Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center appoints new chief nursing officer

Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center has named Maria Lariccia Brennan as its new chief nursing officer. Currently serving as a health care consultant in New Jersey, she will join the hospital on Monday, June 21.

Brennan will be responsible for oversight of all nursing activities and clinical operations at St. Joseph Medical Center. She brings more than 30 years of nursing leadership experience to the role. Brennan has received the Organization for Nurse Executives New Jersey Nurse Executive Award, the Governor’s Award for Nursing Administration and the Nurse Empowerment Award, among other honors.

“We are thrilled that Maria will bring her vast experience and expertise to our executive team,” said Joseph Frank, interim regional president, Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center. “Her focus on mentoring, nurse recruitment and retention, nursing theory and fostering healthy work environments will strengthen our clinical operations and enhance our patient experience.”

Most recently, Brennan has served as a health care consultant to the New Jersey Nursing Initiative in Princeton, N.J., where she has worked to implement both a statewide Schwartz Rounds program for all nurses in New Jersey and a statewide Nurse Stress First Aid program modeled after the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Prior to her consultancy work, Brennan served as the vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for Lourdes Health System and St. Francis Medical Center in Camden, N.J. There, she oversaw patient care and safety for a 340-bed tertiary care medical center, a 240-bed tertiary care medical center and a 160-bed community hospital. She also was responsible for the administration of two schools of nursing. Previously, she was vice president and chief nursing officer for St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., overseeing a 661-bed acute care hospital, 154-bed community hospital and a 150-bed nursing home.

A member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and a certified quality health care professional, Brennan earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. She also holds a master’s in nursing from Hunter College in New York, N.Y., and a bachelor’s in nursing from Pace University in Westchester, N.Y.

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