UK St. Claire Recognizes Nursing Staff Accepted into Clinical Advancement Program

UK St. Claire (SCH) is excited to announce members of our nursing staff that have been accepted into the Clinical Advancement Program. This program is a career ladder that identifies four levels of clinical nurses and rewards them for their professional growth.

Nurses are accepted into the program through an application process that takes place every January and July. In this round of applicants, Tia Hensley, BSN, RN; and Matthew Wagner, MSN, were yielded into Level III and Sarah Flynn, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN; and Rebecca Parker, BSN, RN, CEN, into Level IV.

“These nurses have stepped up and have gone above and beyond to participate in quality improvement projects. They are the future of nursing leadership at UK St. Claire,” said Lerae Wilson, DNP, RN, SCH’s VP of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer.

Hensley began her career with SCH in 2011 as a nursing assistant and graduated with her LPN from Maysville Community and Technical College in 2013. She went on to pursue her associate degree in nursing from Galen College of Nursing and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2021. Hensley is currently working as a night shift charge nurse on the 3 Center Med/Surg Unit and is instrumental in training new employees. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from Capella University.

Wagner has been with SCH’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit since March of 2020. A native of Garrison, NY, he joined the Army as a paratrooper after completing high school and served in the NATO peacekeeping mission to Kosovo from 1999 to 2000. After leaving the military, Wagner worked a variety of different jobs, including Huntington VA Medical Center where his desire to care for others inspired him to pursue. He completed his bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2012 at Marshall University and received his master’s degree in nursing education from Marshall Graduate School in 2017.

Flynn began her career with SCH in 2011 after graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Morehead State University in 2010. She has specialty certifications in Emergency Nursing, Trauma Certified Registered Nursing, and Certified Flight Registered Nursing. Flynn currently serves as a patient care coordinator in the Emergency Department and a certified ACLS instructor. In addition to working in the ED, Flynn was also a flight nurse for PHI’s Morehead base. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing with plans to become a family nurse practitioner.

Parker has been with SCH for six years, beginning her career as a registered nurse after graduating from Morehead State University with an associate degree in nursing. She received specialty certification in emergency nursing from the BCEN as well as graduated from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Parker currently serves as the president of the Unit Based Council for the Emergency Department where she is the leader of the shared governance and heads a quality improvement project to reduce workplace violence.

Nurses who continued in the program include Angie Johnson, BSN; Lara Turner, BSN; Nancy Brown, ADN; and Heather O’Hara, BSN.

For more information on the Clinical Advancement Program, contact Courtney Hollingsworth, RN, MSN, at 606.783.7652 or Courtney.hollingsworth@st-claire.org.