Jennifer O’Neill has been named chief operating officer at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, according to a Thursday announcement.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome back Jennifer O’Neill to the Saint Barnabas Medical Center family,” said Richard Davis, newly named CEO and president, SBMC. “Jennifer is a passionate and innovative leader who is focused on excellence. She has a proven track record of improving the quality of care for our patients throughout the hospital and in the community.”
O’Neill specializes in creating models of excellence in clinical, operational and administrative realms by spearheading high-impact strategies, programs and teams, according to the news release.
Instrumental in the fight against COVID-19, O’Neill opened medical units within the hospital to care for COVID-19 patients. As vaccine became available, she launched two vaccine clinics for the staff, physicians, patients and the community.
Having begun her career at SBMC as a registered nurse and then patient care coordinator, she then spent seven years in the outpatient setting as a nurse practitioner, clinical manager and registered nurse first assist for a busy OB/GYN practice in Livingston. O’Neill rejoined SBMC as a nurse manager, quickly rising through the organization to the position of chief nursing officer/vice president, patient care services, where she oversaw all aspects of the nursing division implementing numerous initiatives focused on improving patient care, communication and patient satisfaction until her departure in 2019.
She joined Hospital for Special Surgery in 2019 as the chief nursing officer and was quickly promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer.
SBMC is being renamed Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center after Leon and Toby Cooperman made a historic $100 million gift to the facility earlier this fall.