Betsy Musselman's Obituary
Elizabeth Ann Skinner Small Musselman, RN; was born July 24 in Pennsylvania and passed away on April 22, 2017 in Palm Harbor, FL. She is survived by her daughter Stacy, longtime companion George Papageorgiou and beloved Pomeranian Bentley.
Betsy graduated from Boca Ciega High School in St Petersburg, FL and then went on to St. Petersburg Junior College where she received her certification as an operating room technician and her Associate of Arts as a Registered Nurse before attending Saint Leo College in St. Leo, FL where she achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Always one to strive for excellence and further broaden her wealth of knowledge, Betsy later earned a Master of Science in Public Administration and Graduate Certification in Gerontology from the University of Louisville and was awarded the title of Kentucky Colonel.
Betsy’s career in healthcare and nursing was as expansive as it was diverse. Throughout her years of esteemed service she held many various positions and responsibilities in several hospitals not only locally in Florida, but also in Texas, Kentucky, Maine, California, and with service organizations abroad. Her influence and passion left its mark on innumerable colleagues and patients. She started her medical career as a Scrub Technician at Palms of Pasadena in Gulfport, FL. In 1969, Betsy became the Operating and Recovery Room Supervisor at St. Petersburg General Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL. During her seven year tenure at St. Pete General, she instituted inventory and cost center controls, held positions on several committees including the Nursing Audit Committee, Infection Control Committee, and Product Evaluation Committee, and acted as a liaison between administration and employees in her role as Chairman of the Employee Council. As OR and RR Supervisor, Betsy provided continuous in-service education for all staffing levels to promote growth and development of her employees and worked with St. Petersburg Junior College ORT program to provide educational experiences for their students, exemplifying Betsy’s desire to foster success not only in herself but also in those around her, a value that she carried throughout her entire career.
After leaving St. Petersburg General, Betsy moved to Fort Worth, Texas where she became the Associate Director of Surgery at Harris Methodist Hospital where she assisted in the direction and operational responsibilities for 16 operating suites and an annual volume of 20,000 cases. Similarly to her time at St. Pete, Betsy worked with the University of Texas Nursing School to provide education opportunities for their students and also provided lecture assistance to the LVN Harris School. She assisted with in-service education for all levels of hospital staff and was responsible for writing, reviewing, and updating hospital policy and procedure manuals. Betsy was also instrumental in developing computer cost analysis and controls, instituted perpetual inventories and cost control centers, was active with physician’s recruitment in surgical services to help promote on-going, productive communication between surgeons and office personnel, and worked with the School of Anesthesia to enhance the continuity of care and services.
In 1980, Betsy moved to Louisville Kentucky where she became the Assistant Director of Nursing and Surgical Services at Jewish Hospital. She directed 22 operating rooms with an annual volume in excess of 24,865 surgical procedures, a 35 bed recovery room, an out-patient surgical services department with an annual volume of 8,000 procedures, and transplant and anesthesia services. Betsy also sat on several committees including the Infection Control Committee, Nursing Executive Committee, Standards Committee, Labor Relations Committee, and was a permanent member of the Operating Room Technique Committee. After two years as assistant director, Betsy became a consultant for the Surgical Services C.O.N. Development at Jewish Hospital. As a consultant, she directed the planning phase for a free-standing ambulatory service program including radiology, laboratory, out-patient registration, surgical suites, recovery rooms, and associated surgical support services.
Once the consulting project with Jewish Hospital was complete, Betsy relocated back to Texas, this time to the Dallas area and assumed the role of Director of Surgical Services at Methodist Medical Center. Here she held direct managerial responsibilities for 16 operating rooms, recovery rooms and intensive care rooms.
In 1987, Betsy returned to Florida and served as a Surgical Service Consultant at Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon, FL before joining Hellen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs, FL (now known as Florida Hospital North Pinellas) as the Director of Surgical Services in 1992. In 1994, Betsy was promoted to Vice President of Patient Care Services, reporting directly to the president and CEO. During her eight year tenure as Vice President, Betsy constructed a 12 bed Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum Unit that included 2 C-section Rooms, PACU Services, and a 12 bed nursery. She also opened a 36 bed medical-surgical unit, a 36 bed telemetry unit, an Outpatient Care Unit that included 4 operating rooms, 4 PACU beds, and 19 pre/postoperative beds, and renovated a 38 bed medical/surgical/oncological unit. As VP, she was responsible for not only for the 12 operating rooms and medical – surgical services and outpatient services but nearly all aspects of patient care including obstetric and nursery services, endoscopy services, Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Care Unit, emergency, telemetry, pediatric, oncology, pain management, infection control, and anesthesia services as well as the Helen Ellis Walk-In Clinic, Home Health Care, Hyperbaric and Wound Care Center, Transitional Care Services, Sleep Center Services, and Short Stay Cardiac Unit Services.
