GRACE COTTAGE WELCOMES NEW CEO SHANA JONES

Shana Jones has “hit the ground running” since her appointment on November 30th by the Board of Trustees as Grace Cottage’s new CEO. Already very actively involved before her official start date on January 8, Jones has been meeting with all 170 employees, numerous community members who attended a reception in her honor, legislators, area town government officials, and other Vermont hospital CEOs to get a sense of Grace Cottage and its place in the world.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting the staff individually and admire their passion for Grace Cottage,” said Jones. “They love their patients and community. It’s a wonderful atmosphere and gives us a solid base from which, I hope, we will achieve great things.”

Shana began her career in health care right out of high school, when she took a job as a nurses’ aide and began working towards a nursing degree at Wichita State University. “When I hit Chemistry I realized that a major course adjustment was required, and I ended up in cosmetology, which is where I learned most of my anatomy!”

Jones returned to the health care field, however, ultimately earning a PhD in Health Care Administration; she has held administrative positions in health care since 1990. From 2000-2005, she was the CEO at Yuma District Hospital in Yuma, CO. Prior to joining Grace Cottage and the Otis Health Care Center, Jones was the Administrator of Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago, Illinois. Shana and her husband, Gary, have relocated to the area.

Before embarking on a career in health care administration, Shana was one of the first women in history to drive a top fuel dragster race car; her top speed, clocked at a track since closed in Long Beach, CA, was 240 mph.