Gemma Rama-Banaag, RN, MSN, MBA, a Registered Nurse & Chief Nursing Officer with Paradise Valley Hospital

Get to know Registered Nurse & Chief Nursing Officer, Gemma Rama-Banaag, who serves patients in National City, California.

Gemma migrated to the United States in 1989 and has been fascinated with the progressive culture of nursing and healthcare as a whole in America. This is what fuels the passion she has for patient safety and quality healthcare. She believes that having the heart and right attitude coupled with hard work and commitment are what will make continuous improvement and progressive change possible and doable.

With extensive expertise in acute rehabilitation and emergency room nursing, Gemma serves as the Chief Nursing Officer at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, California. In her role, she has sustained the services, created changes to increase the quality, and supported the ability of her team to adapt to constant changes required of healthcare teams to be at the top of their game. She is instrumental in program development, business, and service growth of the facility. 

A part of Prime Healthcare Services, Paradise Valley Hospital is the South Bay’s oldest hospital. In fact, it is the second oldest hospital in all of San Diego County and the largest employer in National City. For more than 100 years, Paradise Valley Hospital has served San Diego faithfully, providing numerous programs and services to meet the changing needs of the community. Today, the 291-bed, acute care hospital features the San Diego Spine & Joint Center, a highly credentialed acute rehabilitation center; the Paradise Health & Senior Center, a fully equipped and modern cardiac catheterization lab; comprehensive inpatient and outpatient surgical services; and 24-hour emergency services. 

Throughout her line of work, Gemma has assisted in converting Promise Healthcare from an assisted living residence to a long-term acute care facility. She has also lectured at the Southeast Asian Pacific Adventist Health System conference in 2013 & 2016, as well as has lectured at Becker’s Healthcare Review in Chicago. She was recognized by Becker’s Healthcare Review as “130 Women to know in Healthcare” two years in a row in 2015 and 2016.

A graduate of the Adventist University of the Philippines, Gemma relocated to the United States to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree and her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Phoenix. 

For the purpose of advancing her professional development, she remains a member of the Association of California Nurse Leaders, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, and the Professional Nurses Association.

A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar licensing body to obtain a nursing license. RNs fulfill a variety of job duties. In addition to their primary role in treating and caring for patients, their responsibilities also include educating patients and the public about a variety of medical conditions, as well as providing emotional support and advice to the families of their patients. Other RN job functions include leadership, research, performing diagnostic tests and analyzing results, operating medical equipment, administering medications, recording patients’ symptoms and medical histories, and assisting with patient rehabilitation and follow-up.

A chief nursing officer (CNO) is mandated by the hospital administration to maintain clinical and patient-care standards. This includes ensuring that the patients are safe in the hospital and have access to the right medical care. In order to do this, the CNO has to work closely with the hospital management and stakeholders to acquire the right infrastructure and resources. He or she offers the best insights to the management on how they can improve the quality of care in the facility. They are also responsible for formulating and implementing new nursing strategies. This requires extensive knowledge of the nursing procedures, staff rules, and patient policies.

Learn More About Gemma Rama-Banaag:

Through her online profile, https://todaysnurse.org/network/index.php?do=/4145427/info/