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AHOSKIE – Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center has named Stephanie Wroten (BSN, MSN, LNC) as Chief Nursing Officer.

Wroten is a Registered Nurse with expertise in nursing leadership, healthcare business strategy, health information systems optimization, revenue cycle management and quality management. She joined RCCHC in May 2020.

“My love for nursing started at an early age,” said Wroten, a Philadelphia native who is married and the mother of two sons. “When I was thirteen, I worked as a candy striper volunteer at the Germantown Hospital and Medical Center in Philadelphia. That, along with caring for my terminally ill father at home, greatly influenced selecting nursing as a career.”

Wroten is astute in building team-based healthcare infrastructure to support sustainability and growth. She is a graduate of La Salle University (BSN) and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and holds a Master of Science (MS) in Forensic Medicine. She has also studied healthcare quality and compliance at Jefferson School of Population Health and completed the Legal Nurse Studies certificate program at Manor College. Stephanie has a Master of Science in Nurse Education from Gwynedd Mercy University (MSN).

In addition to her education, she has worked extensively with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), like RCCHC, and underserved populations to improve healthcare delivery systems, quality of care, and patient outcomes.

“Although the pandemic has delayed the formal announcement, Stephanie has been instrumental in our COVID-19 response since she arrived,” says RCCHC CEO Kim Schwartz, “She has simultaneously strengthened our health care team functioning and created new professional pathways for our clinical team. Her extensive expertise helps RCCHC better meet the diverse needs of the people we serve every day.”

Wroten says even before coming to work at RCCHC, she believed in the organization’s mission of serving rural eastern North Carolina.

“I’m passionate about working to expand rural health care access,” she said. “RCCHC’s migrant health designation is especially interesting to me. I would like to improve the healthcare outcomes of migrant farm workers, and all of our marginalized populations.

“Additionally, as a major healthcare organization, RCCHC plays a vital role in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion disparities experienced by its employees. Developing workforce programs to address education, occupation, and income disparities is one of my top priorities going forward,” Wroten added.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center has five clinic locations, providing care for over 15,000 patients in the service area of Washington, Hertford, Bertie, Northampton and Gates counties. RCCHC’s focus is to serve the community’s health needs and reduce health disparities in the region. Services offered include primary care, pediatrics, behavioral health, in-house pharmacies, and dental services (provided by the ECU School of Dental Medicine.) Services are available to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.