Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Affiliations
Certification
Timeline
Generic
Sara Rush

Sara Rush

Columbia

Summary


Executive leader with deep experience driving organizational success and fostering collaboration. Skilled in strategic planning, financial oversight, and stakeholder engagement. Known for adaptability, resilience, and delivering results in evolving environments. Strong interpersonal skills, effective communicator, and results-driven approach.

Overview

22
22
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Executive Director

Boone Health
07.2024 - Current
  • Expanded responsibility to encompass Labor and Delivery, Postpartum and a level three NICU
  • Expanded number of reporting employees from 200 to 400.
  • Worked closely with organizational leadership and peers to guide operational strategy.
  • Oversaw financial management, ensuring fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability for the organization.
  • Guided staff through periods of organizational change, maintaining morale and engagement during transitions.
  • Managed a diverse team of professionals, fostering a collaborative work environment for increased productivity.
  • Fostered work culture of collaboration and inclusion to increase morale and reduce turnover.
  • Negotiated contracts with vendors, securing favorable terms while adhering to budgetary constraints.
  • Drove strategic improvements to enhance operational and organizational efficiencies.
  • Aligned department vision, goals, and objectives with company strategy to achieve consistently high results.
  • Executed NICU remodel
  • Executed Certificate of Need for DV5 robots. First in state to secure DV5
  • Expanded robotic surgery with the implementation of a Mako and Aquablation in the orthopedic and urology servicelines.
  • Grew surgical volume from 2022 to 2024 by 9% and on track to grow surgery volume by 19% from 2022 to 2025.
  • Grew GI Lab procedural volume in comparison from January-July 2024 to January- July 2025 by 21.6% by effective block management and program expansion.
  • Grew robotic surgical volume from 2022 to 2024 by 60% through effect surgical block management and improved access.

Director of Surgical Services and GI Lab

Boone Health
05.2021 - Current
  • 22 Operating Room suites: 2 CVORs, hybrid suite, 2 XI rand 2 DV5 robots
  • Pre-Op
  • PACU
  • Sterile Processing
  • 5 GI suites
  • Responsible for the following specialties: Neuro, General/Vascular, Robotics, Bariatrics, ENT, GYN/ONC, Ortho, Trauma, Complex GI and CVOR
  • Responsible for management of 200 employees
  • Serves on multiple hospital-based committees including:
  • Pediatric Services Committee
  • Cardiopulmonary Services Committee
  • Infection Prevention Committee
  • Patient Experience Committee
  • Physician Value Analysis Committee
  • Perioperative Executive Committee- block management
  • Surgical Services Quality Committee
  • OR/CS Committee
  • Operations Council
  • Capital Committee
  • BHC Opioid Stewardship Committee
  • Achievements
  • Successful Joint Commission Survey within first six months of employment
  • Successful reformation of the leadership structure in the OR
  • Experienced in Crisis Management
  • Improved employee engagement scores from 2021 to 2022 by 7% for Surgery and by 19% in Sterile Processing
  • Took Flash Sterilization to zero in Sterile Processing
  • Executed 3.3 million in savings across Surgical Services in six months
  • Implemented patient rounding
  • Created a Physician Value Analysis Team for the evaluation of new products and procedures
  • Implemented weekly education opportunities for Surgical Staff
  • Executed monthly staff meetings in all areas of Surgical Services
  • Created waterfall communication from C-suite down with daily huddles, monthly staff meetings with a standardized format, and key performance indicator communication boards in all areas of Surgical Services
  • Discovered anesthesia billing opportunity resulting in an additional 500,000 in revenue
  • Decreased Sterile Processing error rate from 2.2% to < .5% and maintained for over 12 months
  • Created a Scrub tech residency program and practicum program
  • Increased First case on time starts from 68% December 2022 to 84% in June 2023
  • Decreased turn over time from 32 minutes to 26 minutes from 2022 to 2023
  • Created call team to support PACU which added in improving employee satisfaction
  • Created call team to support both OR and GI and reduced call for GI lab staff without adding resources

Director of Surgical Services Departments at a Level 1 Trauma Center

Research Medical Center
03.2018 - 04.2021
  • 16 Main Operating Room suites: 2 CVORs, a hybrid suite, 3 robots (2 XIs and 1 SI)
  • Pre-Op
  • PACU
  • Sterile Processing
  • Responsible for the following specialties: Neuro, General/Vascular, Robotics, Burn, ENT, GYN/ONC, Ortho, Trauma, and CVOR
  • Responsible for management of 140 employees
  • Average monthly case load, 615
  • Successful reformation of the leadership structure in the OR
  • Experienced in Crisis Management
  • Successful ACS, TJC, and CMS
  • Serves on multiple hospital-based committees including:
  • Structural Heart Services
  • Electrophysiology Services
  • Trauma Services
  • Infection Control
  • Employee Engagement Committee
  • Patient Experience Committee
  • Product Selection Committee
  • Departmental Robotics Committee
  • Operational Robotics Committee
  • Culture Committee
  • Leads bi-monthly Department of Surgery meeting with surgeon stake holders
  • Achievements:
  • Successful reformation of the leadership structure in the OR
  • Experienced in Crisis Management
  • Successful ACS, TJC, and CMS
  • Improved surgeon engagement scores by 12% year over year
  • Improved Employee Engagement Scores by 10% from 2019 to 2020
  • Successful labor management as proven by month over month labor trends
  • Implemented tactics in Pre-Op and PACU to improve patient satisfaction scores
  • Hourly rounding on patients that are waiting on surgery
  • Focusing on two key drivers identified by Press Gainey with all staff members in Surgical Services
  • AIDET validations with all staff members
  • Reformatted Nurse Liaison Role
  • Executed house-wide COVID-19 testing support for outpatients without increasing FTEs in twenty-four hours.
  • Improved patient satisfaction from the 10th percentile in 2019 to the 23rd percentile in 2020 per Press Gainey
  • Instrumental in changing culture through accountability and engagement
  • IUSS rate hit zero for the first time ever in October 2019 and continues to be less than 1% monthly

