Assistant Professor
Rush University
Chicago, IL
Melinda Noonan, D.N.P., R.N., NEA-BC holds conjoint faculty appointments as Assistant Professor in both the College of Nursing and College of Health Sciences of Rush University. For several years she held the position of Associate Vice President for Hospital Operations and Executive Director of the Rush Children's Hospital at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) in Chicago, IL. As a Practitioner-Teacher at RUMC, she pursues her passions for hospital operations leadership and teaching through mentoring and advising the next generation of healthcare leaders in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the Health Systems Management Master's Program. During her first five years at RUMC, she focused on improving patient flow and developing the Rush Transfer Center, a nationally-recognized best practice site for outside hospital transfers to an academic medical center. Prior to her work at RUMC, she held progressive leadership positions at several Chicago area hospitals and academic medical centers. In addition to hospital operations, she held service line administration positions in cardiovascular, oncology, and women's and children's services. Dr. Noonan managed a national healthcare consultant practice for several years assisting clients with strategic planning, facility planning and service line development. She has published and presented nationally and internationally on these areas of expertise. Dr. Noonan earned her B.S.N., cum laude, from University of Illinois at Chicago where she was awarded the Student Leadership Award by the Alumni Association. She received her master's degree in nursing administration from North Park University and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Rush University. Dr. Noonan is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Chicago Healthcare Executives Forum, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders, and Sigma Theta Tau-Gamma Phi Chapter. She is a Fellow in the Institute of Medicine-Chicago. Dr. Noonan is the President of the Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders and Chair of the Collaboration Work Group of the Illinois Healthcare Action Coalition. She is the former President of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Women's Health and served on several national committees and advisory boards for the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing.