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May 1, 2024

SCHA Announces Second Round of WHY We Lead Participants 

Twenty hospital rising stars have been selected to participate in the second cohort of a leadership development series sponsored by the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA). Called WHY We Lead, the highly selective program is intended to support healthcare workforce needs by identifying and equipping the next generation of hospital leaders to effectively lead teams, encourage employee engagement and embrace change. The program is part of WHY, the association’s comprehensive initiative to transform the healthcare workforce experience, funded through a grant from The Duke Endowment. WHY — an acronym for Work, Harmony, You — seeks to restore harmony to the relationship between work and the people who do it. WHY We Lead is one of several ways for hospitals to get involved in the initiative. 

Those selected are: 

  • Zachary Hopkins, Radiology Manager, Aiken Regional Medical Centers; 
  • Sara Johnson, Director of Case Management, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Columbia; 
  • Charles Dempsey, Clinical Operations Supervisor, Lexington Medical Center;  
  • Cynthia Bell, Nurse Manager, Lexington Medical Center;  
  • Evan Rabon, Physician Liaison, McLeod Health;  
  • Jeremy Woodham, Director of Radiology, McLeod Health;  
  • April McCallum, Patient Care Supervisor OR, McLeod Health Cheraw;  
  • Gina Horne, Laboratory Director, McLeod Health Cheraw; 
  • Kimberly Robertson, Patient Care Supervisor ED/ICU, McLeod Health Cheraw; 
  • Justin Owens, Director of Radiology, McLeod Health Loris; 
  • Rutina Nobles, Director of 4th Floor, Labor and Delivery, and Nursery, McLeod Health Loris;  
  • Renuka Rosario, Administrative Supervisor, Midlands Regional Rehabilitation Hospital;  
  • Caryn Phillips, Clinical Staff Leader Emergency Department, MUSC Charleston;  
  • Benjamin Woodhouse, Nurse Manager PICU, MUSC Charleston; 
  • Felicia Von Dohlen, Nurse Manager NICU, MUSC Charleston;  
  • Elizabeth Enriquez, Nurse Manager Mother Baby Unit, MUSC Charleston;  
  • Jennifer Cummings, Transport Manager, Roper St. Francis Healthcare;  
  • Charice Jones, Director of Risk Management, SC Department of Mental Health;  
  • Kristin Hill, Manager of Strategic Relationships, SCHA and Solvent Networks;  
  • Shane Williams, System Director of Organizational Development and Corporate Education, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. 

WHY We Lead is led by two well-known content experts and experienced facilitators from Reveille Executive Coaching and Consulting Services– Carolyn Swinton, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, NCC, ACC, and Dianne Matlock, BSN, RN.  

Dr. Swinton is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reveille Executive Coaching and Consulting Services. She has served in several clinical leadership roles in more than 30 years in nursing, including Chief Nursing Executive. Matlock is an Amy V. Cockcroft Fellow from the University of South Carolina College of Nursing. She has more than 40 years of nursing experience and has served in several nurse leadership roles.  

The six-part series is designed to help healthcare leaders in mid-level management positions develop key competencies such as self-awareness, building trust in relationships, emotional intelligence, effective communication, critical conversations, problem-solving, and operational excellence.  Participants will also learn how to effectively manage conflicts and inspire others to achieve their full potential through purposeful and worthwhile work. 

“We congratulate everyone selected for the program. Their selection is a tribute to their work record and leadership qualities they’ve already shown,” said Thornton Kirby, SCHA president and CEO. “Participating in this program will help them develop the skills and competencies required of successful leaders in today’s ever-changing healthcare work environment.”