RPMH welcomes new CNO

Sweetwater Reporter
Written by Amanda Moreno
Friday, 08 May 2009

Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital is welcoming a new Chief Nursing Officer. Rosa Best started her new position as Chief Nursing Officer on May 6. She is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing.

"Donna Boatright did such a good job while in this position. It's going to be a big challenge. I am up for the challenge though," Rosa Best, Chief Nursing Officer said.
Best was born and raised in Sweetwater and has spent the majority of her nursing career working for Rolling Plains.

"I started my nursing career in 1990 as a Graduate Vocational Nurse (GVN)," Best said. "I wanted to be a trauma nurse. That was my motivation to continue on with my nursing education."
During her time at Rolling Plains, she has been a medical surgical nurse and an LVN. She received her Associates as a Registered Nurse in 1992, from Howard College in Big Spring. She started in the emergency room, went to the operating room and went back to the emergency room. She also received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Angelo State in 2008.

"I am currently going for my Masters in Science of Nursing, and will graduate with that in 2010," Best said.
She served as supervisor at Rolling Plains from 2002 until this year.

"The biggest obstacle I think is going to be the transition. I've been in a leadership role, but this is a bigger leadership/manager role," Best said. "The main focus is on the nurses."

According to Best, there are not currently any major changes in the plan. She said she does want to bring change that will profile the nursing profession.

"I saw the need for a leadership position in the nursing field and I wanted to be part of that. I want to be part of the solution to the problem," Best said. "There are lots of changes and nurses are playing a big role. This position will give me the opportunity to be part of that change."

Her family includes two sons, Juan Chavez, who is deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army and Leo Chavez, who is employed by Texas State Technical College’s IT Department. She is married to Walter Best, who is the laboratory director at RPMH.