![[ San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, CA ]](/sjch_resources/images/siteBanner.png)
Debbie Hankins
Debbie Hankins
VP of Nursing and CNO
Debbie Hankins is the vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for San Joaquin Community Hospital (SJCH), a 255-bed hospital in Bakersfield, Calif.
In her position, Hankins oversees a host of different nursing departments, including the Intensive Care Unit, Maternity Care Center, Grossman Burn Center and Emergency Department. Despite being pulled in many directions, Hankins maintains a long-term vision for nursing at SJCH.
“I see myself as a facilitator,” Hankins said. “My role is to build the vision for nursing and implement programs to meet that vision. I believe we can be a premier nursing organization that is a destination job for nurses from across the country.”
Holding a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master of arts in organizational management, Hankins began working at SJCH as an ICU nurse in 1988. Through the years, she has moved her way up the ranks in roles such as the manager of the telemetry unit and associate administrator for business development before entering into her current role in May of 2006. In every job she’s taken on, Hankins has continued to focus on the most important aspect of health care.
“In everything we do, we must put the patient first,” Hankins said. “If we do that, we’ll be successful.”
When she’s not overseeing one of her many service lines, Hankins likes to bike with her husband of 30 years, Rob, and walk her dogs Sophie and Charlie. She and Rob have two sons, Keith, 27, who holds a master’s in accounting, and Kurt, 25, who is a speech pathologist.
