Staff Profiles

KAREN KIRBY • PAM DECAMPLI • PEGGY LOUGHERY • JANE FITZSIMMONS • JENNIFER INSUA

KAREN K. KIRBY, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, FACHE

PRESIDENT/CEO

Karen has over thirty years of diverse healthcare administration and consulting experience and has held top-level nursing and hospital administration positions in the US and abroad.

Karen assumed the Chief Executive role at Kirby Bates in 2003. She wanted to combine her experience and expertise in nursing and hospital administration with her experience in healthcare consulting to shape exceptional healthcare leadership teams and ultimately improve patient care.

Karen was previously the Senior Vice President for Patient Services at Boston University Medical Center, and Associate Director of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1990, she entered the international healthcare arena as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Healthcare International, LTD, an international tertiary care hospital and hotel complex near Glasgow, Scotland that she helped to design, equip, staff, commission and then manage. She began her consulting career in 1995 as a Senior Consultant, and then a Director, at Harvard Medical International, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where she provided consulting services in India, Abu Dhabi, Spain and various other international locations.

Karen has published papers on topics important to nursing administrators, including variable budgeting, operating room productivity and alternative patient care systems. She is particularly skilled in organizational evaluation and re-design, program planning, variable budgeting and staffing, and facility design. She quickly evaluates an organization and/or department and develops cost-effective recommendations for improving structure, roles and outcomes.

Karen has a strong professional network. She has been a member of the American Organization of Nursing Executives (AONE) for over 30 years, is a Past President and current member of the Organization of Nurse Leaders of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (ONL), a current board member of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders (PONL) and a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Karen is also on the board and active in On Nursing Excellence, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization devoted to expand the effectiveness, efficiency, well being and recognition of the healthcare workforce and she is a member of the API Advisory Board.

Karen received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan, her Masters Degree in Administration from the University of California, San Francisco, and she completed a Johnson and Johnson Nursing Executive Fellowship at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, PA. Karen is also board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as Nursing Executive Advanced (NEA-BC).
 
 

PAM DECAMPLI, RN, MSN, NEA-BC

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
 

Pam has thirty years of broad management experience in university teaching hospitals, private not-for-profit hospitals, and for-profit community hospitals. She has held senior nursing leadership positions at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. She was the Vice President for Patient Care Services at Graduate Hospital and the Chief Operating Officer at Medical College of Pennsylvania. Both of these organizations were part of Tenet Healthcare in Philadelphia.

Pam has served on the Nurse Advisory Council of the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at MCP Hahnemann University for over six years. She has also been a Clinical Instructor at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Pennsylvania, and a Clinical Associate at the Villanova University College of Nursing. She is a Past President of the Pennsylvania Nurses Association (PNA) Philadelphia County District and has served on multiple PNA committees and boards. She currently serves as Past President to the Board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders (SEPONL) and is an active Board Member of the Healthcare Leadership Network of Delaware Valley (HLNDV). She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Pam received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN and her Master of Science in Nursing Administration from Villanova University in Villanova, PA.

Pam is particularly skilled in assessing organizations and developing practical approaches for enhancing both the quality and financial performance of services provided. She is also adept at identifying the best possible candidates for senior leadership positions and interim management assignments. She is a skilled professional certified coach, and is frequently engaged to mentor and coach nursing leaders. She has also given multiple presentations on managed care, pricing strategies, quality measurement, leadership, and other related topics.
 

 

M. Jane Fitzsimmons, RN, MSN

VICE PRESIDENT
 

With more than twenty-five years of diverse healthcare experience, Jane has particular expertise in executive search, healthcare leadership, and consulting. Prior to joining Kirby Bates in 2007, Jane held senior executive search positions at Korn/Ferry International in Boston, and Phillips, DiPisa & Associates in Hingham, Massachusetts. She has successfully managed executive and senior leadership searches for a broad range of healthcare organizations across the country.
 
Jane has owned and operated her own consulting firm focused on leadership development, resource management, patient care services redesign, and balancing financial and quality imperatives. She held executive level positions serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Good Samaritan Medical Center, Brockton, MA, and the Vice President for Nursing at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston. In these roles, Jane led the revitalization and turnaround of operations and patient care services. As the Vice President for Patient Care Policy for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, she worked directly with cabinet-level policy makers and provided leadership on state and federal policy. She has also established coalitions among health industry leaders and initiated action on critical healthcare legislative, regulatory and programmatic issues.
 
She has served on a number of community, healthcare organization, and professional boards and committees. She has spoken at state and regional forums on a number of topics. Currently, she is actively involved in the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and the Massachusetts/Rhode Island Organizations of Nurse Executives (MONE). She is particularly skilled in search execution, management of interim leaders, conflict negotiation and client relationship management.

Jane received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island, and her Master of Science in Nursing from Boston University. She completed a post-graduate program in Health Policy and Ambulatory Care at Harvard University, and received certification in Health Care Mediation through Boston University School of Public Health.
 

 

Peggy Loughery, RN, BSN

SENIOR ASSOCIATE, EXECUTIVE SEARCH
 

Peggy has over fifteen years of diverse management and education experience in teaching, not-for-profit, and for-profit hospitals where she has held positions as nurse manager, nurse educator, and nursing supervisor. Peggy was the Director of Staffing at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and she has served as an interim manager and consultant in the areas of staffing and scheduling. Peggy is a graduate of Hahnemann University School of Nursing and she completed her Bachelor's degree with honors at LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA.

 

Jennifer Insua

ASSOCIATE, OFFICE AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT
 

Jennifer Insua joined Kirby Bates Associates in September 2007 as the Office Manager. Over the past ten years, she has held various positions in hospital administration and healthcare human resources. Prior to joining our team, Jennifer served as a Human Resources Recruiting Assistant at Tenet Healthcare’s Philadelphia Regional Corporate office. She also served as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Nursing Officer and the Vice President of Clinical Services at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, and the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park, PA. Jennifer received her Associate Degree in Science from Camden County Community College and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drexel University Philadelphia, PA.