New chief nurse named at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland

 HSHS San Jose Hospital, Highland announced the appointment of Carrie Erlinger acting as head nurse.

His appointment took effect from Monday. Erlinger serve in the interim role during HSHS and the Research Council of San José de Management Advisory Committee conduct a search for a permanent president and CEO.

The week before the appointment of Erlinger, Hospital Sisters Health System Beth Govero named interim president and CEO of St. Joseph Hospital in Highland. Govero, who had served as head nurse of San Jose, intervened in this position after Hospital Sisters Health System announced in December that the current CEO of San Jose Peggy Sebastian became the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital St . Elizabeth in Belleville. Both hospitals are owned by HSHS.

Erlinger is responsible for quality in the St. Joseph Hospital. It was with Hospital Sisters Health System and the Hospital of St. Joseph for nearly seven years in various roles - as a nurse in the operating room, quality analyst, coordinator of the evidence-based medicine, and more recently, the Director Quality and Safety Risks patients.

Before obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Southern Illinois at Edwardsville sciences, Erlinger completed courses in information technology and worked as a systems analyst for five years.

Erlinger completed the training performance improvement LEAN Change Leader received his certification as a healthcare professional quality certificate (CPHQ) and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB).

"Providing the best possible care to our patients take the work of our entire team," Erlinger said. "I am happy to serve in this role as an actor, and I know it is the work of our colleagues and doctors, as well as, ultimately our success."