McLaren Health Care, the three-state, 13-hospital, fully integrated health care system and health plan, has appointed Jennifer M. Montgomery, MSA, RN, CENP, NEA-BC, FACHE, to Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. A newly created, system-level executive position, Montgomery’s assumption of the role, effective June 1, marks the first senior nursing leader in McLaren’s history.
Montgomery brings more than 16 years of nursing leadership and health care executive experience, including serving as President and CEO of multiple McLaren Health Care subsidiary hospitals since 2015. This role reports to Dr. Justin Klamerus, McLaren Health Care Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer.
“These past few years have put a spotlight on the truly vital and dynamic role nursing and bedside caregivers have in our patients’ overall care,” Montgomery said. “In working and collaborating with our hospital patient care services leaders, we can share ideas and implement broad strategies so our nurses’ roles can reach their full potential and further benefit our patients. I am excited and humbled to be named the first system Chief Nursing Officer, and grateful to McLaren leadership for their vote of confidence.”
As Chief Nursing Officer, Montgomery will provide clinical and operational oversight across the spectrum of nursing care at all McLaren hospital and ambulatory settings to unite and align all system sites under a standard of care. She will collaborate with nursing leaders throughout McLaren Health Care to recommend, develop, and implement programs and initiatives to advance care and drive quality patient outcomes. She will also lead effort to form and enhance existing partnerships for training, professional development, and scholarship among McLaren nursing professionals.
“Considering the geographical coverage of our organization and the range of services offered by our providers, creating a systemwide nursing leader to align McLaren bedside caregivers under a unified standard of care will provide measurable benefit to our patients’ care and experience,” said Philip Incarnati, President and CEO of McLaren Health Care. “In her time with McLaren, Jennifer has proven herself to be an effective leader and sincere in her level of commitment to our patients. These attributes will serve her well in this role.”
Montgomery began her career at the patient’s bedside as a registered nurse at what is now McLaren Port Huron hospital. She progressed in her career, earning promotions to manager and director at area hospitals before returning to Port Huron as the hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer.
Following a brief stint outside of the system, she again returned to Port Huron as its Vice President of Nursing and Clinical Operations. When McLaren Health Care acquired then-Port Huron Hospital, Montgomery remained to assume the role of President and CEO in 2015 of McLaren Port Huron. In her tenure, she oversaw multiple expansion projects, improved operational efficiencies to increase emergency department and outpatient visits, and enhanced patient safety scores. Most recently, Montgomery served as President and CEO of McLaren St. Luke’s.
At the system level, Montgomery has been active in the development of various services lines across all of McLaren Health Care, having co-chaired the cardiovascular service line and has served as a senior nurse advisor and representative to numerous committees and other initiatives.
“Across the spectrum of our patients’ care, the benefits of purposeful and thoughtful nursing can never be minimized,” said Dr. Justin Klamerus, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at McLaren Health Care. “With her history as a bedside caregiver and experience as an organizational leader, Jennifer possesses the qualities to advance the level of care and overall patient experience provided in our facilities throughout the state, and I’m honored to have her join us in this role.”
Montgomery initially earned her Diploma in Nursing from the Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing before continuing in her career and education with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University and Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. Along the way, she earned a fellowship with the American College of Healthcare Executives and certifications in Executive Nursing Practice and Nurse Executive Advanced. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Indianapolis.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6.6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 14 hospitals in Michigan, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 732,838 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 53 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. McLaren has 28,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Learn more at mclaren.org.