Elizabeth McNamara

Elizabeth McNamara will join Northwest Kidney Centers June 11, 2018, as vice president of patient care services/chief nursing officer. Most recently she has been assistant administrator for patient care services at Harborview Medical Center. Earlier, she was assistant nurse manager and a staff nurse in Harborview’s medical intensive care unit.

“We are pleased to welcome Liz with her excellent background as a nurse and nursing leader,” said Joyce F. Jackson, president and CEO of Northwest Kidney Centers. “We are fortunate that our top choice lives locally and knows the Seattle health care community. She has a passion for serving vulnerable people living with the challenges of chronic illness, deep experience in infection control and has worked closely on a day-to-day basis with nephrologists.”

Besides patient care, McNamara also has a strong background in education and research. She was a critical care nurse educator and completed a Master of Nursing specializing as a nurse educator at the University of Washington. Her B.S. in Nursing is from University of Portland. She is a graduate of America’s Essential Hospitals Executive Women’s Leadership Academy.

She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association.

McNamara has received multiple awards: Transformational Pioneer Award from the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives (2012), Qualis Health 2010 Award of Excellence for “Safe in our hands: a multi-faceted approach to improving hand hygiene” and University of Washington Nurse Excellence Award (1990).

Northwest Kidney Centers is a regional, nonprofit provider of kidney dialysis, public health education, and research into the causes and treatments of chronic kidney disease. Founded in Seattle in 1962, it was the world’s first dialysis organization. Now the 8th largest dialysis provider in the United States, it is known for high quality services, deep community connections and generous donor support. www.nwkidney.org