Karen Owings Steps Up to Integrated Leadership Role with MedStar Health

Baltimore, MD—(February 3, 2017)— Karen Owings, MSN, RN-BC, has been named the top nursing leader for both MedStar Good Samaritan and MedStar Union Memorial Hospitals, where she’ll oversee the integrated nursing program for both hospitals as vice president of Patient Care Services and the chief nursing officer, effective today.  Sharon Bottcher, RN, M.S., steps down from the position, retiring after a 35-year nursing career.

Karen started her nursing career at MedStar Union Memorial in 1986, achieving recognition for committee work and initiatives in surgery, orthopaedics, geriatrics and telemetry. She drove joint commission certifications in stroke, palliative, spine and the hip and knee programs and in 2007 was named director of Patient Care Services there.

When MedStar Good Samaritan and MedStar Union Memorial integrated in 2015, Karen became the assistant vice-president of nursing operations for both hospitals, responsible for uniting the nursing programs while overseeing seven departments.

Karen has made significant contributions to system initiatives and priorities throughout her career, including the MedStar Quality and Safety Steering Committee, MedStar Stroke Committee, and MedStar Nurses Improving Care for Health system Elders (NICHE) Steering Committee. She obtained a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and served as the project lead on the Behavioral Health Readmission Lean Project. Additionally, Karen is a member of the MedStar 2020 Performance Transformation Workforce Management Sub-Committee.

“Karen has left a footprint on every nursing unit at MedStar Union Memorial and has work tirelessly to ensure a seamless integration of nursing operations between Union and MedStar Good Samaritan,” said Brad Chambers, president of both hospitals and senior vice president at MedStar Health, “Karen is a nurse’s nurse and a respected leader, who has demonstrated throughout her career, an earnest love of the nursing profession, but also of her fellow associates. It’s a good fit and I’m proud to have her on our executive leadership team.”

Karen earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Villa Julie College and a master of science in nursing from Walden University.

About MedStar Health

MedStar Health is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to caring for people in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region, while advancing the practice of medicine through education, innovation and research. MedStar’s 30,000 associates, 6,000 affiliated physicians, 10 hospitals, ambulatory care and urgent care centers, and the MedStar Health Research Institute are recognized regionally and nationally for excellence in medical care. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar trains more than 1,100 medical residents annually. MedStar Health’s patient-first philosophy combines care, compassion and clinical excellence with an emphasis on customer service. For more information, visit MedStarHealth.org.