Kara Bennis
Colorado Springs
Summary
Results-oriented achiever with proven ability to exceed targets and drive success in fast-paced environments. Combines strategic thinking with hands-on experience to deliver impactful solutions and enhance organizational performance.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Unit Manager
CommonSpirit Health
Colorado Springs, CO
05.2024 - Current
- Coordinate and streamline daily operations to ensure high-quality patient care.
- Mentor new staff on operational procedures and best practices.
- Conduct comprehensive audits of care delivery to identify areas for improvement and optimize patient outcomes.
- Coordinate information exchange among various disciplines.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to deliver comprehensive direct patient care and address individual needs.
- Liaison between clinical staff, providers and leadership.
- Ensure compliance with care protocols and maintain medical records.
- Direct and supervise a team of 16-22 direct reports.
Clinical Education Nurse Manager
Rocky Mountain Health Care Services
Colorado Springs, CO
12.2019 - 03.2024
- Led nursing team in implementing patient care protocols, enhancing service delivery and compliance.
- Developed training programs for staff, improving clinical skills and knowledge retention.
- Conducted performance evaluations, providing constructive feedback to promote professional development among nursing staff.
- Trained new nurses, cna's, ma's and patient care attendants in proper techniques, care standards, operational procedures, and safety protocols.
- Ensured regulatory compliance by maintaining accurate records and staying up-to-date on industry standards.
- Evaluated skills of clinical personnel for competency and proficiency.
- Collected, arranged, and input information into HealthStream/Relias database system.
- Evaluated staff performance and provided coaching to address inefficiencies.
- Fostered improvement in staff development, personnel training, and standards of patient care.
- Coordinated and implemented in-service educational programs focusing on safety and adherence to protocols.
- Championed continuous learning among staff members, organizing regular educational workshops and seminars.
- Developed comprehensive training programs for new hires, ensuring quality care and consistency in nursing practices.
- Participated in evidence-based practice project implementation, nursing competency development and nursing simulation activities.
- Collaborated with leadership to devise initiatives for improving nursing satisfaction, retention and morale.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to design and execute quality improvement initiatives.
Home Health Care Manager
Rocky Mountain Health Care Services
07.2017 - 12.2019
- Coordinated communication between healthcare providers and families to enhance patient support services.
- Oversaw scheduling of healthcare personnel to ensure adequate coverage.
- Enhanced team collaboration by conducting regular meetings, fostering open communication, and promoting best practices in home healthcare management.
- Recruited, hired, oriented, trained and provided direct supervision to nursing personnel.
- Managed financial aspects of home healthcare operations through budget preparation and expense monitoring.
- Resolved conflicts among staff members by mediating discussions and facilitating problem-solving strategies focused on achieving common goals.
- Monitored regulatory compliance with state and federal guidelines.
- Streamlined scheduling processes for better staff utilization and increased efficiency in service delivery.
- Developed and updated policies and procedures, maintaining compliance with home care regulations.
- Oversaw the medication ordering, distribution and compliance.
Senior Public Health Nurse
Southern Nevada Health District
Las Vegas, NV
09.2002 - 07.2017
- Led community health initiatives to enhance public health awareness and access to services.
- Conducted epidemiological investigations to identify and address public health concerns.
- Collaborated with local agencies to improve healthcare delivery systems.
- Facilitated training workshops on disease prevention and health promotion for community stakeholders.
- Advocated for policy changes that improved health outcomes within the region's population.
- Increased access to healthcare for underserved individuals by establishing telehealth services.
- Collaborated with local agencies to address social determinants of health.
- Participated in emergency response efforts during natural disasters or disease outbreaks, ensuring timely provision of necessary resources and care to the community.
- Trained nursing staff on best practices in public health nursing, promoting higher quality care across the organization.
- Managed budgets for public health clinical programs to include creation, spending and oversight.
- Conducted research on emerging public health issues, informing evidence-based practice within the department.
- Reduced infectious disease spread by promoting hygiene practices and coordinating disease surveillance activities.
- Streamlined service delivery processes, reducing wait times for patients seeking care at public health clinics.
- Organized community health fairs, providing free screenings and educational resources to attendees.
- Designed culturally-sensitive educational materials for diverse communities, increasing awareness about available resources within the population.
- Prevented illness by educating the public on healthy practices to stop disease.
- Safely administered vaccinations, providing education to customers on vaccines, dosage, indications, precautions, contraindications and potential side effects.
- Visited homes, assessing patient and family needs.
- Collected HIV risk assessment data and entered findings in centralized database.
- Supervised performance of clinical and laboratory staff.
- Executed hospital prevention and health promotion programs to improve awareness of health-related issues and conditions.
- Reviewed patient records for unusual issues, cluster infections and known pathogens so that outbreaks could be remedied quickly.
- Collected and organized quality data from multiple sources and disseminated to State and Federal agencies.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Aspen University
Denver, CO07-2019
Skills
- Infection control
- Budget planning
- Patient education and counseling
- Health information systems
- Nursing operations management
- Attention to detail
- Documentation review
- Staff training, development and mentoring
- Policy development and implementation
- Regulatory compliance
Timeline
Unit Manager
CommonSpirit Health
05.2024 - Current
Clinical Education Nurse Manager
Rocky Mountain Health Care Services
12.2019 - 03.2024
Home Health Care Manager
Rocky Mountain Health Care Services
07.2017 - 12.2019
Senior Public Health Nurse
Southern Nevada Health District
09.2002 - 07.2017
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Aspen University