By LEAH WANKUM
Managing Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Climbing from bedside nurse to her new position as president and CEO of the hospital in town, UCM alumna Darinda Reberry connects with patients in a different way.

“I like to build relationships, and so, being a nurse is really natural for that,” Reberry said. “I think since I stopped taking care of patients in a direct way, I still feel like I connect with patients… I know I’m still making patients better.”

The Western Missouri Medical Center Board of Trustees appointed Reberry at the end of February from her position as interim president and CEO of the hospital since September 2015. Reberry joined WMMC as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer in October 2013.

Reberry said she and Larry Purcell, chair of the board, agreed that her 20 years of clinical experience led to her appointment.

“(The board) thought it meant a lot to have somebody clinical making big decisions for the hospital,” Reberry said. “Having clinical experience and knowing how to keep patients safe and drive patient care is important to our board. They just thought, from a clinical standpoint, they think that was a safer choice to make sure that we were providing good care in the interim period.”

Because the health care landscape and payment structure is changing, Reberry said WMMC is in the process of expanding its ambulatory/outpatient market and physician network. This movement toward a patient-centered medical community is one of her first tasks in her new position.

“We’re going to be deploying care-coordinators that help coordinate the care of people, so that they’re not going to the ER for care interim,” she said. “It’s someone who really watches them and says, ‘Oh, are you on the right medication? Do you need to see the doctor today?’ It’s a case manager, really, for the outpatient setting. And that’s a new concept. It’s less than five years old in health care.

“Insurance companies have found that, actually, they can care for patients cheaper when you have this model, and so, making our health care dollar go further in Johnson County is a big deal to everyone.”

Reberry earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in December 1996.

Julie Clawson, chair of the nursing department, was a faculty member while Reberry was studying at UCM. Clawson said she thinks Reberry’s appointment is a wonderful thing.

“I think nurses are kind of natural-born leaders,” Clawson said. “At least that’s what we educate our nurses to be, is nurse leaders and leaders in health care. She’s an excellent role model for that.”

Reberry said she’s excited to be CEO at WMMC because it’s important to her to be able to provide the best care she can in a small community.

“I grew up in a small community,” she said. “My family receives care at this hospital and other nearby hospitals. And I think it’s just really important that we can provide the best that we can with our resources, the same care that you would get in the city. That’s just something I’m really passionate about.”

Reberry grew up in Sedalia and graduated Smith-Cotton High School. She said she was drawn to UCM’s nursing program because her mom and a few cousins are nurses as well.

Family ties to the medical field weren’t Reberry’s only drive to pursue a career in nursing at UCM. She said her program prepared her to become a general nurse, especially because she earned a bachelor’s degree rather than simply an associate’s.

Nurses with bachelor’s degrees are associated with a lower mortality rate of patients, according to a study on nurse staffing and education published by The Lancet in February 2014.

“Most UCM nursing grads, I don’t know what it is, what their special flavor is – because every nursing school develops a different kind of nurse, I promise you – but UCM grads always speak up for what’s right,” Reberry said. “They do not follow the grain. They are truly leaders and they stand up for what they believe, and I find that to be true in probably 99 percent of UCM (nursing) grads that I meet.”

She said that as a hiring manager, she would always hire UCM grads.

“I’ve always stayed in touch with the program to try and get graduates everywhere I went,” Reberry said. “I just believe in their graduates.”

After completing her nursing degree, Reberry worked as an oncology nurse for a couple years in Springfield, Missouri. She then held a variety of nursing roles, such as critical care and rehabilitation, in the Kansas City area, including St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Truman Medical Center Lakewood and HCA Research Medical Center.

During her time at Truman, Reberry said Teresa Collins, who was chief nursing officer in 2006, was a big mentor for her. Collins inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in executive nurse leadership at Webster University, which she completed in December 2010.

Collins, who is now chief nursing officer at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, said she’s proud of Reberry’s accomplishments, as she’s watched her grow for 10 years in her nursing career.

“Darinda’s just a star,” Collins said. “She’s just always been a star, and this is like the perfect path for her from a career’s perspective and to be back in a hospital. It’s great to have a nurse in a CEO role because as nurses, we still understand the clinical quality and patient care side of things, and I think she can make a huge impact at Western Missouri.”

Reberry’s advice for UCM nursing grads: take every opportunity to learn at any moment, no matter what role you’re given.

“I think that, obviously going to be CEO from a bedside nurse position is a little bit of a far stretch, but it is all the same concept,” Reberry said. “From the minute you get out, actually from the minute you’re in clinicals until where I am right now, is you just have to take every opportunity that is presented in front of you and see it as a learning opportunity.

“So, instead of just doing the bare minimum, if you are floated to a different unit, you embrace it. If you are given an interim position, because you can tell in my career I’ve had a few interim positions, you embrace it and you learn what you can from it. Because there is nothing like doing it that will teach you better.”