Director named for Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement

JOHNSON CITY (Jan. 13, 2022) – East Tennessee State University and Ballad Health announced that Dr. Kathryn Wilhoit has been named the inaugural director of the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement. She began her new role on Jan. 1, 2022.

Wilhoit brings more than 40 years of experience in clinical and research-based nursing, administration and leadership experience to this role. Most recently, she served as interim dean of the ETSU College of Nursing from January through August 2021, and then as special assistant to the dean of Nursing from August  through December 2021.

“Dr. Wilhoit is a proven leader and an advocate for the nursing profession,” said Dr. Leann Horsley, dean of the ETSU College of Nursing. “With more than four decades of experience, she knows our region, our health care systems, and the opportunities we have with our academic partners to strengthen the nursing pipeline through education and retention of current and future nurses.

“I am confident that her leadership will create a strong and far-reaching framework for the new Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement.”

In October 2021, Ballad Health announced it had committed a $10 million investment to create the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement at ETSU.

The Center is dedicated to bringing nurses, business, liberal arts, education and other academic and support programs together to increase the pipeline of opportunity and augment the supply of nurses and nursing support in the Appalachian Highlands. To help accomplish this, the Center will develop partnerships with other colleges and universities and agencies and industry to enhance the clinical practice of nursing, enhance interprofessional collaboration, contribute to the knowledge about nursing workflow, and generate nursing scholarship and innovation.

“Dr. Wilhoit has a long history of supporting the development of programs intended to increase the nursing workforce and promote professional nursing practice. Across the nation and within our region, hospitals are dealing with a shortage of nurses, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue, further straining our hospitals. Under Dr. Wilhoit’s leadership, the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement will play a central role in helping develop local nursing talent to fulfill that shortage,” said Dr. Lisa Smithgall, senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Ballad Health.

“Ballad Health looks forward to working alongside Dr. Wilhoit to continue growing the pipeline of nurses graduating from nursing programs throughout the Appalachian Highlands region, promoting the ongoing professional development and education of practicing nurses and overseeing research that supports professional nursing wellbeing and practice. With her experience, she understands the issues facing health systems, including the nursing shortage and COVID-19, and she will be a strong advocate to help us address those challenges in the coming years.” 

Wilhoit is a two-time graduate of ETSU, first earning a bachelor of science in Nursing, then a master’s in Nursing from the University of Virginia before returning to ETSU to complete her Ph.D. As an adjunct faculty member at ETSU, she taught courses for the MSN/RODP and Ph.D. program and Austin Peay University and served as assistant to the Dean for Tusculum University’s College of Business. Wilhoit was instrumental in the creation of ETSU’s original LPN to BSN program established through a collaboration that included Johnson City Medical Center (JCMC) and area nursing homes. She was also recognized as ETSU’s School of Nursing Outstanding Alumna in 1990 and Outstanding ETSU Alumna in 1997.

In addition to her work at ETSU, Wilhoit has worked in numerous leadership roles throughout the region. While serving as the vice president and chief nursing executive for Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA), she was responsible for the efforts that resulted in JCMC becoming the first hospital in Tennessee to receive Magnet Status.

Known for working with Tennessee and Virginia facilities, Wilhoit received the 2011 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy on behalf of Virginia Highlands Community College representing  Mountain States Health Alliance. This recognition stemmed from her close working relationship with the Virginia Highlands College of Nursing. Wilhoit also received the Milligan College Leader in Christian Service in 2002. 

After retiring from her MSHA corporate vice-president position in 2012, Wilhoit continued practicing as a nurse educator for the Community Health Resources Center in the population health division of Ballad Health. She has served as a preceptor for nursing students in these centers and as an ethics consultant on call for JCMC.

“I am excited to begin this new role and to begin the important work of the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement,” Wilhoit said. “Partnerships make our voice and efforts stronger and more meaningful.”