Highland CEO returns to roots to help recognize outstanding students
Former WVU Nursing professor Persily will deliver address
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The President and Chief Executive Officer of Highland Hospital Association will join West Virginia University School of Nursing faculty and staff as they celebrate the achievements of outstanding nursing students at this year’s Lorita D. Jenab Lectureship. The lecture is a highlight of the School’s annual night of recognition, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, April 17 at the WVU Health Sciences Center’s Fukushima Auditorium.
As 2015 Jenab Lecturer, Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., will deliver, “Inspiring Change in Today’s 
Challenging Healthcare Environment.”
Prior to stepping into leadership at Highland, Dr. Persily spent 20 years at WVU, where she most recently served as professor and chairperson of the Charleston Division of the School of Nursing and associate dean of graduate practice programs. She was the founder and executive director of the West Virginia Nursing Leadership Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Northwest Health Foundation Partners in Nursing’s Future, and a number of local and regional foundations.
Evening activities will also feature the presentation of student awards and scholarships, and new inductees will be welcomed into the Alpha Rho Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. A reception will follow in the lounge area outside the auditorium.
Highland Hospital Association, Inc. is the parent organization of Highland Hospital, an 80-bed psychiatric hospital, Highland Behavioral Health Services, Highland Hospital Foundation, and Highland Health Center, located in Charleston and Clarksburg. In her leadership role, Persily sets strategic direction, assuring financial viability, development of new business, and evaluation of programming for all Highland endeavors.
Persily is currently serving a gubernatorial appointment to the West Virginia Center for Nursing Board of Directors, for which she previously served as president. She was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the West Virginia Hospital Association. In her community, Persily serves as a board of trustees member for Edgewood Summit, Inc., a full-service elder living community in Charleston; as a member of the boards of directors of Partners in Health Network and First Choice Health Services, Inc.; and as a board member of the Kanawha Coalition for Health Improvement.
Persily’s textbook, Team Leadership and Partnering in Nursing and Health Care, was published by Springer Publishing Company in 2013.