Contact: Shawn Le
800.888.5323
sle@coh.org

DUARTE, Calif., April 14, 2008 – City of Hope has named Shirley Johnson, R.N., M.S., M.B.A., a 30-year nursing professional from Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, as chief nursing and patient services officer, and Sharon Steingass, R.N., M.S.N., a nursing leader with more than 30 years experience in Southern California-area cancer centers, to vice president of ambulatory services. Johnson will guide the strategic direction of nursing and patient care services and lead the organization’s efforts to continually enhance the care provided to patients. Steingass will oversee City of Hope’s Geri & Richard Brawerman Center for Ambulatory Care, the Evaluation and Treatment Center and the Rita Cooper Finkel and J. William Finkel Women’s Health Center.

 

“City of Hope welcomes the leadership of Shirley Johnson and Sharon Steingass, and their dedication to quality patient care,” said Alexandra M. Levine, M.D., chief medical officer at City of Hope. “These two remarkable nursing professionals will oversee City of Hope’s longstanding vision of excellence in clinical care and attention to the humanistic aspects of medicine. In addition, both bring a wealth of experience to their respective positions.”

 

Johnson comes to City of Hope from Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she was executive director of Siteman Cancer Center. In this position, she was responsible for the overall strategic direction of the cancer center’s clinical programming initiatives. During her tenure with Barnes Jewish Hospital, Johnson was responsible for many accomplishments including the planning of a 24-hour outpatient oncology clinic and an off-site facility for medical oncology and radiation oncology. Johnson also expanded the inpatient cancer program from a 16-bed bone marrow transplant unit to a 166-bed entity with 420 full-time employees and an operating budget of $32 million.

 

Johnson is an active member of the Association of Cancer Executives and current president of this organization. She is also the current chair of the BMT Program Administrator’s Steering Committee for the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Johnson recently completed a six year term on the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons in which she served on the Program on Approvals Committee.  For the past two years, Johnson has represented the Siteman Cancer Center on the board of directors for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and has been an active member of the Products and Services Committee and the Best Practices Committee of that organization. She is also the immediate past president of the St. Louis Gateway Chapter of the National Charity League, an organization dedicated to leadership and philanthropic support among mothers and daughters.

 

Johnson received her Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in management, and bachelor’s degree in nursing, from Maryville University in St. Louis.

 

Steingass has most recently served as interim chief nursing officer at City of Hope, and prior to that was director of clinical practice and professional education, and professional practice leader of the Division of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Since joining City of Hope in 2001, Steingass has held several key leadership positions and developed clinical orientation programs for nursing personnel, including an oncology internship for new graduate nurses. Previously in her career, Steingass held leadership positions at the USC-Kenneth Norris Cancer Hospital and the UCLA Bowyer Oncology Clinic. She has been a nursing professional since 1976.

 

Steingass has been active in the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) at a local and national level. She currently is a member of the ONS Steering Council which is responsible for implementation of the ONS strategic plan.

 

Steingass received her master’s degree in nursing from the Case Western Reserve University‘s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Capital University in Columbus, Oh.

 

City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org .

 

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