UC San Diego Health System CNO/Acting COO Receives Visionary Award

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Margarita M. Baggett, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, UC San Diego Health System, is Nursing Management's 2011 Visionary Leader award winner.

Margarita M. Baggett, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, UC San Diego Health System, is the winner of Nursing Management’s 2011 Visionary Leader award.  The annual award recognizes a nurse leader who “views nursing as both art and science by promoting caring and competence as the link between science and humanity.”  Baggett’s winning nomination profile will appear in the January 2012 issue of Nursing Management.

“Over the last five years, her dedication to promoting a professional nursing practice model has engaged our entire organization,” said Tom McAfee, Interim CEO, UC San Diego Health System.  “We share and appreciate Margarita’s vision of establishing sustainable structures and processes to guide our organization into the future.”

Baggett is directly responsible for more than 1,900 staff and oversees functions related to nursing, pharmacy, Care Coordination, and Volunteer Services.  She joined UC San Diego Health System in July 2006 during a period of transformation, and in just five years, her leadership helped establish an environment of engagement and excellence across services.

Employees credit division success to Baggett’s dedication to two concepts:  building initiatives around clear structures, processes, and outcomes; and helping all levels of staff reach their hopes, dreams, and aspirations.  Employees say this approach “laid the foundation for building a culture of trust, an engaged workforce, and significant improvements in clinical outcomes.”

In collaboration with finance, nursing directors, and nurse managers, Baggett developed and implemented a system of monthly key-indicator tracking at the unit, division, and overall nursing levels.  Outcomes from these initiatives show that nurse retention rates have improved from 88 percent to 98 percent; nurse fill rates have improved from 86 percent to 105 percent; and the most recent employee opinion satisfaction survey showed new RNs scored 4.44 rating out of 5.0 on readiness to practice.Baggett also helped developed the professional role of the nurse, including clinical ladder promotions, increasing certifications, encouraging professional organization involvement and participation in UCSD-sponsored education opportunities.  Since implementing this promotion practice in 2009, clinical advancements have averaged 49 promotions per year. Professional certifications have increased from 20 percent in 2008 to 31 percent in 2010.  30 percent of nurses report membership in professional organizations.  The number of attendees at UCSD-sponsored educational opportunities grew from 6,000 to 11,000.

UC San Diego Health System is the region’s only academic health system, with a mission of providing excellent and compassionate patient care, advancing medical discoveries and educating future health care professionals. It comprises UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, and UC San Diego Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Center, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center (slated to open in 2016) in La Jolla, as well as other primary and specialty practices of UC San Diego Medical Group. For more information, visit http://health.ucsd.edu