St. Lukes Hospital is pleased to announce Sandy Brooks, RN, has been named chief nursing officer for St. Lukes Hospital. She is responsible for working with the administrative team in bringing St. Lukes Hospitals strategic plan to life for the long-term success of the hospital, overseeing the development and implementation of the electronic medical records process within SLH and ensuring high quality of care and highly personal care for St. Luke’s patients.

I am pleased that Sandy has accepted our offer to become the new full time, permanent chief nursing officer for St. Lukes, said Ken Shull, St. Lukes Hospital chief executive officer. She has done a wonderful job as our interim CNO. I feel that, in every hospital, this is the most difficult job in the hospital. I am glad we have Sandy to fill this vital role.

Brooks brings 22 years of nursing experience including emergency department management, emergency department direct patient care and working with Air Ambulance America. Brooks was also a traveling nurse, taking on multiple assignments throughout the United States to increase exposure and knowledge base of organizations from inner-city hospitals, rural, teaching and military facilities.

Most recently, Brooks was the performance improvement/education coordinator for St. Lukes Hospital. In this role, she developed nursingwide educational requirements, standardization and accountability through an annual education blitz, year-round update requirements and the ability for all staff to access their progress by computer.

In this position, Brooks implemented congestive heart failure taskforce to expand on core measures, evaluate readmission trends, improve discharge process, patient education and follow-up, and she implemented the medication safety taskforce to evaluate for trends, implement processes to minimize controllable areas for error, increase awareness and accountability.

Brooks received both her bachelor’s of science in nursing (1986) and her master’s in health services administration (1992) from Florida International University.

I appreciate the opportunity and the challenge of serving as chief nursing officer of St. Lukes Hospital, Brooks said.

In her new role, Brooks is not only responsible for nursing staff, she is also in charge of additional patient care services including physical, occupational and speech therapy, respiratory therapy, the Mental Health Crisis Team and community outreach for the geriatric psychiatry unit, the home health agency Community Health Connections and Community Alternatives Program.

Brooks replaces Sandra Page, who resigned in June after serving as CNO for 15 years.

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On Saturday Nov. 20, Ann Gleason and Cynthia Link will hold their annual sale of fine handmade pottery and jewelry in the Harmon Field log cabin from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There is no admission charge and refreshments will be served.

Though Gleason and Link have held this show for many years, their work has constantly evolved and changed.

On our individual paths, we both strive to develop different glazes, colors, design and forms for our functional stoneware pots and sculptural pieces. The amazing thing about this medium is that you never run out of possibilities. says Gleason.

Both potters are often inspired by animal imagery and their works often bring a smile because of their whimsical interpretations of these subjects. Cynthia Link keeps several rescued cats and dogs at her home and Gleason jokes that she needs to sell her pots to keep up with the vet bills.

Link makes many functional clay objects from candle holders to bird houses. A retired art teacher, she has plunged into full time pottery and jewelry maker ever since her retirement. She is a member and shows with the Southern Exposure Artists of Spartanburg and does several craft show and art exhibits throughout the year.

Ann Gleason makes her functional stoneware and increasingly, her clay sculptures in her home studio in Tryon. She was introduced to ceramics while in college and went on to get her graduate degree in ceramics.

She has been a studio potter for over 25 years, is an active member in the Southern Highland Craft Guild. She teaches part time for Greenville Technical Colleges School of Visual Arts in Greer, SC and Wofford College, the Spartanburg Museum School and does several workshops for art schools throughout the year.

She lives with her dog, cat, rabbits and chickens and also draws inspiration from the natural world and culture of this region.