Higgins Named Director of 16CD, 12A
Margaret Higgins, MSN, RN, was named director of Tower 16CD (the Shapiro Pavilion) and Tower 12A, plastic surgery and urology. Higgins, who previously was the nurse educator on Tower 8AB, began in her new role this spring.
“I’ve been so impressed by how frequently patients on both units make it a point to let me know how great the care here at the Brigham is,” she said. “When I walk into a patient’s room, I hear how someone – a nurse, unit associate, PCA or physician – has gone out of their way to help the patient.”
Between the two units, Higgins works with 45 nurses, 12 patient care assistants and eight unit coordinators. As she transitions to her new role, she is taking time to assess the interests of staff and work with them on ways to advance practice and quality.
Prior to becoming the nurse educator of Tower 8AB, Higgins held staff nurse positions in several areas at BWH, including the Intermediate Float Pool, the Anticoagulation Service and Tower 12ABC (formerly intermediate cardiology). She also has volunteered for three years as a staff nurse and nurse in-charge with the BWH-led Operation Walk group, which performs joint replacement surgery in the Dominican Republic.
Higgins earned her master’s degree in nursing administration from Salem State College and her BSN from Boston College.
Ahmed Named Ambulatory Nursing Director
Stephanie Ahmed, DNP, FNP-BC, was named director for Ambulatory Nursing at BWH this spring.
In this position, she is working with staff throughout BWH’s 160 ambulatory practices—in 23 locations—to advance nursing practice and patient care across outpatient settings, including the Brigham and Women’s/Massachusetts General Healthcare Center at Foxborough, where she has direct clinical responsibilities.
Ahmed’s role is to enhance and support the excellent practice of ambulatory nurses and medical assistants. Increasing educational support, augmenting orientation for new hires and providing ongoing support and consistency to help staff operate effectively are some initial areas of focus.
“I’m here to be a resource to ambulatory nurses, to help support excellent nursing care to patients and families, to participate in creating an ambulatory environment that supports the safest care and to make sure our nurses have the supports and education they need to be their best,” she said. “This position also gives me an opportunity to focus on the big picture of preparing ambulatory nursing practice for health care reform.”
Staff in Foxborough report directly to Ahmed, and she serves in a consultative role for the other ambulatory practices, providing direction and mentorship. She is partnering with Kevin Giordano, administrator for Plastic Surgery, to look at ambulatory procedural areas and their scope of care, regulations and staffing.
Ahmed also participates on committees including Primary Care Redesign, the Ambulatory Council and the Department of Nursing’s Standards, Policies and Procedures.
Prior to beginning in this role, Ahmed worked at Massachusetts General Hospital as a consultant to Patient Care Services’ Office of Quality and Safety and as a nurse practitioner in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Before that, she was a nurse practitioner in BWH’s Division of Plastic Surgery.
A board-certified family nurse practitioner, Ahmed earned her BSN and MSN from UMass Lowell and her DNP from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.
Mulloy Named Executive Director of Quality Measurement and Implementation
Deborah Farina Mulloy, PhD, RN, CNOR, joined BWH this spring as the executive director of Quality Measurement and Implementation for the Department of Nursing.
In this position, Mulloy collaborates with nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary care team throughout the hospital to facilitate best practices across the organization. “Quality provides the foundation that’s so critical for practice to develop,” she said. “We have to work as a team to deliver the best care to our patients and to strive to continuously improve that care.”
In her first few months, Mulloy has started to round on units and looks forward to meeting nurses throughout the hospital to learn more about quality improvement projects already in place. She also serves as advisor to the Nursing Quality, Safety and Care Improvement Committee co-chaired by Stephanie Capello, RN, clinical nurse, and Martha Doherty, RN, nurse educator.
Mulloy looks forward to partnering with internal teams to identify areas of opportunities and to review and disseminate quality data so that BWH is in compliance with standards set by external agencies.
Mulloy came to BWH from Lahey Clinic, where she served as director of Risk Management and Patient Safety. She has extensive experience in nursing and quality improvement, having also worked at Massachusetts General Hospital as a project manager for the Center for Quality and Safety and as a perioperative clinical nurse specialist for New England Baptist Hospital, among other roles.
She earned her diploma in nursing from the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, her BSN from Boston College, her MSN from the UMass Lowell and her PhD in nursing health policy from UMass Boston.