The Board of Milford Care Centre, which provides specialist palliative care and older persons services in the Mid-West, announces the appointment of Mary O’Brien, M.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons), R.G.N., R.M, as its new chief executive.
Ms O’Brien succeeds outgoing chief executive Pat Quinlan, who retired on 31 March 2021 after 32 years with the organisation.
A leading healthcare manager and innovator, Ms O’Brien has extensive healthcare experience in community and acute care, both in Ireland and the UK, having held a variety of senior managerial roles including general manager at UL Hospitals Group, interim chief director of nursing and midwifery at UL Hospitals Group, and most recently, held the role of head of service, older persons at HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare.
A native of Limerick, she is an alumnus of the University of Limerick and University of Liverpool. In 2019, Ms O’Brien achieved a First Cass Honours MSc in supply chain operations and is clinically trained as both a registered general nurse and a registered midwife.
Making the announcement, the chairman of the board of Milford Care Centre, Joe Murphy, said: “The board of Milford Care Centre together with the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary are very happy with the appointment of Ms O’Brien, who brings a wealth of experience as an executive manager, leader and innovator to her role as CEO. She has a proven track record, working in challenging and busy environments and a history of consistently achieving strong results with practical, cost-effective approaches to service development. She has forged partnerships beyond traditional healthcare boundaries and is a proven leader in accelerating healthcare transformation.
“Having served on senior leadership teams at both Aintree University Hospital Trust, Liverpool, UL Hospitals Group and HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare, Ms O’Brien has been a key driver in the delivery of person-centred care, along with a major focus in sustaining a quality and safety culture,” stated Mr Murphy.
Commenting on her appointment, Ms O’Brien added: “I am delighted to have been selected to lead an organisation that is synonymous with palliative care and older persons services in the Mid-West and look forward to charting new opportunities for further innovation in the delivery of the services provided by Milford Care Centre in my capacity as CEO.”