Clinical Leadership Team

Click the name to scroll down the page for more information about each of Duke Nursing’s leaders.

Mary Ann Fuchs, MSN, RN
Debra Hernandez, MHA, RN, CHE
Rosemary Brown, MSN, CNRN
Lori H. Postal, RNC, MS
Johnetta M. James, RN, MSN

Mary Ann Fuchs, MSN, RN

Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer, Duke University Hospital and Duke University Health System

Mary Ann Fuchs has 23 years of experience as a registered nurse in various roles. Beginning in bedside clinical care, she has served as an assistant nurse manager, nurse manager of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant program, director of Oncology Nursing and Services, associate operating officer for Oncology Services, and nursing director of Duke University Hospital (DUH).

She currently holds the positions of chief nursing and patient care services officer for both DUH and Duke University Health System (DUHS), with responsibility for the oversight and operational management of multiple patient services. She leads DUHS Friends of Nursing -- a philanthropic program that provides resources for nurses’ ongoing development and supports annual excellence award stipends.

She is also a clinical associate in the Duke University School of Nursing. With oversight of nearly 5,800 nurses system-wide, her nursing role focus is centered on professional practice, nursing governance model development, nursing workforce planning, and program development to enhance the retention and recruitment of nurses.

Fuchs currently serves on 20 DUH and DUHS committees and steering committees, including Executive Management, Diversity Leadership, Workers Compensation, Work Culture Executive, and System Alignment.

Her recent major accomplishments include development of the DUHS system-wide model for nursing excellence, and development and implementation of the DUHS nursing strategic plan. She is a Johnson and Johnson-sponsored Wharton School of Management Fellow in nursing management, and a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Executive Nurse Fellow (cohort year 2002). Using RWJ leadership grant funds, she directed development and implementation of the Logrando el Ejercicio de la Enfermeria (LEE), a program designed to help nurses trained in their Spanish-speaking countries of origin find employment in the United States. She currently serves as a nurse administrator representative on the North Carolina Board of Nursing.

In 1996, Fuchs was awarded the Oncology Nursing Foundation’s Nurse Administrator Career Development Award, and has served as the president, president-elect, and secretary of the North Carolina Triangle Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society. She has also served as a delegation member in the Citizen’s Ambassador Program-South Africa, and as a special program consultant for Duke/RTI collaboration in Kuwait. She is in Who’s Who of American Graduate Students, and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Nurses Association, the North Carolina Nurses Association, and the Health Care Management Academy.

Back to top

Debra Hernandez, MHA, RN, CHE

Chief Nursing Officer, Durham Regional Hospital

Debra Hernandez came to Durham Regional Hospital in April 2005 from Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where she served as Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer. Prior to that she served as Director of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer for Western Wake Medical Center in Raleigh. She started her career as a staff nurse at Duke Hospital and then worked at Durham Regional Hospital and Raleigh Community Hospital before joining WakeMed.

Hernandez holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a master’s in health care administration from Pfeiffer University. She is a diplomate in the American College of Healthcare Executives, member of the North Carolina Nurses Association, member of the 2003 Nursing Workforce Task Force, member of the Wayne Community College Nurse Advisory Board, member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, board member of the North Carolina Organization of Nurse Executives, chair of the North Carolina Organization of Nurse Executives Practice Committee, and member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing Continued Competency Taskforce.

Back to top

Rosemary Brown, MSN, CNRN

Vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer, Duke Raleigh Hospital

Rosemary Brown, MSN, CNRN, is vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer at Duke Raleigh Hospital. In her position, Brown oversees approximately 450 full-time nurses at Duke Raleigh Hospital, formerly Raleigh Community Hospital (RCH). Previously, she served one year as director of quality resource management in neuroscience services at RCH. Prior to that, Brown held several positions at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, including MICU/SICU clinical educator, neurological clinical nurse specialist, and neurological case manager.

Brown, a 1998 recipient of the North Carolina Great 100 Nurses award, is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, the American Nurses Association, and the American Organization of Nurse Executives.

She has lectured and written about topics such as women and heart disease, neuroscience clinical practice, and neurological nursing. Brown received her master of science in nursing from Duke University’s School of Nursing, and her bachelor of science in nursing from West Virginia University.

Back to top

Lori H. Postal, RNC, MS

Director of nursing and performance improvement, Duke University Affiliated Physicians

Lori H. Postal, RNC, MS, is director of nursing and performance improvement as well as patient safety officer for Duke University Affiliated Physicians (DUAP), a network of clinics in Duke University Health System. Formed in 1994, the network covers 20 locations in eight counties serving the greater Triangle area, employing more than 80 physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.

Postal has served in various roles at Duke, including nurse manager, labor and delivery; clinical paths and practice guidelines facilitator, and Duke Pain Program manager. Prior to coming to Duke in 1995, Postal served as an independent consultant to Expert Witness and Forensics; director of maternal child health at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, New Jersey; and staff nurse at Nyack Hospital in Nyack, New York.

She received her master’s in health administration from Iona College and her bachelor of science in nursing from Columbia University.

Back to top

Johnetta M. James, RN, MSN

Director of accreditation and patient safety, Duke University Private Diagnostic Clinic

Johnetta M. James is the director of accreditation and patient safety at Duke University’s Private Diagnostic Clinic (PDC), a position she has held since 2000. In this role, James is responsible for coordinating JCAHO accreditation activities for PDC, which include 52 clinics and approximately 1,000 health care providers. She monitors ambulatory nursing practice, credentialing, and compliance with licensure and certification requirements.

Prior to her current position, James was an administrator at Duke Health Center (Pickett Road), where she oversaw 16 providers in services ranging from general internal medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, and hypertension. Additionally, James was responsible for fiscal planning, budgeting, and other related financial activities. Other positions she has held include administrative nursing supervisor, nurse manager, assistant head nurse, and staff nurse.

James received her master of science in nursing administration from Duke University School of Nursing and her bachelor of science in nursing from Dillard University.

Back to top