Connie Charles, MSN, RN, CCRN, director of nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital, grew up in Beattyville, where helping her father care for sick animals on the family farm kindled her interest in science and medicine. Those experiences helped lead her to a career in nursing.
“I decided to become a nurse because I wanted to help people in their most vulnerable and unexpected moments,” Charles said. “The nursing profession is gratifying to me because the care I provide can make a patient feel safe and comfortable during otherwise scary times when health issues arise.”
A member of the Saint Joseph Hospital team for 17 years, Charles has served in a variety of patient care and leadership roles. Her background is in cardiothoracic vascular intensive care, and she spent much of her career caring for patients recovering from open-heart surgery and other procedures or conditions in the intensive care unit.
“My favorite type of nursing is open-heart surgery recovery,” Charles said. “I love to learn and challenge my knowledge base, and open-heart surgery recovery requires constant learning. I also love being a nursing leader and sharing my knowledge with those around me so they, too, can learn and grow.”
Before becoming director of nursing in 2022, Charles served in other leadership roles, including charge nurse, supervisor and nursing manager. She credits her experiences in both the bedside and administrative sides of nursing for preparing her for her current position.
Charles makes decisions that affect nearly all aspects of patient care. She hires new team members, develops business plans and goals for her departments, and implements new policies and procedures, while ensuring patients receive safe, high-quality services.
“As a leader, my vision for nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital is to advocate for delivering the right care at the right time, and continue practicing human caring when the world around us seems to be wandering away from the human connection,” Charles said. “May we continue listening to our patients and their families as we place them at the center of our medical planning and decision-making.”
Despite her busy life, Charles remains close to her roots. In her spare hours, when she’s not spending time with loved ones, hiking in the Red River Gorge or volunteering with a nonprofit that provides free, pop-up health care clinics, she enjoys working on her family farm. Her path has come full circle.
"What I most value about working at Saint Joseph Hospital is our grounding in faithbased principles. My faith is very important to me and my source of strength on the hard days.”
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Spirit of Health magazine's print edition is distributed quarterly and focuses on topics related to our CHI Saint Joseph Health purpose and values.
