KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – After a nationwide search, Bronson Healthcare officials didn’t have to look far for their number two administrator.
Dr. Kimberly K. Hatchel has been appointed senior vice president of the Bronson Healthcare system and chief operating officer for Bronson Methodist Hospital. She had been serving as the hospital’s interim COO since June 2022.
Bronson officials say Hatchel brings 30 years of experience to her role, including both patient care and innovative executive leadership. Prior to joining Bronson, she served at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, FL.
Previous career highlights include Lexington, KY where she served as chief nurse executive and senior vice president for Saint Joseph Health, a market of 8 hospitals. Leadership roles in Las Vegas, Nevada, serving as the chief nursing officer for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital, a 690-bed acute care hospital in the Hospital Corporation of America system.
In 2017, Hatchel was awarded the Nurse Administrator of the Year by the March of Dimes in Las Vegas. While serving as chief nursing officer at Medical City McKinney in Texas, she was named one of the Top 25 Women in Business. She is also a recipient of Studer’s “What’s Right in Health Care Award” for improvement in overall emergency services.
Hatchel is also an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Arlington – College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arlington, TX, and past adjunct faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN.
She received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, her master’s degree in nursing and health care administration from University of Phoenix, and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from Vanderbilt University.
