Akron Children’s Hospital CEO establishes endowed chair in nursing

11-09-2020 ( Ohio )

Akron Children’s is pleased to announce the establishment of the Grace Wakulchik Endowed Chair in Nursing. The hospital’s president and CEO, Grace Wakulchik, endowed the chair to recognize outstanding nursing administrators and provide a source of income to support nursing projects and programs that advance quality health care for children.

The inaugural chair holder will be Christine Young, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer and chief of hospital-based services at Akron Children’s. Young joined the hospital in 2012 as the director of neonatal services and was key leader in the design and transition of three neonatal units to the single patient room model of care.

“Even though I have been in a leadership position at Akron Children’s for many years, I have always been a nurse,” said Wakulchik. “Every day our nurses take the lead - from direct patient care to important research. Through this endowed chair, I want to add a sustained source of funding to nurses so they will have the resources they need to provide the best patient care and the best patient outcomes possible.”

In recognizing Young’s dedication, Wakulchik said, “Christine Young is a thoughtful, caring and supportive nurse leader. She promotes teamwork and evidence-based practice. She is passionate about shared governance. Our nursing staff is lucky to have her as our nurse leader.”

Wakulchik joined Akron Children’s in 1992. Since then she has held several leadership positions including chief nursing officer and chief operating officer. In June 2017, she was name president of the hospital and in November 2018, she was named president and CEO. Endowed chairs have long been recognized as both a hallmark of quality and a way for the hospital to honor its most esteemed employees and departments.

Establishing an endowed chair creates a visible, permanent legacy of support for both the organization and pediatric health care. At Akron Children’s, endowed chairs support the advancement of patient care, research and education programs through an annual source of income to enable the chair holder to pursue innovative programs and efforts. There are currently 11 endowed chairs at Akron Children’s.