Betsy used her role at Helen Ellis to work collaboratively with the nursing leadership and established teambuilding goals that enhanced the performance of all nursing units and allowed for the highest standards of patient care. She functioned as a liaison for the Medical Staff and the Board of Directors and developed operating policies and interpreted existing hospital policies, standards, and regulations to staff, patients, and the public.
In August of 2002, Betsy left Helen Ellis to join University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Jacksonville to serve as the Acting Executive Director of Perioperative Services. As such, Betsy had 24/7 direct operational and managerial responsibilities for the 32 main operating rooms, outpatient operating rooms, ophthalmology operating rooms, endoscopy unit, same day services, PACU, sterile processing department, pre-operative holding, anesthesia services, pre-admission testing, and a level 1 trauma center.
In addition to her many achievements in hospital nursing, Betsy also served as a consultant to Premier, Inc. and Sun Health, Inc. where she analyzed operations and developed perioperative services, surgical services and systems, ICU/ CCU systems, emergency departments, and joint commission preparation. She also consulted several hospitals including Baylor and Crawford Long Hospitals in Atlanta, GA, Naples Community Hospital Health Care System in Naples, FL, the Veterans Administration Hospital of Maryland, Jewish Hospital in Louisville, KY, Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs, FL, and Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon, FL. As a consultant, she assisted with the development of many different services including surgical services, anesthesia services, ER services C.O.N. development, and joint survey preparation.
Betsy’s career eventually led her out west to California where she joined the elite Stanford Healthcare at Stanford University School of Medicine in 2006. She was originally hired on a temporary contract to reorganize the SUH operating rooms but was so successful that she remained on staff for several years after her contract expired, becoming the Chief Operating Room Nurse. Betsy was a source of inspiration for many of her colleagues who can recall countless fond memories of Betsy’s professionalism, compassion, and courage. She truly listened to people, heard what they had to say, and responded. She didn’t need committees to get things done. Her personal interest in all the OR staff spoke volumes and she was respected by the surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, techs, orderlies and everyone who met her. Even with her multiple responsibilities, she always found time to recognize employee contributions through an employee of the month and employee of the year program and her career long passion for staff development never wavered as she worked with SUH to improve nursing education programs. Betsy worked closely with physician and administrative leadership and fostered many collegial working relationships. During her tenure at Stanford, she opened an ambulatory surgical center, implemented WHO checklist, improved first case starts on time, increased handwashing and operating room hygiene and decreasing SSI, improved patient safety and PSN reporting, brought operating room x-ray safety up to AORN standards, improved SPD workflow, minimized lost needles and sponges by improving count procedures, and completely revamped the anesthesia workroom and supplies.
Betsy belonged to several professional organizations throughout her lengthy career including the Association of Operating Room Nurses, the American Organization of Managed Care Nurses, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Florida Organization of Nurse Executives, Suncoast Health Care Executives, the Florida Hospital Association, the Tampa Bay Organization of Nurse Executives, the Florida Society for Hospital-Based Skilled Nursing Facilities, the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration, and Voluntary Hospitals of America, was a Board Member of the Boys and Girls Club of Tarpon Springs, and served on numerous Joint Commission of Healthcare Organizations inspections.
Her passion for nursing and patient care led her to become a Surgical Coordinator for Mission of Mercy in 1995. As Surgical Coordinator, Betsy was responsible for the coordination of all surgical procedures, recovery phase, anesthesia, and surgical support activities in El Salvador. Betsy not only coordinated surgeries on an administrative level but also scrubbed and circulated for adult and pediatric surgeries including neurosurgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, gynecological surgery C-sections, plastic surgery, and emergency trauma. In 2002, the Country of El Salvador nominated Betsy for the Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication and philanthropy.
While Betsy’s legacy in healthcare is vast and her accomplishments were great, she still considered herself to be “just a lil ole southern nurse” at heart. She was an accomplished tennis player, who knew no fear often charging the net to meet the challenge. She enjoyed sharing her retirement with the love of her life, her furry four-legged companion Bentley and bringing joy to the world around her.
Betsy’s compassion for her patients and fellow medical professionals was unlimited. She led by example and encouraged others around her to strive for excellence. Her mantra was “be sweet, charming and supportive.” Through her professionalism, empathy, and take charge nature, Betsy truly left her mark of love, light, and inspiration.
The family encourages friends and coworkers to share their memories of Betsy on her tribute wall. Correspondence may be sent Betsy’s daughter, Stacy, at the care of Moss Feaster Funeral Home, 1320 Main Street, Dunedin, FL 34698.
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