Nancy Davies-Hathen, R.N., Administrator, Cardiac

She began her career as an addictions counselor but found her calling in nursing

At a young age, Nancy Davies-Hathen, R.N., decided to devote her life to helping others, a virtue strongly instilled by her parents. Her father Douglas, a Presbyterian minister, and mother Margaret, a registered nurse, cared for widowed and single women in a small health care facility next to her father’s church in Trenton, N.J. “My mother worked there until she was 80 years old,” Davies-Hathen says. “She was my inspiration.”

However, it wasn’t nursing that interested Davies-Hathen at first. Her professional career began as an addiction counselor in Philadelphia. There, she encountered one of life’s unexpected twists. “After interviewing candidates for a new position, I recommended we hire a counselor named Ron,” she remembers. “Today, Ron is my husband of 21 years.”

When counseling didn’t offer the professional challenges she was looking for, Davies-Hathen enrolled in nursing school. “I loved it,” she says. “An instructor actually said to me, ‘How can you be anything but a nurse?’” So, Davies-Hathen began searching for her nursing niche.

She found critical care nursing to be most rewarding. In this field, she came to know two nurses who would become her mentors over the next several years. “They helped develop my nursing talents,” she says. Their influence prompted Davies-Hathen to pursue a graduate degree in nursing administration.

In 2002, Davies-Hathen joined Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network as the nursing administrator for cardiovascular patient care services. “I’ve never seen a hospital with a higher level of collaboration between nurses and physicians,” she says.

As an avid reader of British mystery novels, she’s always looking for clues that identify things that can be improved. ”I’m proud of our accomplishments,” she says. “Our nurses are continuing their education, conducting research projects and getting involved in designing new ways to improve patient care. We’re continuing the tradition of nursing excellence at LVHHN.”

Davies-Hathen enjoys spending free time at her home in Long Beach Island, N.J. There, she often thinks of one of her mentors who dreamed of continue her nursing career while living on the island of Hawaii. “Her dream came true,” she says. “She taught me that with dedication, it is possible to achieve your dream.”

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