July 6, 2008
Peg Reiter, PhD, RN, of St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital selected for Management Program for Nurse Executives




The Woodlands, TX – Margaret ‘Peg’ Reiter, PhD, RN, of St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital has been accepted to the prestigious 2008 Johnson & Johnson – Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives.

Reiter, who serves as assistant vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer at St. Luke’s, was among only a select number of candidates worldwide who were chosen for participation in the highly selective program.  
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Established in 1983, the Johnson & Johnson – Wharton Fellows Program is internationally recognized as the leading provider of management and leadership education for senior nurse executives in a business school setting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The annual three-week nurse program provides essential management and finance knowledge for chief nursing officers in healthcare organizations.  Participants engage in sessions on finance, accounting, value-driven decision-making, economic tools for development, emotional intelligence, business simulations, negotiations, decision analysis, scenario planning and information technology. In addition, this program provides the ability to network and develop a close group of colleagues from across the globe. An unrestricted education gift from Johnson & Johnson Worldwide Contributions covers tuition for all chosen participants.

“It is a huge honor to have been invited to participate in this renowned educational program,” said Reiter.  “The challenges we encounter within the healthcare industry are often similar to those in other business industries, and I am enthused to garner tangible, proven ideas and theories which I can bring back to my management team to embrace here at our hospital as part of our core initiatives.”

Reiter explained that the program facilitates interaction, networking and discussion among thirty other hospitals around the globe. “The nursing field continues to face many challenges today, and the more diverse viewpoints that can be discovered among others who have faced similar challenges, the closer you are positioned toward innovatively solving key issues – not just for management and staff, but for patients as well,” she said.

Debra Sukin, CEO of St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, added, “The breadth and depth of Peg’s professional experience has enabled her to earn the opportunity to participate in this prestigious nurse executive training program.  She has certainly impacted our creation of a successful hospital that is focused on quality and excellence, and we are committed to the pursuit of continued progress as we grow to meet and exceed the future healthcare needs of our community.”

Peg Reiter’s nursing career spans over 33 years and includes roles in faculty, management, nursing directorship, and as clinical nurse specialist and chief nursing officer.  She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Masters of Science in nursing at Rush University in Chicago, and Doctor of Philosophy in nursing at Texas Woman’s University in Houston. She served with St. Luke’s since 1998.

St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital is located at 17200 St. Luke’s Way in The Woodlands, at the southwest corner of SH 242 and I-45.  For more information, please call (936) 266-2000 or visit www.stlukeswoodlands.com.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System Corporation is composed of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities, a charity devoted to assessing and enhancing community health, especially among the underserved; KS Management Services, LLC, overseeing 18 area clinic locations; St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System Foundation; St. Luke’s Episcopal Properties Corporation; SLEHS Holdings, Inc.; and, St. Luke’s Community Development Corporation. St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital is under construction, scheduled to open in 2008, and St. Luke’s Clear Lake Hospital is scheduled to open in 2010. Plans are underway for St. Luke’s Lakeside Hospital in The Woodlands. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is home to the Texas Heart® Institute, which was founded in 1962 by Denton A. Cooley, MD, and is consistently ranked among the top 10 cardiology and heart surgery centers in the nation by U.S.News & World Report. Affiliated with several nursing schools and two medical schools, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was the first hospital in Texas named a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence, and twice has been honored with the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ by HealthGrades, a leading independent company that measures healthcare quality in hospitals. The Health System has been recognized by FORTUNE as among the “100 Best Companies to Work For” and by the Houston Business Journal as a top employer in Houston.