Juan Luis Hospital Introduces New Chief Nursing Officer

The Juan F. Luis Hospital (JFL) on Friday announced Valarie Lee, above, as the medical facility’s new chief nursing officer. “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Ms. Valarie Lee as the chief nursing officer at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital,” said Dyma Williams, acting JFL chief executive officer. “A native of St. Croix, Ms. Lee comes to us with an exceptionally impressive resume and 38 years of nursing experience, 33 of those years in leadership.”

After 30 years living on the mainland, Ms. Lee said, “I’m thrilled to have returned home [St. Croix] in a position to serve.”

While a 10th grader at the St. Croix Central High School, Ms. Lee was introduced to the field of nursing as a Candy Striper, however it wasn’t until she volunteered at the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged that her passion for nursing was solidified, JFL said.

Now a registered nurse with dual masters in health administration and nursing, Ms. Lee began her nursing career in the Army from which she has since retired honorably. Her nursing experience includes emergency department, medical-surgical, pediatrics, orthopedics, neurology, newborn nursery, intensive care, neonatal intensive care, and labor & delivery.

In conjunction with managing several units, Ms. Lee has also functioned as the Patient Fall Reduction and Pain Reassessment chairperson, and is an active member of the American Nurses Association, the hospital said.

In her last assignment, Ms. Lee was the director of a 52-bed medical/ surgical/telemetry unit where she was recognized for having zero hospital acquired infections, which includes the reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, surgical site infections and pneumonia. Acknowledged for her hand hygiene performance during her tenure, Ms. Lee also successfully initiated bedside reporting and purposeful hourly rounding on the unit, JFL said.

At every assignment, Ms. Lee is said to implement a shared governance team — a model of nursing designed to achieve quality care, according to JFL. “Nursing is my passion and I believe in doing the right thing the first time for all patients. As such, our patients can rely on the JFL hospital staff providing outstanding safe care and giving courtesy and respect at every encounter,” Ms. Lee said.