Mary Dee Hacker, RN, MBA

Vice President, Patient Care Services
Chief Nursing Officer

Mary Dee Hacker is vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where she is responsible for nursing, as well as for respiratory, physical, occupational and speech therapy; audiology; pharmacy; nutritional care; and environmental and food services.

Ms. Hacker has been associated with Childrens Hospital for more than three decades, beginning as a staff nurse in 1975. She has held various administrative nursing positions at the hospital, including as nurse manager of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (1979-82).

Ms. Hacker was named Vice President for Patient Care Services in 1993.

She has been the "…driving force…" behind the RN Residency in Pediatrics, a 22-week program that provides new nursing school graduates with a comprehensive clinical and learning experience to prepare them for work in the acute care environment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The RN Residency in Pediatrics was created in July 1999 in response to the growing national nursing shortage. The curriculum was developed with the support of a Job Development Incentive Grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. It also has received important support from numerous sources, including the Weingart Foundation and the William Randolph Hearst Endowment.

Ms. Hacker is a member of the board (2004-present) of Versant Advantage, Inc., a not-for-profit, public benefit company established by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in response to the growing national nursing shortage and patient safety issues. Versant provides hospitals and healthcare organizations with comprehensive research-oriented and empirically evaluated RN Residency programs that both elevate the standard of nursing care and optimize the financial performance of health care institutions. Hospitals that have implemented the Versant RN Residency have realized financial and clinical quality benefits through significant reduction of first- and second-year new graduate turnover rates.

She is also a member of the board (2006-present) of the not-for-profit Diseases Attacking the Immune System (DAISY) Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, California, which was established by Bonnie and J. Mark Barnes in memory of their son, J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of ITP, an auto-immune disease. The DAISY Award is the first national program established by patients and their families to honor nurses. The program currently includes more than 100 hospitals throughout the United States.

Ms. Hacker is a frequent speaker at state, regional and national meetings.  She has testified on nursing issues at the meetings of various committees of the California Legislature. She was a member of the Board of Registered Nursing Advisory Committee (2000) for AB 655.

Ms. Hacker is a member of numerous local, state and national healthcare organizations, including the Nurse Executive Council of Los Angeles (1992-present), the American Organization of Nurse Executives (1993-present) and the Society of Pediatric Nurses (1992-present).

She has been an active member (1991-present) of the Association of California Nurse Leaders, formerly the Organization of Nurse Executives of California, including service on its health policy committee (1998-2001; chair, 2000).

Ms. Hacker has been a member of the nurse executive committee (1992-present; chair, 1998-99) of the California Children’s Hospital Association. She has been a member of the Nurse Shortage Task Force (1999-04) of the Hospital Association of Southern California.

She has been a member of the ad hoc advisory committee on nursing (1998-99) of the California Hospital Association.

Ms. Hacker served as a member of the Nursing Workforce Development Task Force (2005-2006) of the Child Health Corporation of America.

She serves on the California Nursing Outcomes Coalition (CalNOC) Governance and Advisory Council (2004-present), a database of information reporting from over more than acute care hospitals throughout California, providing measurement tools for nursing quality, management and outcomes research.

Ms. Hacker has been a member of the grassroots advisory panel (1997-98) of the National Association of Children’s Hospital and Related Institutions.

She is a member of the board of the O’Rourke Institute for the Advancement of Professional Practice (2001-present.)

Ms. Hacker is a member of the selection committee for the 2005 Victor E. Schimmel Memorial Nursing Scholarships.

She is a member of the advisory committee (1990-present) for the Department of Nursing at California State University, Los Angeles; and a member of the advisory committee (1993-03) for the Department of Nursing at Pasadena City College.

Ms. Hacker is a member of the editorial advisory board (2004-present) of the magazine, Advance for Nurses; and she has been a member of the executive advisory board (1996-01) of NurseWeek magazine.

Ms. Hacker has been active in the community, with particular emphasis on service to the following organizations:

• Campbell Hall School , including service on the diversity sub-committee (1999); strategic planning committee (1998-99); Head of School Search Committee (2002-03); and board of directors (2001-present).
• St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, including service on the endowment committee (1999-present).
• Hillsides, including service on the communications task force (1998-99); Episcopal connection committee (chair, 1997-02); strategic planning committee (2002-present); and board of directors (1996-03; 2004; executive committee, 1997-03; chair, 2000-02).
• Children’s Home Care, including service on the board of directors (1992-01; executive committee, 1995-01; secretary, 1996-98; 2000-01).

Ms. Hacker has been the recipient of the prestigious Morris and Mary Press Humanism Award (1980) at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, as well as the hospital’s Marion Vannier Award (2001), for her efforts to advance the profession of nursing and care of children.

She has been the recipient of the "Best Practice" (2003) and "Excellence in Nursing Leadership" (2000) awards from the Association of California Nurse Leaders.

Ms. Hacker was recognized in 1997 by California Medicine magazine as one of the "California’s 100 Most Interesting and Influential Healthcare Leaders," as well as by NurseWeek magazine with its "Nursing Excellence Award."

She received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the College of St. Catherine in 1974.  She received a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in 1982.

Ms. Hacker was a Fellow at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1998.