Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant recently announced that Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Griffis has been named as the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer. Griffis will also continue her role as the Chief Nursing Officer.
Griffis has been a part of the TRMC team for 19 years. She holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) in Healthcare from the University of Arkansas and is a former Surgical and Neuro Trauma ICU nurse. Since stepping into the CNO role in 2020, she has seen the hospital undergo significant advancements in patient care, leading teams that have earned Gold Plus status from the American Heart Association in Stroke, Heart Attack, EMS, and Heart Failure. Under her leadership, TRMC’s Stroke Center ranks in the top 16% nationally for timeliness of stroke care, and the hospital has been recognized multiple times in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals rankings.
Griffis says, “We have changed the culture here, and we make it known that we won’t tolerate anything other than excellence… We have a great little hospital here.”
When talking about all of the achievements and successes recently at TRMC, Griffis is quick to point out that it is a team effort. She also points to TRMC CEO Patty Beckman for being a mentor and a guiding light to her during her career. Griffis says of Beckman, “She saw potential in me. I would not be where I am if she had not mentored and supported me.”
She notes, “I have never built anything singularly. We have so many staff members on the front line that know what’s going on and we have brought people in to help us guide the care of the patients. It takes everyone involved to make it work right.”
She elaborates on that point by saying, “ I tell our nurses to put the patient in the palm of your hand, and you will never ever go wrong or have a problem. It shouldn’t be about us, or me. It is a job that comes with great responsibility, but we have to do what’s right for the patient.”
When asked what the new role as COO means to her, Griffis states, “I’ve been at the hospital for 20 years. It seems like yesterday. I have a deep love for this hospital and the community. I have seen so many good things happen here. I have seen the evolution of this hospital and I am very proud of where we are now.”
Griffis pointed to the stroke program that began in 2007, the new cardiac cath lab, and many other new programs at TRMC that have been initiated since she joined the team, again noting the importance of that team effort and the “phenomenal physicians and staff members” that call TRMC home.
She says, “Seeing the evolution and where we are now… it’s like gold dust. People say you can’t make it too personal, but it is personal. Every patient that comes here is personal. We live in a small community and everybody counts, and everybody tells a story. We want that story to be that we are the best. For us, there is a very fine line for anything other than excellence.”
Griffis has simple goals for her future and the future of TRMC. She notes, “The biggest goal I have is to see our team excel. We have up and coming leaders and I want to see them fly. I want to see them expand their careers professionally. For any nurse or staff member that wants to further their career, I want to know about it. It is not an easy job and not everyone would want to do it, but at the end of the day if you go home and you hear about a patient that had a great day, or a nurse that used their assessment skills well and alerted a doctor… things that help the patient, those are the things that make it worthwhile.”
Outside of work, Kathy enjoys spending time with David, her husband of 32 years and their son Thomas, as they manage their family ranch, which has been in operation since 1839.
Their daughter, Kathryn, a University of Arkansas graduate, has recently launched her career in finance in Dallas. A proud University of Arkansas alum, Kathy loves supporting Razorback athletics and unwinding by watching cattle in the pasture.
