Nettie Agnew
Nettie Agnew, Senior Vice President and COO of North Kansas City Hospital, is the rare person who can communicate effectively with both a young nurse facing medical emergencies, and a director planning multi-million expansions. The reason is simple: Agnew has succeeded in all of these areas, and more. Agnew began her career as a part-time nurse then served as a flight nurse in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps. After serving as a nursing instructor, she joined North Kansas City Hospital in 1978 and as the hospital's director of nursing, then moved up to vice president of clinical services.
For the past 10 years, Agnew has received increasing administrative respons- ibilities, including leadership of the Hospital's expansion for its state-of-the-art outpatient facility, the Health Services Pavilion. Expected to have the first patient beds available in 2005, the $125 million Pavilion expansion will add seven floors to the existing facility.
Agnew is also multi-talented away from the hospital. She leads numerous com-munity efforts, ranging from the American Heart Association to the Clay County Economic Development Council. A member of the Heart Ball Sponsorship Committee and the Kansas City Vicinity Regional Work Force-Investment Board, Agnew is also likely to be found using a hammer at a Habitat for Humanity project.
Karen Cox
Karen Cox brings both vision and the ability to communicate that vision to her role as Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services at Children's Mercy Hospital.
Two years ago, Cox recognized that Children's Mercy could achieve nursing's highest honor, the exclusive ranking as a "magnet" hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Cox, herself a doctor of philosophy in nursing, led the two-year effort to achieve this widely recognized endorsement. In January 2003, Children's Mercy became the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas and only the third children's hospital nationwide to receive the prestigious magnet designation.
Cox recognizes that hard work and teamwork must prevail in all levels of medical care. She enjoys serving with the hospital's clinical staff and stresses delivery of the necessary support services to ensure successful patient care. Outside of the hospital, she is a well-known educator and lecturer, and is widely recognized as a leader in children's advocacy.
Cox has also succeeded in the cutting edge of nursing research. She recently received patent notification for software she designed to monitor and analyzes data trends related to medical efforts, outcomes and more. Cox's efforts recently earned her the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship and the UMKC's School of Nursing Alumni Achievement Award.
Carol Fabian
Carol Fabian, M.D. is a pioneer in the field of breast cancer prevention. Her work impacts the worldwide medical community and those at risk for breast cancer. Fabian, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center is also the director and founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Center (BCPC).
She launched the BCPC with $10,000 for a local women's group in 1989. Multiple individuals and groups pitched in and donated their time, talents and money. She's devoted her career to clinical practice and research on breast cancer treatment and prevention. She serves as co-director of the Breast and Ovarian research program in the Kansas City Cancer Institute.
Throughout her medical career, Dr. Fabian has been active in translational research and is probably best known for developing a risk assessment tool for detecting breast pre-cancer called the periareolar fine needle aspiration (RPFNA).
Currently, she is the principal investigator for several peer-reviewed grants investigating prevention drugs and new ways to treat breast cancer. "My research work in breast cancer prevention has had a profound effect on my life," Fabian says. "By taking a proactive stance against this disease, I'm better able to cope with emotional distress that comes from watching some women with this disease recur, struggle, and eventually die. Because I cope better with my emotions I'm better equipped to help patients deal with the reality of their situation."
She's been selected as one of the best doctors in America by a variety of lay and professional publications, most recently Redbook and Ladies Home Journal.