St. Mary's names CEO

Annette Small, RN, BSN, on Dec. 1 became the first nurse to serve as chief executive officer at St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Small joined the St. Mary’s team in Blue Springs in 2000. She worked in a variety of roles, including case management and performance improvement, administrative projects specialist, and director of clinical operations.

Small became the interim chief executive officer in July.

“I’m very, very excited stepping in to this role. It’s a new way to be a patient advocate,” Small said. “It’s a great opportunity to have a nurse in this role.”

St. Mary’s Medical Center is a Carondelet Heath facility. Carondelet President and Chief Executive Officer Fleury Yelvington described Small as the perfect candidate for the position.

“I was getting e-mails on a daily basis from all parts of the hospital promoting Annette, saying make her the CEO,” Yelvington said.

Ginger Bliss, Carondelet vice president of strategic planning and business development, agreed that Small stood out among other candidates.

“As interim CEO the past four months, Annette has more than proven her ability to succeed as the permanent CEO of St. Mary’s Medical Center,” Bliss wrote in an e-mail. “She has gained the confidence and admiration of all key stakeholders including associates and physicians.

“It is always particularly special for Carondelet Health to be able to announce the promotion of an internal candidate who has been such an integral part of the organization for a number of years and has worked her way up to this level of the organization.”

As a nurse, Small brings a clinical perspective to the leadership role.

“She understands what clinical staff go through,” Yelvington said. “This is an individual that has worked her way up through an organization.”

Small said she looks forward to this new phase in her career.

“I’ve had a wide variety of experiences in my nursing career,” Small said. “This is kind of a culmination of everything I’ve done in my career.”

Small is pursuing a master’s in business administration degree from Baker University. As an MBA student, Small said she enjoys the networking opportunities the program provides.

“It’s good to share those professional experiences,” Small said.

Small balances her professional life with physical fitness. Ingram’s magazine named Small one of Kansas City’s fittest executives.

Small said she works out five to seven times a week.

“I feel like I’m able to handle the stressors of what could get the best of me,” she said. “You just have to do it. You cannot think about it. It has to be like brushing your teeth.”

Small said she wants to encourage her employees to work out as well.

“In December we are going to have a small fitness center here for employees to use,” Small said.

The fitness center will include treadmills and stationary bikes.

“It’s a way that people can grab 10 minutes of exercise before or after work,” Small said.

Small also plans to incorporate exercise into her one-on-one meetings.

“My goal is to have meetings while we are walking around on the track,” she said. “A little fresh air never hurt anybody.”

Along with promoting physical fitness within the hospital, Small said she hopes to promote the hospital’s resources to members of the community.

“One of my big goals is to make sure that the community that we serve understands the capabilities that we have here,” Small said.

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