Shore Health System announced that Kathy Gootee, MBA, RHIA, CPUR, CMT, who is Director of Clinical Information Management for Shore Health System, was named the 2008 Director of the Year. Kim Billingslea, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Manager of the Joint Center, Neuroscience and Renal Units, was selected as Manager of the Year.
The 2008 honorees were chosen by their peers based on their demonstrated commitment to delivering the Shore Health System mission of Exceptional Care, Every Day through service, relationship building, initiative, systems thinking, vision, teamwork and overall commitment to the patients, families, physicians and staff of Shore Health System.
Gootee, who lives in Cambridge, began her healthcare career over 35 years ago as a medical transcriptionist at Dorchester General Hospital. She was promoted to assistant director of clinical information management for The Memorial Hospital at Easton in 1984, a position she held until 1987, when she began a private transcription practice and served as a consultant for the Delmarva Foundation. She returned to Shore Health System in 1988, resuming her role as assistant director of clinical information management. She was promoted to her current position in 2000.
A graduate of Chesapeake College with an associate’s degree in teacher education, Gootee earned a degree in medical records administration from the University of Alabama and a MBA from City University in Bellevue, Washington. Gootee is a registered health information administrator, a certified professional in utilization review, and a certified medical transcriptionist. She is a member of the Maryland Health Information Management Association, the American Health Information Management Association, and the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity. She is a member of the Shore Leadership Class of 2008.
One nominator summed up Gootee’s contributions by saying, “Kathy demonstrates great vision by thinking ahead and working very closely with Shore Health System’s team of directors. She has shown optimal initiative and organizational commitment to the complex process of managing patient records.”
Kim Billingslea of Easton began her nursing career as a staff nurse for the Telemetry Unit at The Memorial Hospital at Easton in 1989 after graduating with a bachelors degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore Nursing School. In 1992, she was promoted to assistant nurse manager for the Neuroscience Unit and, in 2001, she became clinical coordinator for this unit and for the medical-surgical unit and the Joint Center. Billingslea transferred to Dorchester General Hospital in 2003, where she was nurse manager for the multi-specialty unit. She returned to Memorial Hospital in 2005, taking responsibility for the Neuroscience and Renal units as well as the Joint Center.
Billingslea is board certified as a nurse executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Under her leadership, Memorial Hospital earned designation as a primary stroke center from the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems in 2007.
Her peers commended Billingslea for her commitment to patient care and for working with a team orientation. One nominator said, “Wherever she manages a group, Kim works with the staff to establish a culture of trust, confidence and stability. “ Another nominator added, “Kim always places the patient and family as her number one priority. She has a strong desire to make our community proud of Shore Health System.”