BEAVERCREEK & XENIA – With faith and mission in mind, Erica Schneider joined Greene Memorial Hospital and Soin Medical Center as Vice President for Patient Care.
Erica Schneider is excited about her new venture in Greene County and believes the patient must be at the forefront at all times for a hospital to deliver the best care possible to all patients.
She grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and has lived in Tennessee and Florida as well. But it was a long-time friend who works for Kettering Health Network who connected the southerner to the Midwest.
“My friend Julie Vincent had nothing but great things to say about KHN and the hospitals here,” said Erica. “So I came here to visit and interview, and fell in love with the people and the area. From the moment we got here folks were so kind.”
Before arriving in Greene County, Erica traveled the southern states as a heart transplant unit and critical-care nurse, then worked as an intensive care unit nurse in Florida where she would later become an assistant nurse manager in surgical services. She found nurse leadership rewarding.
“I enjoyed being the one to put all the puzzle pieces together for the nurses, patients and the hospital,” she added. Later she became director of nursing at Parkridge Hospital in Tennessee and a sister hospital before her newest calling to Greene County.
The mother of two girls, ages 11 and 16, and a husband in law enforcement, Erica took relocating very seriously and said it was a family decision.
“We toured the city and schools and we decided as a family this was our new home. Everyone was so welcoming and wanted to get to know my whole family,” she shared. “Two days after Christmas we packed up and moved to Ohio.”
Already rolling up her sleeves, Erica has worked with her clinical team, nurse managers, and doctors and is impressed by the level of engagement in care by everyone at Greene and Soin.
Erica believes it is vital in healthcare to be compassionate with your patients, “I get a little emotional about our patients. I look at a patient as if that’s my mother or next door neighbor. It’s about them having the best experience possible while at the same time receiving top notch medical expertise.”
“My job is overseeing all patient care. We want to be passionate about our care – providing the right medical care in the right manner with the right heart. We want our patients to say, ‘I don’t want to go anywhere else for my care,’” she added.
Erica and her family have settled in Centerville. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family outdoors biking and hiking. “I feel so blessed to be a part of this network and these great hospitals,” she said.
