BATESVILLE, Ind., April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hill-Rom, the health care unit of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., , announced that Melissa Fitzpatrick, RN, MSN, FAAN, has been named Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer. The role of chief clinical officer is new for Hill-Rom and represents a significant milestone for the enterprise. The creation of this position reinforces the value Hill-Rom places on offering integrated solutions to help meet the patient care needs of its health care customers.
“We believe in partnering with our customers to help find solutions for the challenges they face in improving outcomes for their patients,” said Peter H. Soderberg, CEO and president of Hillenbrand Industries and Hill-Rom. “Healthcare professionals are increasingly looking for solid clinical data and evidence to determine the best way to provide care to their patients and enhance outcomes. Melissa is superbly qualified to lead Hill-Rom’s efforts to develop better solutions for and with our customers.”
He added, “Melissa brings an incredible clinical background with more than 30 years experience. She will provide clinical strategic leadership and guidance to teams across Hill-Rom’s entire care continuum in North America, and that translates to value for our customers. We are delighted to have her on board.”
Most recently, Fitzpatrick was the Chief Healthcare Strategist for the Health and Life Sciences organization of SAS, a leader in providing software to enhance data integration and business intelligence. Before joining SAS in 2001, Fitzpatrick served as Senior Associate Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Nurse Executive at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Her earlier front-line clinical experience has included: Nurse Manager and Cardiovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Penn Healthcare System, and Director of Nursing, Adjunct Professor, and Health System Vice President at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Fitzpatrick earned her BSN at Gwynedd-Mercy College and her MSN at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a nationally and internationally recognized consultant, speaker and author on clinical and leadership issues in healthcare, with many peer reviewed publications and book chapters to her credit. Fitzpatrick is a past President of the Foundation for Critical Care and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. She was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 1997, thereby achieving the highest recognition in the profession of nursing. She was selected as one of the Great 100 nurses in North Carolina in 2002 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Nursing Management Journal from 2000 to 2003.
ABOUT HILLENBRAND INDUSTRIES, INC.
Hillenbrand Industries is organized into two operating companies serving the health care and funeral services industries.
Hill-Rom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and workflow information technology solutions. Hill-Rom’s comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.
Hill-Rom ... enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers.
Batesville Casket Company is a leader in the North American death care industry through the sale of funeral services products, including burial caskets, cremation caskets, containers and urns, selection room display fixturing and other personalization and memorialization products. Batesville Casket Company ... helping families honor the lives of those they love.
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc.
CONTACT: Investors, Blair (Andy) Rieth, Jr., Vice President, InvestorRelations, Corporate Communications & Global Brand Development ofHillenbrand Industries, Inc., +1-812-931-2199, andy.rieth@hillenbrand.com;or Media, Lauren Green-Caldwell, Director, Media Relations & PublicRelations of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. and Hill-Rom, +1-812-934-8692,lauren.green-caldwell@hillenbrand.com
Web site: http://www.hillenbrand.com/
