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Clinical Leadership Team
Click the name to scroll down the page for more information about each of Duke Nursing’s leaders.
Mary Ann Fuchs, DNP, DSN, RN
Vicky Orto, MS, RN, NEA-BC
Rosemary Brown, DNP, MSN, CNRN
Lori H. Postal, RNC, MS
Johnetta M. James, RN, MSN
Mary Ann Fuchs, DNP, DSN, RN
Chief nursing and patient care services officer, Duke University Hospital and Duke University Health System
Mary Ann Fuchs has 28 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). In 2010 she received her doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) from Duke University School of Nursing.
Currently, she 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 of nearly 5,800 nurses system-wide and operational management of multiple patient services. Her nursing focus is centered on professional practice, nursing governance model development, nursing workforce planning, and program development to enhance the retention and recruitment of nurses. She is a clinical associate in the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON).
Her major accomplishments include development of the DUHS system-wide model for nursing excellence, developing and implementing the DUHS nursing strategic plan, overseeing the Magnet designation for the three health system hospitals, and collaborating with the dean of DUSON to develop the Duke Translational Nursing Institute.
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). 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, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and the Health Care Management Academy.
Vicky Orto, MS, RN, NEA-BC
Chief nursing & patient care services officer, Durham Regional Hospital
Victoria Orto became the chief nursing officer in September 2009. Before coming to Durham Regional Hospital, she served as senior director of medical/surgical nursing for Rochester General Health System in Rochester, New York.
She was previously the director of medical nursing for Rochester General Hospital and Newark Wayne Hospital (formerly Genessee Hospital), and served as interim chief nursing officer for Newark Wayne Hospital, all part of Rochester General Health System.
Her nursing experience includes medicine, surgical intensive care unit, inpatient psychiatry, and women’s services. At the beginning of her career, Vicky was a licensed practical nurse in the U.S. Army, stationed at the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Orto holds a diploma in nursing from Albany Medical Center School of Nursing in Albany, New York; a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Nazareth College of Rochester in Rochester, New York; and a master’s of science degree in nursing administration from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.
Rosemary Brown, DNP, MSN, CNRN
Vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer, Duke Raleigh Hospital
Rosemary Brown, DNP, 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.
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 Primary Care (DPC), 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.
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.
