(MURFREESBORO) Effective Monday, February 3, 2020, Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital welcomes industry veteran Teresa Collins as its new Chief Nursing Officer.

Her 28-year healthcare career includes adult and pediatric critical care, emergency services, acute and post-acute clinical care quality oversight, and extensive executive leadership experience. She most recently served as Chief Nursing Officer for the Duke/LifePoint Rutherford Regional Health System in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

There, Teresa developed a system-wide corporate compliance program; created a task force that standardized community nursing competencies; and implemented a clinical dashboard program that used data aggregation to help elevate care team performance. She also led successful redesigns of the hospital's infection prevention and emergency services programs which led to a 70 percent reduction in CDIFF infections and a 90 percent reduction in emergency department wait times.

St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital's President and CEO Gordon Ferguson said, "Teresa brings tremendous value to the Saint Thomas Rutherford community. Her background in care oversight, paired with her success in diverse program creation and implementation, makes Teresa an ideal fit for our leadership team."

She obtained her undergraduate degree in nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing-Healthcare Administration from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Teresa Collins is a member of numerous industry organizations, including the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Association of Directors of Nursing Services, and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.