Chair
Tara Fairchild, RN, CMSRN, SNIII
Tara Fairchild has worked at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center for 20 years and was its first ever DAISY award honoree in 2009. Fairchild has led the Voice of Nursing (VON) Core Committee for the last 3 years and was instrumental in the creation of the VON Coordinating Council which launched in March of 2024.
In January 2024, the Excellence Enculturation Committee (EEC) decided to rebrand itself, changing its name to “Voice of Nursing” (VON) to better reflect the committee’s purpose and focus. The committee recognized the need to further develop and establish a strong foundation for Professional Governance within the organization.
In February 2024, VON initiated a restructuring of its professional governance with a “kick-off” education session. This session aimed to educate all Unit Practice Council (UPC) co-chairs and establish the foundational principles of Professional Governance.
Following the “kick-off” session, the team launched the “VON Day,” an 8-hour Professional Governance model. This event brought together all Unit Practice Councils (UPCs) and other nurse-led committees to work simultaneously, fostering interdepartmental collaboration and the sharing of best practices.
Additionally, the VON committee established the “Coordinating Council,” composed of all UPC chairs and co-chairs. This group reports on the accomplishments of each committee and identifies any support needed for their success. It also serves as the governing body for Professional Governance, overseeing the identification of educational needs and opportunities to strengthen the work of nurse-led teams.
Throughout the restructure, we successfully developed UPCs in every nursing unit across the hospital and the Continuum of Care, including Patient Care Coordinators, Home Health, Recuperative Skills, Perioperative Services, and Inpatient Palliative Care.