HealthONE Announces Chief Nursing Executive

Denver, CO, August 05, 2020 --(PR.com)-- The HCA Healthcare Continental Division, which includes HealthONE in Denver and Wesley Healthcare in Wichita, KS, announced today the appointment of Ryan Thornton, MBA, MA, BSN, RN as Chief Nursing Executive for the Continental Division effective September 1, 2020. Thornton’s new role will include oversight of the vision and strategy for nursing services across HealthONE and Wesley hospitals ensuring a focus on service excellence and patient experience through promotion of best practices. Thornton will also assist in the mentoring and development of nursing leaders to ensure meaningful engagement.

Thornton has achieved tremendous success during the past four years as Chief Nursing Officer at Swedish Medical Center, a HealthONE hospital. Under his leadership, Swedish achieved CMS 4 Star, Leapfrog A Grade, Healthgrades Top 5%, and an IBM Watson Top 100 hospital ranking. He also significantly improved RN and physician engagement. Thornton also served as a mentor for several leaders in HCA Healthcare’s Chief Nursing Officer Executive Development Program.

Prior to being named Chief Nursing Officer at Swedish Medical Center in 2016, Thornton served as Swedish Medical Center’s Associate Chief Nursing Officer from 2013 – 2016. He also held nursing leadership roles to include Chief Nursing Officer at Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal, Utah, Assoc. Chief Nursing Officer at Rose Medical Center, and several others leadership positions in the United States Air Force. After serving in the Air Force for more than eight years as both an enlisted member and an officer, Thornton separated from the service with several awards and honors as a Captain.

“Ryan will make a superb addition to the executive team at the HCA Healthcare Continental Division,” stated Sylvia Young, President and CEO of HealthONE and HCA Healthcare’s Continental Division. “Ryan has a long-history of driving results, building trust and solid relationships with nurses and physicians alike, and a true dedication to clinical excellence. I am confident that Ryan will continue to elevate the high-quality patient care that is known amongst our hospitals and I am eager to welcome him to our leadership team!”

Thornton earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Kinesiology, a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, and a Master’s of Arts in Physical Education all from the University of Northern Colorado and recently completed his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Colorado. He is also a graduate of the HCA Healthcare Executive Development Program.

Thornton and his wife, Amanda, are Colorado natives. They have two children and their entire family has a passion for serving our community.

About HealthONE
HealthONE, as part of the HCA Healthcare Continental Division, was named the #1 large hospital system in the United States by IBM Watson Health as part of the 15 Top Health Systems recognition process. HealthONE is the largest healthcare system in the metro Denver area with more than 11,000 employees. As part of the HealthONE system of care, The Medical Center of Aurora, North Suburban Medical Center, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Rose Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center, Swedish Medical Center, and Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital work together to provide a higher level of care. In addition, our family of services includes several hospital free-standing emergency departments and numerous ambulatory surgery centers, CareNow urgent care and occupational medicine clinics, physician practices, imaging centers, and AIRLIFE-DENVER, which provides critical care air and ground transportation across a 10-state region. And, as the #7 corporate philanthropist in the Denver-metro area, and the only hospital system in the top 10, HealthONE contributed more than $1.6 million in 2019 and supports over 150 organizations through cash and in-kind donations.