for redesignation and facilitated an emergency department throughput initiative.

Triola has over 20 years experience in nursing administration, including CNO positions with Broward General Medical Center and Imperial Point Medical Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Ind.

Triola holds a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., where she also received her master of science in nursing (M.S.N.) degree. She received a bachelor of science in nursing (B.S.N.) from the University of the State of New York, Albany, N.Y., and a nursing diploma from St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York. She is a Wharton Fellow and serves as a Magnet appraiser for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Triola is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the Florida Nurses Association, the Nursing Consortium of South Florida and the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE).

Catholic Health East (CHE) is a multi-institutional Catholic health system, co-sponsored by nine religious congregations and Hope Ministries, a Public Juridic Person within Catholic Health East. Based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the System provides the means to ensure the continuation of the Catholic identity and operational strength of the sponsors’ health ministries, which are located in 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida. The CHE system includes 34 acute care hospitals, four long-term acute care hospitals, 25 freestanding and hospital-based long-term care facilities, 14 assisted-living facilities, four continuing care retirement communities, eight behavioral health and rehabilitation facilities, 37 home health/hospice agencies, and numerous ambulatory and community-based health agencies. Catholic Health East facilities employ more than 54,000 full-time employees as partners in ministry.

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