St Joseph Health has gone through several significant changes in the last few years, and not all of them have been easy. There have also been multiple leadership transitions at several levels in the organization, particularly in the C-suite, and through them all, Melissa has been a stalwart of patient-centered, mission-focused leadership.

As the system CNO for the Kentucky market, Melissa has been driving the development of the nursing practice for the seven Kentucky hospitals. She has advanced the clinical agenda, as shown by the facilities achieving various designations and certifications, bolstered the workforce through growth of the student pipelines and transition to practice, and been a tireless advocate for all of our caregivers.

For more than 30 years, Melissa has dedicated her career to improving care at the bedside, and for the last several years has been able to make those improvements at scale. She is most deserving of this Lifetime Achievement Award!