VUSN’s Pilon to turn over Faculty Practice leadership
Bonnie Pilon, D.S.N., R.N., is stepping down from her role as senior associate dean of Faculty Practice for Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in August.
She will continue serving as a senior faculty member and program director for the Health Systems Management specialty in the master's program and teaching in the school's D.N.P. program.
Bonnie Pilon, D.S.N., R.N.
“Bonnie has shown us how one person can touch the lives of so many others,” said Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., C.N.M., dean of VUSN. “She is an accomplished strategist, a stellar instructor and a masterful problem-solver.
“Other than her family, her two greatest passions have been the desire to show how advanced nurse practitioners can practice at the “top of their license” and a commitment to provide quality health care to the underserved.”
During the past 11 years, VUSN has seen explosive growth in its faculty practice program. The school currently owns or operates 16 sites in Middle and East Tennessee and Kentucky, and has a house calls program operating in two counties.
When Pilon came on board in 1999, VUSN had 5,000 unique patients and nurse-midwives delivered 42 babies. This year, VUSN faculty and staff have provided care to more than 19,000 individuals and nurse-midwives will deliver nearly 1,000 babies.
“Bonnie's keen understanding of health care delivery coupled with her unflappable determination to expand health care access has allowed Vanderbilt to reach out to thousands of Middle Tennesseans in new and profound ways,” said Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.
“I'm delighted that she will remain a vital part of our nursing faculty, helping usher in the next generation of health systems leaders.”
With the advent of federal health care reform, Pilon has decided to devote the next chapter of her career on new models of care such as expansion opportunities for nurse managed care and partnerships with community agencies.
Conway-Welch and the School's senior associate deans have launched a national search for a new faculty practice leader.