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September 27, 2006

The head of nursing for Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) and the Contra Costa Health Services' (CCHS) eight health centers has been selected for a prestigious national fellowship.

Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Massarweh, a Concord resident, is one of only 20 nurses in leadership roles nationwide who were selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow.

As part of the fellowship, Massarweh will have the opportunity to undertake a leadership project to benefit the hospital and health centers with funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CCHS, said Dr. Jeff Smith, Executive Director for CCRMC and the health centers.

"We're very proud of Lisa. This is a great opportunity for her that will directly benefit our medical center and health centers and improve patient care for our community," Smith said.

Now in its ninth year, the 3-year fellowship program is designed to strategically position the voice of nursing across many sectors of the economy in a health care system undergoing unprecedented change and challenges. Massarweh said she is honored and excited to have been selected for the fellowship.

"Nurses must play a pivotal role in leading the redesign and success of health care now and into the future," Massarweh said. "This fellowship is an intensive opportunity to develop critical leadership skills, work with a nationally recognized team of coaches and instructors from within the health care industry as well as from other sectors of the economy, and benefit from collaboration with nursing and health care leaders throughout the country."

Massarweh has 20 years of nursing experience in a variety of settings. Prior to assuming her current position as Chief Nursing Officer, she was managed the critical care units at CCRMC and was the interim Director of Nursing at Kent State University, Ashtabula. Massarweh also currently is involved in a fellowship with the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) is a 166- bed, full-service public hospital serving the residents of Contra Costa County. CCRMC is part of the Contra Costa Health Services integrated public health system, which also includes eight Health Centers located throughout the county, the Public Health division, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Hazardous Materials, Environmental Health and other programs. For more information, visit www.cchealth.org

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. For more information about the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program, visit www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu

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