As the Chief Nursing Officer for MLK Community Healthcare, Edna is MSN prepared from the California State University Dominguez Hills, with over 30 years of experience in acute care hospital operations.
At MLK Community Hospital (MLKCH) where she has served as VP of Quality since 2017, Edna led the facility expansion to accommodate growth in inpatient and Emergency Department volume, adding twenty-one additional licensed beds thirty-five treatment spaces through program flexibility applications.
Edna led quality and patient safety improvements, achieving a Safety Grade of A from Leapfrog and two consecutive five-star ratings from CMS. In addition, she led the initiation and development of interdisciplinary programs and evidence-based practice teams to drive improvements in Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, Opioid Use, Sepsis and Diabetes, receiving recognitions for sepsis, maternity care, opioid and antibiotic stewardship.
In her expanded role as CNO and VP of Quality, Edna is contributing to financial objectives, reducing liability insurance premiums through strategies like participation in the BETA Heart Collaborative, and improving the delivery and reliability of nursing services through team leadership and effective reporting structures.
Prior to MLKCH, Edna served as Director of Quality at Huntington Hospital, overseeing CMS and commercial payers pay-for-performance programs including the development of an MSSP ACO, data analytics, accreditation, medical staff peer review, infection control, ambulatory clinics, employee health and clinical research. While at Huntington Edna achieved recognitions for quality and safety from Leapfrog, CMS, Healthgrades, Joint Commission and American College of Surgery. Related accomplishments included an increase in the number of sponsored research studies, investigators and patients benefiting from research participation, the implementation of a clinical research committee and a research database.
As the Clinical Director of Critical Care Services at Huntington Hospital, Edna directed a team of over five hundred staff, collaborating with cross functional teams, including physicians. She had the unique opportunity to participate in the Transformation of the ICU national collaborative, testing and spreading the use of “bundles” such as the ventilator, sepsis, CAUTI and CLABSI bundles. The team received recognition for sustaining improvements.
In volunteer leadership roles Edna has served on the CHA Quality Committee, the CHA Medication Safety Committee, and the SCCM Membership Committee. She is the past President of the University of Santo Tomas Nurses Association International where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing.