Homepage Story

Making a Difference: Profiles in Quality

Of the many nurses who comprise the HSAG team, two in particular have played in key role in helping put the company on the national map of quality improvement. These two nurses are HSAG Executive Management Team members Mary Ellen Dalton and Debbie Nixon –co-founders of the company back in 1982. Through their leadership and vision, Dalton and Nixon have played an integral part in making HSAG the recognized leader in health care quality improvement that it is today.

Mary Ellen Dalton
Mary Ellen Dalton, RN, MBA, CHCA, is HSAG’s Executive Vice President. She began her career at HSAG in 1982 as an executive team member. She was one of four owners at the time.

Dalton chose a career in nursing due to the influence of a special RN in her childhood neighborhood who administered care for Down’s Syndrome infants and children in her own home. “She was my role model in terms of providing love and physical and emotional care for these special needs children,” she says. The neighborhood nurse allowed Dalton to help care for the children. She then knew that nursing was her calling.

Dalton has advice for anyone entering a career in nursing, specifically in quality improvement:

• “Success depends a large part on relationships and the ability to communicate effectively. I try to keep in mind that each person wears an invisible sign on his or her shirt that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ If you can bring out the best in the people you work with, it contributes immensely to being successful.”
• “Nurses who wish to advance and achieve must have a strong work ethic and be willing to go the extra mile."
• “Quality improvement is a wonderful area for nurses to become involved in. There is opportunity to experience all of the very positive aspects of nursing that appear to be lacking in other environments that contribute to the present nursing shortage.”

Debbie Nixon
Debbie Nixon, MSHA, BSN, is HSAG’s Vice President, Corporate Development. She began her career with HSAG in 1982 as CEO and served in that capacity until 1990. Nixon was one of four owners of HSAG at the time.

Nixon fell in love with nursing after working as a nurse’s aide one summer. “Little did I know, so many doors for nurses would open,” she says. “It was a great choice for a career.”

Nixon shares some words of wisdom in regard to nursing in the quality improvement environment:

• “About eight years ago, I returned to school to earn my master’s degree in health administration. When I received my textbooks, I discovered most of the history of quality improvement started with the inception of the PSRO program and the evolution into the QIO program. Without realizing it, all of us at HSAG do make a difference in the health care provided to the residents of the state of Arizona. We are a part of history. Enjoy the journey.”

<TOP>