NICU Verification Program Leadership Team

The AAP NICU Verification Program's physician and nurse leadership team consists of national leaders and highly experienced clinicians with a long-standing interest in risk-appropriate care and education.

Neonatologists

Ann Stark, MD, FAAP,  medical director of the AAP NICU Verification Program team, has more than 40 years of clinical experience. She is an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is a former chair of the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn, was lead author on the initial "Levels of Neonatal Care" policy statement and is editor of the seventh edition of  Guidelines for Perinatal Care.

Eric C. Eichenwald, MD, FAAP, chief of the Division of Neonatology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, has over 25 years of experience as a practicing neonatologist. He has extensive experience in conducting multicenter clinical trials aimed at improving outcomes of premature newborns, and advanced training in quality improvement models and theory. He is a former member of the AAP Neonatal Resuscitation Program Steering Committee and currently serves as the Chairperson for the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn.

Charles Hankins, MD, FAAP, president and chief medical officer of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and senior vice president of CHRISTUS Health System, has over 30 years of experience as a practicing neonatologist. Through his involvement in the Texas Chapter of the AAP and the March of Dimes Texas Chapter, Houston Division Board of Directors, he has contributed to policy development for newborn care, including the Texas levels of NICU care.

Lu-Ann Papile, MD, FAAP, has practiced neonatology for more than 40 years and has special expertise in neurodevelopmental follow-up of former NICU patients. She is a member of the neonatology division at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. As a former chair of the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn, she participated in the 2012 revision of the "Levels of Neonatal Care" policy statement.

DeWayne Pursley, MD, MPH, FAAP, neonatologist in chief and NICU medical director at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and associate chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, has more than 25 years of neonatology experience. He is a former chair of the AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and leads the Choosing Wisely campaign in neonatology.

Neonatal Nurses

Patricia (Pattie) Bondurant, DNP, RN, has more than 25 years in NICU nursing and newborn development, with an exceptional focus on quality and safety. Her former positions as senior clinical director of the NICU at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and as vice president for nursing for the Newborn Center and Women's Services at Texas Children's Hospital give her a unique perspective on organizational challenges and quality and safety strategies to improve care and outcomes for newborns. She is a member of National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), a member of the Multidisciplinary Advisory Council for the Vermont Oxford Network. Pattie is currently the Chief for Inpatient Quality & Safety at The University of Kentucky HealthCare.

Rosanne Buck, RN, MS, NNP-BC, C-ONQS, has more than 45 years of neonatal experience as a NICU staff and transport nurse, neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP), and clinical faculty and provides care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, and other NICUs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She is a member of NANN, a charter member of the Multidisciplinary Advisory Council for the Vermont Oxford Network, and NNP advisor to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Perinatal Advisory Committee.

Tamara (Tami) Wallace, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, has more than 30 years of clinical experience in every level of neonatal care in roles including staff and transport nurse, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation nurse, nurse educator, NNP, and quality improvement coordinator. She is active in NANN and a former council member for the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners.