Kathryn Carpenter, RN

Kathryn Carpenter, RN
Vice President, Clinical Strategy
Catholic Health Initiatives Supply Chain
Englewood, Colorado

Nomination submitted by Daniel F. DeLay, senior vice president, enterprise operations, CHI Supply Chain.

Kathy Carpenter is a Duke University-trained nurse who served 35 years in the operating room at some of America’s premier medical institutions. Prior to joining CHI, she worked for Ascension’s Resource Group, where she was the first critical products manager hired by that organization. Upon joining CHI, she built a team of regionally based clinical resource managers to work directly with physicians and other clinicians to control cost and improve clinical quality. She was recently promoted into the newly created position of vice president of clinical strategy to lead our efforts to develop a clinically driven supply chain, meaning that physicians who compose clinical decision teams will – with the support of our sourcing and contracting team – determine which vendors we will contract with for the provision of clinical supplies and services. Her position, and the program she leads, is unique in American healthcare, and led to a savings of more than $100 million in the latest fiscal year, thereby making a significant contribution to CHI’s turnaround efforts.

Regarding mentors and/or key events in her life, Kathryn Carpenter says: “A key event for me was leaving the operating room and taking a job in supply chain management. I went from using products and being hands-on with patients, to taking a risk and welcoming a steep learning curve on processes such as inventory control, cutting purchasing orders, the business of supply chain. A key mentor was – and remains – Dan DeLay. A great mentor to both men and women, he has given me the opportunity to grow, develop executive conversation skills, make presentations, etc.”