UM UCH Appoints Michelle D'Alessandro Chief Nursing Officer

University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH) has appointed Michelle D'Alessandro, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, as the organization's Chief Nursing Officer.

D'Alessandro comes to UM UCH from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where she most recently served as Senior Director of Nursing-Medicine and Maternal Child Health. In this role she was responsible for the operational outcomes for the Division of Medicine including Pediatrics Emergency Department, pediatric inpatient, the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, labor and delivery, obstetrics acute and the newborn nursery. She also led COVID initiatives within the Department of Medicine, which included converting the observation unit to a COVID floor; relocating the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit; transitioning the Intensive Care Unit and general floor to BIOMODE; and assisted with inpatient vaccination.

"We are so pleased to have Michelle join us as Chief Nursing Officer," said Elizabeth Wise, MSN, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of UM UCH. "Her experience in nursing is wide-ranging and will help us as we continue to provide the highest quality care to all."

Prior to joining Bayview, D'Alessandro served in several roles at John Hopkins Hospital including Assistant Director of Nursing-Surgery and Nurse Manager. She is a nursing adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and at Stevenson University.

D'Alessandro earned a doctor of nursing practice degree from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, a master's in the management of health care systems from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a bachelor's degree in nursing from Villanova University.

She has received several awards including the Clinical Excellence Team Award for COVID Care in 2021 from Johns Hopkins Health System and the VP Award 2021 and the Medicine Housestaff Award 2020 from Bayview. D'Alessandro has also been a presenter and speaker at various conferences and summits on the topic of medication administration interruptions and distractions.