Morristown Medical Center names new chief nursing officer

From Morristown Medical Center:

Brings Over 20 Years of Extensive Nurse Leadership, Clinical and
Administrative Oversight Experience

Carol Jones, RN, is Retiring After 30 Years of Service

Atlantic Health System today announced Brandee Fetherman, MSN, RN, CCRN-K has been promoted to Chief Nursing Officer for Morristown Medical Center.

Fetherman is a highly respected leader with more than 20 years of experience, most recently serving as director of nursing at Morristown Medical Center since 2017.

“I am honored and privileged to lead our highly professional, and accomplished group of nurses who are committed to providing high-quality care for our patients and the community,” said Fetherman.

“All of the efforts of our nursing team directly contribute to making Morristown Medical Center the number one hospital in the State for the fourth year in a row and one of the best places to work for nurses.”

At Morristown Medical Center, Fetherman will oversee the overall delivery of nursing care as well as nursing education & professional development, nursing quality and research, and patient flow.

Working closely with leadership across all disciplines, Fetherman will continue to lead high-quality standards of nursing excellence. She will partner with the chief medical officer, and other medical and administrative leaders to ensure the delivery of extraordinary care that Morristown Medical Center is widely recognized for throughout the region and across the nation.

She also will continue to advance clinical programs, patient flow efforts, and patient experience throughout the medical center.

“Without question, the nurses across Atlantic Health System, and certainly here at Morristown Medical Center are truly exceptional,” said Trish O’Keefe, PhD, RN, president of Morristown Medical Center, and senior vice president and chief nurse executive for Atlantic Health System.

“This is a tribute to the tremendous education, professional development and mentorship programs for nurse leaders like Brandee. I know she will bring extraordinary caring and exemplary skills to this critical role for our medical center, our patients and our community well into the future.”

Fetherman is replacing Carol Jones, RN, who has been the chief nursing officer at Morristown Medical Center for six years. Jones announced her retirement earlier this year and will be departing Morristown Medical Center at the end of 2021 after 30 years of service.

Fetherman joined Morristown Medical Center in 2001 and has been promoted multiple times, assuming key leadership roles in critical care, medicine, trauma, and neurology.

Most recently, her leadership experience during the COVID-19 pandemic was critical as she was instrumental in steering the rapid transformation of patient beds and units to care for COVID patients and strategically developed and managed patient care and safety efforts.

Fetherman holds a master of science degree in nursing from Drexel University, a bachelor of science in nursing from Ramapo College, and received her diploma of nursing from the Mountainside School of Nursing.

Fetherman is a Board Member of the Organization of Nurse Leaders, New Jersey (ONL NJ), and is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, the Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association, and the Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Honor Society.

Morristown Medical Center has over 2,000 nurses and employs roughly 7,000 team members on the 29-acre campus that includes Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute, Goryeb Children’s Hospital, and the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center.

More about Carol Jones

Trish O’Keefe said, “Carol is an inspirational leader and key member of Morristown Medical Center’s executive team. She has played a significant role in overseeing thousands of nurses and was instrumental in Morristown Medical Center earning national recognition, including Magnet Hospital for Excellence in Nursing Service for the fifth consecutive time — an honor claimed by less than 1 percent of the hospitals in the United States.”

There are countless highlights of Carol’s Morristown Medical Center career, including the creation of the Center for Nursing Innovation & Research and the successful development of the hospital’s trauma program, including the Level 1 Trauma Center designation and continuous accreditation by the American College of Surgery – managing the Emergency Department (ED), designing & implementing the Rapid Treatment Unit, the Injury Prevention Program and multiple renovations to the ED. In fact, she helped develop the plans that were recently announced, to expand and modernize the ED that will begin in 2022.

“It has been a lifetime of privilege to lead this extraordinary team of nurses, to watch this hospital grow, and to be part of this tremendously generous and dedicated community,” Jones said.

“Passing the CNO torch to Brandee makes me incredibly proud. I am fully confident that her leadership skills, her collaborative spirit, her knowledge, and experience will serve the team members, physicians, patients, and their loved ones well into the future.”

About Morristown Medical Center

Rated the number one hospital in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report for four years in a row, Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center is a nationally recognized leader in cardiology & heart surgery, orthopedics, gynecology, critical care, pediatrics, geriatrics, gastroenterology and GI surgery, pulmonology and lung surgery, urology, and nursing. It is a 735-bed, non-profit, acute care teaching hospital located in the heart of Morristown, NJ.

Morristown Medical Center is the only hospital in New Jersey named one of America’s ‘50 Best Hospitals’ for six consecutive years by Healthgrades. Also, in Healthgrades 2022 Report to the Nation, it is the only hospital in the U.S. to achieve 2022 Specialty Excellence Awards in several service lines and has been among the top five percent in the nation in Cardiac Care for 11 years in a row, and Critical Care for three consecutive years.

It has earned recognition as one of the World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek, ranking as #34 in the country and top in the State of New Jersey in 2021, and Becker’s Healthcare list of “100 great hospitals in America.”

Morristown Medical Center has achieved an “A” hospital safety grade – its highest – twelve consecutive times by Leapfrog. The hospital was also recognized by Fortune IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals, ranking #6 among major US teaching hospitals.

It has earned the prestigious designation as an American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence five consecutive times — one of less than one percent of hospitals nationally to achieve this honor. According to NurseJournal.org, Morristown Medical Center offers one of the best environments for hospital nurses, including clinical performance and workplace quality, ranking #3 in the U.S.

Morristown Medical Center is certified as a Level I Regional Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons and designated a Level II Trauma Center by the State of New Jersey.

About Atlantic Health System

Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of more than 18,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 11 counties and 4.9 million people.

The not-for-profit system offers more than 400 sites of care, including seven hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ.

Atlantic Medical Group, comprised of 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, represents one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey and joins Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners as part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.

Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 16 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.

Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.

Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.