Agnesian Names New Chief Nursing Officer At St Agnes Hospital

Agnesian HealthCare has named Katherine Vergos, current Ripon Medical Center chief operating officer, as its new vice president and chief nursing officer at St. Agnes Hospital. She is assuming responsibilities currently held by Jill Stenson, who is leaving after 17 years to pursue a position at a larger healthcare system in warmer climate.

“Katherine is the type of individual who is always looking for new challenges and increased responsibility,” according to Steve Little, Agnesian HealthCare president and chief executive officer. “This change will provide that challenge and opportunity for Katherine. She has done an amazing job at Ripon Medical Center, and we look forward to how her leadership and expertise will help continue to elevate our patient experience and clinical quality at St. Agnes Hospital.”

Vergos will begin her new responsibilities on January 2, 2017. She has been with Ripon Medical Center for nearly seven years. Vergos started as the vice president of Patient Services at Ripon Medical Center and as a member of the executive team that facilitated the affiliation between Ripon Medical Center and Agnesian HealthCare. She was instrumental in orchestrating the planning, construction and opening of the new Ripon Medical Center in late 2014.

She earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Marian University in Fond du Lac, and a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Park University in 2014. Vergos was also a naval officer/registered nurse at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland from August 1999 through August 2002, where she held both clinical and leadership positions. She is an American College of Healthcare Executives fellow.   

“This role with St. Agnes Hospital provides me an opportunity to continue to grow my leadership skills and to call on those I have to further the mission of Agnesian HealthCare,” according to Vergos. “I am excited to work alongside our many talented providers and associates. Fond du Lac is my hometown, where I have many friends and family. So I am excited to lead the hospital in my hometown, and further facilitate providing the best possible quality of care and experience for the people we serve.”

In her new role, Vergos will bring forward her relationship skills.

“I am relationship driven,” she explains. “So, developing new relationships and strengthening existing ones within Agnesian HealthCare and the community of Fond du Lac is exciting to me. I am also looking forward to the many possibilities of St. Agnes Hospital. The leadership there has done many wonderful things and I look forward to the opportunity to put my leadership touch on the organization.”