Q&A with Mary Walsh

Better careers begin with better opportunities

At Continuum Health Partners, which comprises Beth Israel Medical Center, Roosevelt Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Long Island College Hospital, and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, we pride ourselves on supporting our employees, providing them with the necessary tools they require to learn and develop their careers with us. We recently spoke with Mary Walsh, MSN RN CEN, to learn about the path her nursing career has taken.

Mary, what is your role at Continuum Health Partners?

As Vice President of Nursing at the Beth Israel Medical Center, I have responsibility for approximately 700 patient beds at the Petrie Division in Manhattan. I’m the Chief Nursing Officer for the entire Beth Israel hospital system, which includes Petrie and the Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn, in addition to all of our ambulatory services. I also oversee professional nursing practices and standards, as well as the delivery of quality care as the Corporate Vice President of Nursing Quality, Standards and Practice for CHP.

Where did you work before you joined us? What has your career path been like here?

I’ve been with Beth Israel Medical Center since 1995. Prior to that, I worked at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for 19 years. During my tenure there, I had wonderful opportunities; however, I was offered a unique position as the first Director of Ambulatory Nursing at the new Phillips Ambulatory Care Center at Beth Israel Medical Center. Eventually, I assumed inpatient responsibility for critical care and cardiology. Subsequently, I became the Chief Nurse, went on to become the Vice President of Nursing, then Chief Nursing Officer. Currently, I also hold Continuum-wide responsibilities.

What brought you to Continuum?

I was tantalized by the idea of opening a new ambulatory center from the foundation up. When I came to Beth Israel Medical Center, interviewed, and met the staff and the former Vice President for Nursing, I knew this was a once-in-a-nursing-career opportunity.

What’s so attractive about working here?

What makes my job so rewarding is working at a hospital where high-quality care is absolutely and fundamentally the goal of every employee. We meet the needs of a diverse patient population and staff while providing a broad range of services. We work together to meet the challenges we face every day as nursing professionals.

What are your thoughts on where the industry is going?

Home care, nursing-home care and sub-acute care are now nearly as specialized as inpatient care. Hospitals provide high-tech, fast-paced and very acute care while consistently decreasing length of stay. Therefore, nurses need to practice at the highest-possible level in all settings in order to provide the highest-quality patient care.

How do you focus care on a diverse population?

Our patient population is very culturally diverse, and we focus on meeting their unique needs in a number of ways. For example, our Asian Initiative caters to the Asian population, and our Heritage Initiative is dedicated to serving our Jewish patients. We also offer patient medication information in many languages, and we have a sign-language machine that allows us to communicate with our deaf patients. Plus, our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, so they lend their perspective and insight to enrich our patients’ experiences.

Why do health care professionals—especially nurses—choose to come to Continuum to work?

We take great pride in our ability to support our nurses’ professional growth. Our benefit programs for tuition and other continuing education activities are exemplary. We believe in keeping our employees informed, interested and challenged. We offer cutting-edge technology, innovative programs such as our Holistic Center for Health and Healing, collaboration with our remarkable medical staff, and ongoing educational in-services and conferences. We recruit our own nurses to fill nursing leadership positions. In addition, with five hospitals and numerous ambulatory facilities within the Continuum system, nurses who are looking for the next challenge have the opportunity to move into new positions.

I believe we have the most wonderful challenges here. You certainly can find challenges in other hospitals; however, I think the diversity of the multicultural population we serve is unique. Because of the breadth of our opportunities, Continuum is a great place to work. We support our staff so they can be their best at everything they do.