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

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital-Highland has announced the appointment of Carrie Erlinger as interim chief nursing officer.

Her appointment was effective as of Monday. Erlinger will serve in the interim role while HSHS and the St. Joseph’s Board of Directors’ Search Advisory Committee conduct a search for a permanent president and CEO.

The week prior to Erlinger’s appointment, Hospital Sisters Health System the appointment of Beth Govero as interim president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland. Govero, who had been serving as St. Joseph’s chief nursing officer, stepped into that post after Hospital Sisters Health System announced in December that St. Joseph’s current CEO Peggy Sebastian was going to become the new president and CEO of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville. Both hospitals are owned by HSHS.

Erlinger is the director of quality at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She has been with Hospital Sisters Health System and St. Joseph’s Hospital for almost seven years in various roles — as a nurse in the pperating room, quality analyst, evidence-based medicine coordinator, and most recently, the director of quality, risk and patient safety.

Before earning her bachelor of science degree nursing from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Erlinger completed courses in information technology and worked as a system analyst for five years.

Erlinger completed the LEAN Performance Improvement Change Leader training received her certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and as Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB).

“Providing the best care possible to our patients takes the work of our whole team,” said Erlinger. “I am happy to be able to serve in this interim role, and know that it is the work of our colleagues and physicians together that ultimately make us successful.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 4:20 AM with the headline "New chief nurse named at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland."