University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing alumna Velinda Block, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, has been appointed the first chief nursing executive of HCA Healthcare’s Tristar Division.
In this new role, Block oversees nursing and nursing practice for more than 5,800 nurses who support patient care in 22 hospitals with 3,205 licensed beds and related care areas impacting communities in middle and eastern Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northwest Georgia, including northeast Atlanta.
Dr. Velinda BlockBlock, who earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from the School in 2010, has more than 34 years of nursing leadership experience, including serving as chief nursing officer and assistant vice president of UAB Hospital from 2007-2013.“The combination of getting my doctorate from the UAB School of Nursing and working as the chief nursing officer at UAB Hospital has well prepared me to work in a large health system like HCA’s Tristar Division,” Block said. “What I learned about executive nursing leadership from faculty at the School, including my advisor, Dr. Pat Patrician, was invaluable and will be put into practice every day in my new position.”
Block, a member of the School’s National Advisory Council, comes to HCA’s Tristar Division after most recently serving as senior vice president and system chief nursing officer for KentuckyOne Health based in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I look back at the experiences and opportunities at the professional level I have had and many of those are because of my strong relationships with the UAB School of Nursing administration and faculty that opened doors I had never had opened before,” Block said.
HCA’s Tristar Division is a leading health care provider supporting more than 661,000 patients and nearly 724,000 emergency room visits annually.
