MWPH VP of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive Retires after more than 40 Years

(Baltimore, MD) (September 9) - Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital (MWPH) recently announced the retirement of its Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive Denise Pudinski, MSHCA, BSN, RN, CCM, NE-BC. She has dedicated more than 40 years of service to the hospital, an extraordinary achievement that has enabled MWPH to evolve from a long-term nursing facility for children to a state-of-the-art, pediatric post-intensive care and multidisciplinary rehabilitation center of excellence.

“MWPH’s success in providing high-quality, advanced care to children coming out of the ICU, is due in large part to Denise’s nursing leadership,” said Scott Klein, MD, MHSA, president and CEO of MWPH. “She has contributed so much to the hospital, clinically and operationally, through her dedication, enthusiasm, compassion, and expertise. We would not be where we are today without her.”

Denise Pudinski, retiring after 42 years

After more than four decades at MWPH, Denise Pudinski grew her career from a bedside nursing role to chief nurse executive. Her illustrious tenure started at University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), in 1981, as a staff nurse on an adult Med Surg/Shock Trauma Step Down Unit. She then joined the MWPH team in 1983 as a nurse on weekends. She eventually moved to weekdays, then transitioned into a role on the care management team. She spent many years as the hospital’s director of care management before being promoted to vice president of patient care services, overseeing more than a dozen departments in addition to serving as the hospital’s top nursing officer. All while caring for patients at MWPH, Denise served as a part-time weekend nursing supervisor for UMMS at its Midtown location from 1985 until 2019. 

“As a longstanding affiliate of MWPH, we are so proud to provide a critical piece of the puzzle in the next level of care for our youngest patients,” said Karen Doyle, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Denise has been invaluable to this effort and ensuring our shared patients go back home with their families – right where they are supposed to be. We are so grateful for her leadership and the more than four decades she has devoted to caring for others with the utmost compassion and dedication to nursing.”

Throughout her career, she has never lost sight of the life-changing impact of caring for the family’s needs as well as the patient’s. Her proudest achievements have had a measurable impact on staff and patients alike, from establishing interdisciplinary teams to creating care pathways, and enabling increased communication between nurses and families through programs like AngelEye, a software designed with direct feedback from MWPH care teams and parents to enhance patient care, and ultimately improve outcomes for the hospital’s most vulnerable patients.

“I have had a wonderful career here. The engagement of the staff – not only of the departments I’ve managed but all the departments I have been able to work with – and the commitment of the physicians have enabled MWPH to grow from a nursing home to the premier location send children after acute care to give them what they need to transition home safely,” Denise said. “It has been an awesome experience.”

Denise is retiring this month, September. Although the hospital won’t be the same without her, the legacy of her commitment, expertise, and love will reverberate throughout the community for decades to come.

About Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital

Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital has provided more than 100 years of family-focused, integrated care to children with serious, chronic, or complex medical needs. MWPH was founded in 1922 by Hortense Kahn Eliasberg, who sought to open a home where children could safely recover from illness and surgery. Today, the hospital treats over 8,500 patients each year and provides nearly 60,000 outpatient visits to help children heal, grow, and learn the skills that lead to happier, more independent lives. The 102-bed hospital is a jointly owned affiliate of the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine with locations in Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, in the community in Harford County, and via telehealth. For more information, please visit mwph.org.

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