Nursing Alumna Named Interim CNO at MGUH

Nursing alumna Eileen Brennan Ferrell, MS, RN (NHS’75, G’83) has been named interim chief nursing officer at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

A Georgetown University nursing alumna has recently been named interim chief nursing officer at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH).

Eileen Brennan Ferrell, MS, RN (NHS’75, G’83), who has served as director of nurse recruitment and retention, began the position in September.

“With more than 23 years of committed and impressive service to MGUH, Eileen has been an integral leader in the Nursing Division,” said Richard Goldberg, MD (M’72, R’75), the hospital’s president. “As a visible leader, she is not only passionate about the field of nursing, but has been an enthusiastic and devoted champion of nursing at MGUH.”

Goldberg added that Ferrell has been responsible for recruiting some of the best and brightest nurses in the nation to the hospital.

Since her graduation from the School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) in 1975, Ferrell has maintained a strong connection with the university and the hospital.

Both of her children, she noted, were born at the hospital. She also served as chair of the steering committee that planned the NHS centennial, an event that celebrated the school’s founding in 1903.

She said she is excited for her new leadership role.

“I love Georgetown,” she said. “I have been here since I was 18 years old. I hope to move nursing forward with the goal of supporting the hospital’s vision, mission, and values within the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis – or care for the whole person.”

Jeanne Matthews, PhD, RN, chair of the Department of Nursing at NHS, said Ferrell exemplifies the type of graduates that come out of Georgetown’s nursing program.

“Our alumni have gone on to distinguished positions of leadership in clinical and community settings, the federal government, and higher education – to name a few areas,” she said. “Eileen has built a career upon strong values and clinical excellence, and we congratulate her on this appointment and look forward to our work together.”