Meghan Campbell

Focused on compassionate, quality care.

— By Melissa McCance—

There’s a well-known adage that you can’t pour from an empty pitcher. Often this is used to encourage people to take care of themselves so they can continue to give to others. But, sometimes, it’s necessary for someone to take care of the caretakers, and that’s exactly where Hillsdale Hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer Meghan Campbell keeps her focus.

“I went into nursing to take care of patients, to make sure their needs were met and that their time in the hospital was as comforting and positive as it could be. In this job, I want to take care of nurses so that they are able to give the best care possible to our patients.”

Meghan graduated from Morenci High School and went on to earn her associate’s degree at Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio. She began work at Hillsdale Hospital in 2009 and worked in a number of departments and positions including the

medical/surgical floor, joint replacement, house supervisor, charge nurse in medical/surgical, CCU, infection control, clinical manager for medical/surgical and CCU, and director of inpatient services.

This experience throughout the hospital has given Meghan a first-hand understanding of how the various departments function and what demands each area puts on the nurses who work there. She accepted the position of chief nursing officer in September 2021.

As the chief nursing officer, Meghan oversees the inpatient units, emergency room, surgical services, obstetrics, behavioral health, the house supervisors, and the case managers. The managers in those departments report to Meghan and she collaborates with them on the day-to-day details as well as assisting with staffing issues, strategizing, and quality control. In addition, she has numerous regular meetings and assessment responsibilities as part of her duties. Meghan describes her job as challenging but rewarding and says that she feels she has grown a lot as a nurse and a leader in very short period of time.

“It’s a demanding position, but I like to be challenged and to keep learning. I don’t like to be stagnant,” she explains.

Since assuming the post, Meghan has been working hard to meet community needs and to help bring needed medical specialties to the area. Hillsdale Hospital offers a number of specialty services that many small, rural hospitals don’t have. She feels that as chief nursing officer, she can effect change to ensure that patients get quality and compassionate care, and a big part of that is making sure that nurses have the support and training they need to do the best job they can.

As for most hospitals since the coronavirus hit, staffing has been an ongoing challenge. “COVID has not been kind,” says Meghan. “It’s been difficult, but we always have our

patients’ safety as a priority and work hard to maintain standards.”

When asked what she would like to see implemented once the effects of the pandemic lessen, Meghan spoke enthusiastically about establishing a structured focus for nursing education. She knows that most nurses want more growth as well as refresher education to sharpen existing knowledge and skills—things that were learned once but might not have been used for a while. Her idea is to have department-specific continuing education so the nurses in each department will be trained in the most-current methods of care and treatment.

Meghan is committed to Hillsdale Hospital and to the community, and she and her husband of 15 years live with their four children in Hudson. She is happy to be working here and speaks with pride about the staff at the hospital:

“I love the people here. I know it’s a cliché, but it truly is a family. It makes it easy to come to work. All of the nurses really care about the patients and their families, about the hospital, and about the community. They’re here for the right reasons, not just to put in a shift and get a paycheck. That’s important. Time in a hospital can be a very scary thing, and skilled, caring nurses make a huge difference— they spend the most time with the patients. I feel very lucky to have the staff we do.”