Jeanne Yeatman, BSN, MBA, RN, MOM, CMTE, EMT, has been named chief nursing officer of Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital (VWCH). Yeatman had been serving in an interim capacity since August.
“Jeanne is a proven leader in nursing and emergency medicine with an extensive record of service at Vanderbilt,” said Executive Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN. “She is a great fit for an excellent nursing team in a rapidly growing area of Middle Tennessee.”
Yeatman has more than 30 years of experience at VUMC. Her tenure began in 1989 as a patient care technician in the Emergency Department, a position she retained until graduating nursing school in 1990. She then became a graduate nurse within the department, progressing to charge nurse/shift leader. Her long association with Vanderbilt LifeFlight began when she started as a flight nurse in 1993, progressing to leader and administrator of the program.
In July 2020, VWCH’s Emergency Department transitioned to become part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine, and VUMC recently invested nearly $1 million to open a new ambulance base at the hospital, which included placing a Vanderbilt LifeFlight ambulance there.
“I have spent my entire Vanderbilt clinical career at LifeFlight and have been able to watch it grow to one of the nation’s best medical transport programs,” Yeatman said. “I have enjoyed serving as the interim chief nursing officer at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital and getting to know the great staff working there. I’m looking forward to being able to continue to grow those relationships and build on the great work that is being done.”
While program director of LifeFlight, Yeatman helped it grow fourfold and it was under her leadership as executive director that the program was named the 2020 Program of the Year by the national Association of Air Medical Services. The award recognizes an emergency medical transport service (national or international) that has demonstrated a superior level of patient care, management prowess, high-quality leadership through visionary and innovative approaches, customer service, safety consciousness, marketing ingenuity, community service and a commitment to the medical transport community as a whole.
Yeatman facilitated the $16 million purchase of three new American Eurocopter EC 145 aircraft, the first of their kind to be used by a hospital-based flight program in the United States. Under her direction the program has grown to now have nine helicopters, an airplane for long-range transports and 14 ground ambulances. She also spearheaded a fundraising campaign to build the $1.1 million original helipad at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in 2005.
Meanwhile, Yeatman facilitated the addition of three new rotor wing bases, started a fixed wing operation that now transports more than 200 patients per year and began an Event Medicine division that supplies EMS care and transport to the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena, along with more than 1,000 other community events.
“Jeanne’s multitude of contributions to Emergency Services, whether that be in LifeFlight or the Emergency Department, will leave a lasting imprint on who we are as an organization,” said Robin Steaban, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Chief Nursing Officer of Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital (VUAH). “She helped set the standard for a culture of excellence and held fast to building a sense of community, which will serve her well at VWCH. We wish her all the best in this next leg of her professional journey knowing that even though her focus will be on VWCH, her work at VUAH will live on through an incredible partnership.”
Yeatman serves on the statewide Tennessee EMS Board and as secretary for the Middle Tennessee EMS Directors association and secretary for South Central EMS.
Yeatman succeeds Denise Boman, MBA, RN, who had been chief nursing officer and held executive responsibility for operations at the hospital since 2010. VUMC acquired the facility from a subsidiary of Community Health Systems Inc. in August 2019.
“Jeanne is a capable leader, important adviser and trusted member of the VWCH team,” said Jay Hinesley, MHA, president of VWCH. “She is key to ensuring the highest level of nursing care for our patients and families.”
