Brookfield Resident is New Chief Nursing Officer at Froedtert Hospital

Froedtert Hospital Names Brookfield Resident to Top Nursing Post

Milwaukee, WI (November 23, 2009) – Brookfield resident Kathleen Bechtel, MSN, RN, has been named Chief Nursing Officer for Froedtert Hospital. As a member of Froedtert Hospital’s senior management team, Bechtel will lead both the inpatient and outpatient nursing practice of more than 1,500 nurses and will work in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin physicians. In addition, Bechtel will help to set strategy and oversee service, quality, growth and finance within nursing at Froedtert, and have a key role in achieving the hospital’s re-designation as a Magnet organization by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2010.

Before joining Froedtert Hospital, Bechtel spent 19 years at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, a Level I trauma center, nationally verified burn center and teaching facility. Bechtel began her career at Regions in 1990 as the trauma nurse coordinator. In subsequent years, she held responsibilities for the trauma program, administration, burn rehabilitation, care management, nursing practice, nursing education, endoscopy and oncology. She also served as director of nursing critical care and progressive care, overseeing three critical care units including the burn center, two progressive/general care units and an acute dialysis program.

“Kathy’s broad array of leadership experiences and successes in academic, teaching and community settings provides Froedtert with a chief nursing officer who will continue our commitment to nursing excellence,” said Cathy Buck, executive vice president-operations, and chief operating officer of Froedtert Hospital.

Bechtel succeeds Pamela Maxson-Cooper, RN, who had been chief nursing officer for 10 years and gave over 30 years of service to Froedtert Hospital. Maxson-Cooper will remain with the organization in a part-time position as a nursing consultant with Froedtert & Community Health.

Bechtel is a member of the Minnesota Organization of Leaders in Nursing and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Froedtert Hospital is a 486-bed academic medical center staffed by faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin. The hospital employs more than 1,500 registered nurses and is one of just 230 hospitals in the country to receive the prestigious Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It serves as an eastern Wisconsin referral center for advanced medical practice care in 37 specialties and subspecialties. It is major training and research facility with more than 1,000 medical, nursing and health technical students in training and 2,000 active clinical trials each year.