Annette Macias-Hoag joined UTMB in 2011 and currently serves as associate vice president for Health System Operations, as well as associate chief nursing officer for UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus. While at UTMB, she has led the Level 1 Trauma reverification and The Joint Commission certifications for Ventricular Assist Device and Primary Stroke Center and has implemented new services such as the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Macias-Hoag has operational responsibilities for Invasive and Non-Invasive Cardiology, Neurodiagnostic, Respiratory Care and Vascular Services. She also leads the Patient Placement Center and programs such as Trauma, Stroke and Congestive Heart Failure.
Prior to UTMB, Macias-Hoag was the director of patient care for the Heart and Vascular Institute at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center. She has also served as director of clinical services at Baylor College of Medicine.
Macias-Hoag received an associate’s degree in nursing from Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Phoenix.
What does Best Care mean to you and how do you contribute?
To me, Best Care means that all of us work together to ensure our patients receive evidence-based care and an excellent patient care experience every single time. I contribute to Best Care by:
- collaborating with staff to provide timely and effective care,
- asking for input on how we can achieve the best possible outcomes,
- collaborating with other departments to provide continuity of care and coordination,
- collaborating with staff in assessing safety concerns and helping in the implementation of systems or processes that will eliminate such concerns, and establishing open and honest communication with teams to enable transparency and comfort in escalating issues or concerns.
It’s been three years since the Angleton Danbury Campus joined UTMB. What are some of the challenging aspects of your role as associate chief nursing officer for UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus? The most rewarding?
Having the opportunity to lead nursing at ADC has been a huge honor and a rewarding experience. The staff is welcoming and engaged in learning. At ADC, our team has made significant changes such as implementing bedside shift reports, “Progression of Care” rounds, an Acuity-Adaptable Unit to minimize the amount of patient transfers, leadership rounds with patients and staff, and a Correctional Managed Care discharge lounge. These changes have allowed ADC to see more patients in our hospital, improved patient throughput and satisfaction, and decreased length of stay.
I am most proud of the staff’s willingness to develop and implement the ADC Nursing Council structure, which is similar to the one developed on the Galveston Campus and ensures nurses have a voice. We have had excellent participation from all ADC departments. Our nurses are on the frontlines and need to be involved in decision making regarding nursing practice and patient care—it’s imperative to the success of our hospital.
The most rewarding part of my job at ADC is to see our staff and managers grow professionally as they work together.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in nursing?
When I was in high school, I volunteered at the Veteran’s Hospital in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. I was assigned to the operating room and my job was to take all specimens, including amputations (which were many), to the appropriate department. While I had limited interaction with patients when I was a volunteer, I saw what nurses did for patients and it was inspiring.
I took the long way to be a nurse. I was going to be a teacher with a second major in chemistry, so I had classes with nursing students. After three years of college, I knew I had to change career paths as I have always enjoyed taking care of people.
What’s the best advice anyone’s ever given you?
My dad told me, “Wealth comes and goes, but your education is always with you. Find every opportunity to learn.” My parents were not educated but very wise. Neither of them was able to finish grade school, so it was important for them to ensure their children had a solid education. My father was an accomplished chef and an avid reader. I remember my father purchasing every new edition of the Britannica Encyclopedia. He would read every volume and encourage us to do the same. Lifelong learning has been important to me since I was young and I just wish my father was alive to see that all his daughters took his advice to heart.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Spend time with my family: my husband, Dan, who without his support I could not do what I do; our son, Nick, who is a radiology technologist at UTMB; his partner, Jennifer, who is a registered nurse in UTMB’s Emergency Department; and our precious grandson, Jaxson, who is now 6 months old.
I also like to go out on the boat in the afternoon with my husband. However, I have not had much time lately because I’m studying to complete a doctorate in nursing practice from Texas Tech in Lubbock. When I finish my doctorate, I plan to do several things: take piano lessons, learn to fish in salt water, volunteer at a high school (or any local agency that works with youth), and take a long trip— hopefully to Australia.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can dance Sevillanas, a type of folk music and dance of Seville and its region in Spain influenced by Flamenco. I can also play castañuelas, a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of wood shells joined on one edge by a string. They can produce a clicking sound when tapped together with your fingers. My father was from Cadiz, Spain, and we had to learn starting at an early age. My 74-year-old mother still dances Sevillanas every Wednesday for about two hours.