Director: Main Operating Room

North Kansas City Hospital
11.2015 - 03.2018
  • Director of 15 room multi-specialty Surgery Department averaging 900-1000 cases a month
  • Responsible for management of 106 employees
  • Manage multimillion dollar Surgical Department monthly budget
  • Serve on multiple hospital-based committees
  • OR Sub Committee
  • Trauma Sub Committee
  • Computer Advisory Board
  • Robotic Ad Hoc
  • Turnover
  • Clinical Liaison

Surgical Services Manager, Orthopedic and Outpatient Nurse Manager, and House Supervisor

Fitzgibbon Hospital
06.2013 - 11.2015
  • Manage multiple surgical departments within Fitzgibbon Hospital
  • 4 room multi-specialty Surgery Department
  • 8 Bay Pre-Operative Department
  • 3 Bay Post Anesthesia Care Unit
  • GI Lab
  • Pain Clinic
  • Surgical Support
  • Hospital & General Surgery Clinics
  • Implemented an endoscopy suite conversion increasing productivity through streamlining patient appointments and advertising by 40%.

Registered Nurse

Fitzgibbon Hospital
12.2003 - 06.2013
  • Surgery Department: (2008 – 2013) - Employee of the Year 2012
  • Pre-Operative and PACU: (2006 – 2008)
  • Labor and Delivery: (2003 – 2006)

Education

Master of Science - Nursing Leadership and Management

Walden University
Minneapolis, Minnesota
01.2013

Bachelor of Science - Nursing

University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, Missouri
01.2003

Skills

  • Successful leadership restructuring to better serve frontline staff
  • Improvement of Employee Engagement scores at multiple facilities
  • Removed immediate use steam sterilization at two facilities
  • 1 million spend reduction in three months
  • Multiple successful ACS, TJC, and CMS surveys
  • Crisis Management
  • Successful in rural and urban healthcare settings
  • Board knowledge base of Sterile Processing, Operating Room, Pre-Op/PACU, and GI Lab workflow and regulations
  • Managed Surgical Services
  • Managed orthopedic and outpatient clinics
  • Operating room charge nurse and circulator
  • Successful Endoscopic equipment trial and conversion x 3
  • Successful cysto equipment trial and conversion
  • Able to evaluate process improvements for cost saving opportunities
  • Successful preceptor for numerous new hires and Completed the preceptorship program offered by University of Columbia Hospital
  • Experienced with writing protocols and procedures and interacting with CMS during surveys
  • Involved in SCIP (Surgical care improvement projects)
  • Involved in creating operating room nursing structure to guide daily practices in the Operating Room
  • Involved in CUSP (Comprehensive unit-specific safety Program: identifying defects in patient care and developing improvement processes to prevent poor patient outcomes)
  • Implementation of XI robot and successful evaluation of staff reduction per case to increase profit margin
  • Supply chain management Work with surgeons, staff, and vendors to identify items for shifting market share to improve pricing
  • Implement creative staffing solutions to meet the needs of the department as well as maintain standard of care
  • Streamlining staffing to lower expenses
  • Expert in adjusting staffing levels to manage workload effectively

Affiliations

  • Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) 2016-present
  • Society of Gastroenterology Nurses (SGNA) 2022-present
  • Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) 2022-present

Certification

  • Certified Operating Room Nurse (CNOR) [2016-present]
  • Advanced Care Life Support (ACLS) [2004-present]
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification [2002-present]
  • Registered Nurse License ID #2004004062 [February/2004]
  • Pediatric Life Support (PALS) [2006-2010]

Timeline

Executive Director

Boone Health
07.2024 - Current

Director of Surgical Services and GI Lab

Boone Health
05.2021 - Current

Director of Surgical Services Departments at a Level 1 Trauma Center

Research Medical Center
03.2018 - 04.2021

Director: Main Operating Room

North Kansas City Hospital
11.2015 - 03.2018

Surgical Services Manager, Orthopedic and Outpatient Nurse Manager, and House Supervisor

Fitzgibbon Hospital
06.2013 - 11.2015

Registered Nurse

Fitzgibbon Hospital
12.2003 - 06.2013

Bachelor of Science - Nursing

University of Central Missouri

Master of Science - Nursing Leadership and Management

Walden University

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Sara Rush