South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative
South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative
South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative
Keeping Nurses in Beaufort and Jasper Counties
In the United States today, there is a persistent lack of diversity among healthcare professionals. Healthcare organizations must improve diversity to ensure that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and genders are in the healthcare workforce.
Doing so has a positive impact not only on the organization itself but also on the individual patients and broader communities.
We have a leadership team of professionals from all different backgrounds who reflect the diversity of our Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton county community, committed to ensuring that this same level of diversity is in the SCNRI recipient group we select.
Dr. William Fuller – Co-Founder
Dr. Fuller has had an accomplished, 40-year long career in veterinary medicine. After attending college and veterinary school at Cornell College and Iowa State University, Dr. Fuller and his family moved to Arlington, MA, where he ran a private veterinary practice for over 26 years. Dr. Fuller has been proud to call Bluffton, SC, home for the last 16 years and is working to improve our local healthcare system. He and Bob Elliott developed the SCNRI to keep nurses in Beaufort County, an effort that Dr.Fuller would love to see replicated across the state.
Dr. Fuller says that nurse retention plays a significant role in keeping the Lowcountry healthy, as the number of nurses present in local healthcare systems has a direct effect on the health and wellness of Beaufort County’s community members.
Bob Elliott – Co-Founder
Born Toronto Canada
Earned a BA in economics from The University of Western Ontario in London Ontario.
Employed by the Dow Chemical Company for 39 years- retired in 2015
The majority of his career was in Sales and Marketing functions and leadership roles.
Sallie Wilson Luther, DO – Event Planning and Nurse Recipient Outreach
Sallie Wilson Luther, D.O. is a retired board-certified anesthesiologist who practiced in Dayton, Ohio. She has spent winters in Bluffton, SC for the last 6 years. Having a career in medicine made her well aware of shortages in the medical field. She also has a son who is a physician and a daughter who is a nurse, so hears of their experiences with staffing in other areas of the country and knows how crucial it is that we retain nurses in our area.
She has been involved in several organizations that surround mental health and was the chair and started a walk in 2014 for suicide awareness in Dayton for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She also served on their Ohio board for several years. She is an ASIST (Applied Suicide Prevention Skills Training) Trainer.
She previously was board member and vice chair of Oakwood Board of Health. Currently she is on the board for the GEM (Goal Everyone Matters) Project in Dayton which uses art work by high school students to bring stories of hope and resilience.
Another area of passion is being a therapy team with dog Elroy. They visit area care facilities and Parris Island Marine Corps Base to visit injured recruits
Isis Lucia Hart – Selection Committee Member
Ms. Hart is a bi-lingual, fluent in Spanish, board-certified women’s health NP provider with a special interest in high-risk pregnancy, OB care, and preventative GYN. She is passionate about caring for women and has worked since 2001 in outpatient settings with diverse populations. She has always loved medicine and is thrilled to support the community as a member of the Riverside Women’s Care practice.
Hart grew up in a suburb outside of Boston and attended nursing school and later NP school in Boston, earning her WHNP and BC. She was born in Cuba, came to the US as a child, and moved to SC to avoid the NE winters in 2017. She was a national speaker/presenter for the Area Health Education Center, “Increasing Diversity in Nursing”, Las Vegas, June 2010. In March 2008, she was inducted – Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing. In 2006 and 2007 she was the Mary Clapham Endowment Scholarship Recipient, a merit-based award. In May 2005-2007, she was inducted into Iota Eta Pi Nursing Honor Society, MGH Institute of Health Professions. She is a Current Member of The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses.
When not serving patients, Hart enjoys time spent with her husband, adult children, and precious grandkids that she adores. She also enjoys her hobbies which include biking, playing pickleball, and traveling with family.
Diane Hynes – Selection Committee Member
Diane Hynes was raised in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from The University of Virginia School of Nursing in 1982. She completed a year-long operating room internship at the Maine Medical Center and practiced nursing in the operating room for the next 20 years. Hynes and her husband, John, are proud parents and grandparents. “It is imperative to the Lowcountry that we encourage nurses to remain locally. The area is increasing in popularity and so will the need for healthcare. Nurses are the gateway to healthcare. They are often the first and last smile and touch a patient will encounter”.
