LITTLE ROCK  – Arkansas Children’s Hospital has hired veteran nurse leader Kris Maddalena, MSN, BSN, as its senior vice president and chief nursing officer.

Maddalena, who brings more than 15 years of nursing leadership experience to the role, will lead the largest division of Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s workforce. Her dynamic experience will help build, support and leverage a nursing team already creating a new era of health for Arkansas kids. Maddalena began serving in the position earlier this month.

“Kris has a track record of fostering a culture of ownership through accountability, respect, continuous improvement and shared governance,” said Arkansas Children’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jamie Wiggins. “As chief nursing officer, she will provide clinical and administrative leadership for planning, organizing, directing, monitoring and evaluating safe and high-quality patient care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. We couldn’t be more excited to see how her leadership further strengthens our commitment to delivering unprecedented child health.”

Joining the Arkansas Children’s team brings Maddalena’s career full circle. She grew up in Arkansas and began her healthcare career as a patient care technician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Maddalena returns to the region from Advent Health in Tampa, Florida, where she served as assistant chief nursing officer. Under her leadership, the hospital experienced improvement in physician engagement, nursing care and overall quality of care.

Before joining AdventHealth, Maddalena held several leadership positions during her tenure at SSM Health in Missouri and University of Florida Health in Jacksonville, Fla. She made significant contributions to operational improvement, team member development and implementation of standard work to ensure optimal quality outcomes for patients. 

Kris holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She is certified Green Belt Lean Six Sigma and holds ANCC Certification in Nurse Executive – Board Certified and AONL certification Executive Nursing Practice (CENP®). She is registered by both Florida and Missouri State Boards of Nursing.