Karen Stratton Named VP for Women's and Children's Services

Karen Stratton named VP for Women's and Children's Services

November 4, 2013

Karen Stratton, PhD, RN, NE-BC, has been promoted to Vice President for Women's and Children's Services after distinguishing herself as a key leader since joining the University of Chicago Medicine in May 2012.

"Working closely with medical leadership, Karen has improved quality, safety, staff engagement and service quality throughout the patient care setting," said Sharon O'Keefe, University of Chicago Medical Center president.

Stratton's new position combines her previous role as executive director of nursing at Comer Children's Hospital with additional administrative responsibilities for women's and children's health care.

One of Stratton's main responsibilities will be to oversee the design and launch of a state-of-the-art Women's Care Center, which will consolidate University of Chicago Medicine expertise in high-risk perinatal and neonatal care, and labor and delivery, as well as attract top talent in maternal fetal medicine.

In tandem with executive and medical leadership, Stratton will guide the implementation of clinical business plans, the development of innovative patient care delivery systems and the ongoing focus on patient safety and satisfaction in these key areas.

By consolidating management of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), women's and children's care programs and the hospital's perinatal network, Stratton will be able to better organize data collection and analysis to drive more evidence-based growth strategies and decision making.

Stratton received her BS in nursing from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, her MS in pediatric nursing from Rush University in Chicago and her doctorate in Nursing Health Services Research from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.  She continues to hold an adjunct faculty position as clinical assistant professor in the masters and doctorate nursing administration programs at University of Illinois College of Nursing, where she lectures, advises graduate students and serves on doctoral dissertation committees.