Janet Nash receives Medallion from College of Nursing
The College of Nursing recognized the leadership of Dr. Janet Nash (right, with Dean Fitzpatrick) by bestowing its Medallion on April 2.
On April 2, the distinguished career of Janet Nash ’08 MSN, PhD was spotlighted as she received the College of Nursing’s highest award, its Medallion, for Distinguished Leadership in Nursing and Health Care Administration. She is immediate past vice president of Patient Care Services at Paoli Hospital, part of the Main Line Health System.
After receiving the honor, Dr. Nash noted the longstanding relationship between the College and Main Line Health as well as her enjoyment in mentoring Villanova graduate students and how she encouraged her colleagues to accept that same responsibility.
Her citation is below:
Dr. Janet Nash has served in various nursing leadership capacities for over 40 years. In her final position before recently retiring to volunteer and spend time with family, she was the Vice President of Patient Care Services for Main Line Health System at Paoli Hospital. In this role, Jan provided administrative oversight for approximately 600 full time employees and managed a $100 million operating budget.
Jan was highly respected by her staff and served as a role model for continuing to advance academically. After graduating from the Presbyterian School of Nursing in 1970, Jan began her academic pursuit in healthcare administration. In the following years she obtained her BS, MS, as well as her PhD in health administration, but didn’t stop there. In 2008, she earned her master’s in healthcare administration through our College of Nursing. She has also served as an adjunct clinical associate professor in the College of Nursing. Always eager and excited to be a preceptor for graduate nursing students in health care administration, Jan developed unique plans of learning to meet each graduate student’s course and personal objectives. She amazed students by leveraging the breadth and depth of her knowledge to achieve departmental and system goals.
Jan has published multiple articles that focus on improving the patients’ hospital experience. They demonstrate how evidenced based strategies are used in the design of health care facilities to improve the patient’s sense of safety, comfort, and efficient care.
Jan has been nominated for and has received multiple awards for her dedication and leadership in the nursing. Recently she was a 2015 Nightingale Awards Finalist in Pennsylvania and recognized as an individual who demonstrates visionary leadership, implements innovations, and promotes effective stewardship of financial and human resources.
Jan’s coaching skills for her managers are legendary--she gave them opportunities to excel in many avenues, supported them and then helped them celebrate their accomplishments and move on to new challenges. Jan's legacy is truly as a leader who role modeled leadership not only to all at Main Line Health, but also in the community and nursing organizations in which she was active.
For her ability to influence quality care through effective leadership and management, for developing the next generation of nurse leaders, and for expressing Villanova’s mission and values in her work, the College of Nursing is privileged to award its 2016 Medallion for Distinguished Leadership Nursing and Health Care Administration to Janet L. Nash.