Ann Barrett

Ann Barrett / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
Ann Barrett / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PBN Health Care Heroes 2024
Career Achiever: ANN BARRETT
The Miriam Hospital director of nursing resources


OVER THE COURSE of four decades, Ann Barrett has always had an ­unrelenting desire to improve care, the health care environment and the work experience of nurses and other health care staff.

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Barrett, the director of nursing resources at The Miriam ­Hospital, ensured throughout her tenure at the Providence-based hospital operated by Life­span Corp. that the care provided by the nurses there was the best. Along with having her writings about employee development published in peer-­reviewed medical journals, Barrett mentored clinical nurses interested in growing their careers in nursing leadership and helped them explore opportunities for leadership development and professional advancement.

Barrett has also been a voice in getting technology and systems advancements for nurses, such as remote visual monitoring of patient safety, an on-call emergency transfer program for the catheter lab, endoscopy scheduling and safety improvements to better help them provide care to patients.

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Additionally, Barrett established a director ­fellowship at the hospital that allows the participant to develop fiscal acumen ­within the nursing and health care setting.


What led you to choose health care as your profession? My father became quite ill when I was growing up and was hospitalized on several occasions. I was in awe of the nurses who cared for him; they were smart, caring and had such confidence.

How have you helped boost the quality of or access to health care? I have advocated for various roles and programs within nursing that have expanded the quality of care. I advocated for a clinical support nurse role to provide guidance and coaching to newly licensed registered nurses who work on the night shift. I also pushed for remote monitoring of patients who are at risk for self-injury or falling – rather than using 1-on-1 sitters to keep patients safe, we remotely monitor several at one time. Plus, I advocated for peer feedback training for all of nursing to ensure we hold each other accountable to provide safe care for patients.

What is the biggest challenge you and your organization are facing this year? Ensuring we have enough staff to care for our patients and that we are being fiscally responsible while obtaining the necessary resources.

What more do you feel the state can do to help further support the health care sector in Rhode Island? Ensure that nursing is represented on all legislation involving changes to health care. It also should work toward implementing models that measure the value of nursing and reimburse institutions for providing high-quality nursing care.

Tell us one thing that most people don’t know about you. When I decided to go back for my master’s degree, I chose the MBA degree because I considered leaving the nursing profession. A transition into critical care nursing and then leadership provided an opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds. It’s hard for me to believe I considered leaving such a rewarding profession.

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