A new era: McGill takes reigns at NRH

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Norman Regional Health System has named McGill, MSN, RN, CCRN as its chief nursing officer (CNO). She had previously served as interim co-chief nursing officer at the organization.
As chief nurse, McGill will integrate and coordinate a patient-centric nursing strategy with a focus on patient care. The CNO is responsible for overseeing the care of all patients in Norman Regional facilities.
“In addition to having extensive knowledge and experience as a nurse, Brittni is a strong communicator and leader. She represents nursing as a discipline, but more importantly gives a voice to our patients,” said Richie Splitt, Norman Regional president and CEO.
McGill said she was fortunate to serve as the interim CNO to help acclimate to her future role
“The interim phase was really enlightening,” she said. “It was eye-opening and gave me a glimpse of what the permanent position would look like and require. It’s really an exciting time for this organization. We have a really engaged and energetic leadership team that is learning and growing to work better and be more collaborative.”
The chief nurse is also responsible for supervising nurses and nurse leadership, facilitating the design and implementing the delivery of safe and high-quality patient care, and recommending strategies to improve health and wellness.
“I’m committed to the growth and professional development of our wonderful team of healers at Norman Regional,” McGill said.
During her time as interim CNO, McGill standardized many patient care areas, was part of a successful Joint Commission Accreditation survey, led the expansion of the vascular access specialist team, and restructured clinical education.
She also brought new services on board at the health system including the recruitment of a robotically-trained cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon and the opening of a new hybrid operating room and cath lab.
McGill earned her Masters of Science in Nursing Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She is a nationally certified critical care nurse.
McGill began her career as a nurse at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at OU Children’s Hospital. In 2007, she joined the team at the Norman Regional HealthPlex’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and later transitioned through multiple leadership roles within the health system.
In 2014, McGill became the director of nursing at The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital where she directed and oversaw the nursing department.
McGill rejoined Norman Regional as the Cardiovascular Service Line director, where she was responsible for ensuring high standards of cardiovascular care through multiple units, departments and services.
She serves on the board for the State of Oklahoma’s Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Virtue Center in Norman.
She had been serving as interim co-chief nurse with Susie Graves, RN, since 2017.
As one of the few remaining municipally-owned hospitals left in our state, Norman Regional Health System has several advantages as well as challenges in the corporate-dominated hospital market.
McGill quickly points to a rich pool of clinicians, termed Healers, as her best asset coming into the new role.
“It’s the people, it’s the culture,” McGill said. “It’s the fact that we work well together to be action-oriented to create solutions. It would be the clinicians’ dedication to quality. I think knowing the why and the purpose behind things is very, very important and I saw the people really wanted to know that and to me that was a great strength.”
“They wanted to connect with the what and the why.”
As the health system looks to bring all of its hospital service offerings under one campus in Norman, McGill is focused on setting the foundation with collaboration and a greater understanding of how each unit works with others.
“I want to focus on bringing all of the individual areas, units and service lines together because yes there are differences but we can’t achieve our strategic organizational goals working independently,” she said. “We’ve got to work closer together. That’s what Susie and I really worked on initially making the culture one of being more collaborative.”
McGill has a nursing household with husband Matt working as a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist specializing in infectious diseases.
A number of accomplishments came while McGill and Graves served as chief nursing officers including:
* A successful Joint Commission survey that resulted in a number of positives and requests for the health system to share its practices with other hospitals.
* An increased focus by the Vascular Access Specialty Team in spearheading initiatives that have helped the system reduce its number of healthcare acquired infections.
* The development of the only nurse residency program of its kind in the state that mentors new nurses during their first year.
“I think the little things are so very important – connecting with the patients, being solutions-oriented and going above and beyond to meet those needs,” McGill said.