Rose Kearney-Nunnery – Selection Committee Member
After holding nursing and educational administration positions in Louisiana, Florida, New York, Georgia, and South Carolina, I retired in March 2017 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. I have served on various community boards addressing the health needs of the community including the Community Advisory Board for Hilton Head Regional Medical Center, the Beaufort County First Steps Board, and on the Board of Memory Matters on Hilton Head. In the past I have also served on the South Carolina Board of Nursing and on the on the Board of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). I have a variety of publications including a text published by F.A. Davis entitled, Advancing your practice: Concepts of Professional Nursing in its 8th edition in 2024.
Keith Brownlie – Fundraising Committee
Mr. Brownlie moved to Bluffton after his retirement from Ernst & Young in 2009. During his 36 years at EY, he had various leadership roles including 20 years as the Metro New York Area Life Science Industry Leader as well as serving on its National Life Sciences Committee. Mr. Brownlie also co-founded the New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year Program. He has extensive experience auditing and facilitating the public offerings of entrepreneurial growth companies, mergers and acquisitions, financing alternatives and other entrepreneurial business issues. Since his retirement he has served on the Boards of numerous public companies as well as serving six years on the Board of Volunteers in Medicine of Hilton Head Island South Carolina where he was Vice Chairman for one year and Treasurer for four years.
Amy Wagner – Selection and College Student Outreach
Amy Wagner is a registered nurse with more than 30 years experience in the healthcare industry. She served as a hospital-based nurse for more than 10 years before becoming director of University of Louisville outpatient clinics in Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Wagner also served as a nurse paralegal responsible for the review, analysis and interpretation of medical records and provided recommendations related to hospital policies.
For the last 13 years of her healthcare career she worked in healthcare technology for McKesson Provider Technologies and Aspect Software. Ms. Wagner is retired from nursing after a 30 year career and is currently Co-President of Women of Palmetto Bluff and a practicing artist. She believes nurses are the key to quality and compassionate healthcare in our complex healthcare system.
Janet Porter – Selection Committee Member
Janet Porter has 45 years of experience as a hospital administrator, professor and public health leader. Janet was on the AARP Board of Directors and on the Ohio State University Board of Trustees. Locally Janet served on the Hilton Head Hospital Board for six years and on the Hospice Care of the Lowcountry Board for seven years (four years as Chair). Currently, she is the Vice Chair of the Beaufort County Libraries Board, serves on the Grants Committee for Women in Philanthropy and the boards of the Hospital Auxiliary and Lowcountry Legal Volunteers. Janet has a BS and MHA from Ohio State University and an MBA and PhD in healthcare strategy from University of Minnesota.
We welcome her energy and passion for Nurse retention.
Anita Polli – Nurse Recipient Outreach and Donor Appreciation
Anita Polli has been a healthcare labor attorney for the last 35 years. She has lived in Boston, Massachusetts her entire life until she and her Husband Patrick, moved to Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, a year ago.
Anita’s legal work has focused on helping healthcare organizations, academic medical centers, and their leaders throughout the country, create an engaging and enriching work environment based on collaboration and teamwork. This work has become more imperative and has accelerated since the pandemic which caused a dramatic healthcare workforce shortage. This shortage, particularly with nurses, left them feeling overworked and underappreciated. Anita counsels’ leaders at all levels of the organization on strategies to create a work environment where top talent will come and stay because they feel respected, appreciated, and have a meaningful voice.
In Anita’s spare time, she likes to read, cook, travel, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are looking forward to life in the low country.
Bill Johnston – Fundraising
Bill Johnston moved from Manhattan to Bluffton in 2018 after having worked for over 35 years in various banking capacities. Bill was an executive in both the sales and credit sides of the house at Wells Fargo, Capital One, BNYMellon and Merrill Lynch, having helped create the Middle Market Lending Group at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2001. He has served on the statewide New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the NJ statewide Boys and Girls Club Board and the New Brunswick Cultural Center Board.
Jana Taylor – Marketing
Jana is an experienced graphic designer and marketing professional with a strong background in branding, digital media, and strategic communication. Since 2015, she has worked in marketing, graphic design, social media management, and web design, helping businesses and organizations enhance their visibility and engagement.
At SCNRI, Jana manages social media, website updates, marketing materials, and visual content to support the organization’s mission of retaining nurses in the Lowcountry. She also assists with copy refinement and content strategy, ensuring SCNRI’s messaging is clear, compelling, and impactful.
Jana brings a creative and analytical approach to SCNRI’s outreach efforts. Her goal is to amplify the organization’s impact and ensure that more nurses have the resources and support they need to stay in our local healthcare system.
