DHSc, MBA, RN, CNL, NEA-BC
Chief Nurse Executive, Richmond Medical Center
Dr. Nicole Barnett began her KP career in the Napa Solano service area, where after gaining broad front line experience across primary care and specialty departments, she joined the management team, taking responsibility for the surgical specialty departments, general surgery and anesthesia. She also contributed to the establishment of the regional Innovation and Advanced Technology team, influencing the design of technology enabled care settings.
In 2008, she returned to the East Bay as the first Site Director for the Pinole Medical Offices, expanding services to five additional zip codes within the Richmond catchment area. In partnership with the physician leadership team at Pinole, she implemented a strategy for success rooted in community involvement, exceptional service and membership growth. As a result, the team received the Business of the Year Award from the local chamber of commerce in 2013.
Nicole was promoted to the role of Assistant Medical Group Administrator in 2011 and was among a group of four KP leaders that were named to the 2012 Diversity MBA Top 100 Executives Under Age 50. She added responsibility for Nursing and Clinical practice to her portfolio in 2018, when she transitioned to the dual role of AMGA/DONCP for the Kaiser Permanente East Bay Service Area. This led to a promotion to NCAL Regional Director for Nursing and Clinical Practice in March 2020. In this role as a scope of practice leader, she contributed to workflows and playbooks related to pandemic response including mass vaccination center guidelines, monoclonal antibody infusion protocols, and staffing guidelines for vaccine administration. In an effort to address vaccine hesitancy, she contributed to development of internal and external communications that were distributed through social media and other media outlets to increase vaccine rates across diverse communities.
In her current role as COO/CNE for the Richmond Medical Center, Nicole is proud to serve in the longest standing KP service area and contribute to the rich shared history of the Richmond community and Kaiser Permanente. She takes particular sense of pride in leading teams to provide care beyond the walls of the hospital and clinic and directly to individuals through local community partnerships. Nicole is also serving in her third term as Board Chair for Planned Parenthood Northern California, where she leads efforts to insure reproductive and gender justice for all and has recently joined the Board of Directors of the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, where arts education is provided to over 4000 students from the Richmond and East Bay community, tuition free.
Nicole earned her Doctor of Health Sciences degree from Nova Southeastern University, Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Nursing from California State University Dominguez Hill. She completed her nursing education at Contra Costa College and is a proud alumna of Oberlin College in Oberlin Ohio. In addition, she holds certifications as a Public Health Nurse, Clinical Nurse Leader and Nurse Executive, Board Certified. In addition, she serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at several local schools of nursing in the area and enjoys mentoring new graduates as they transition into practice.