Professional Background

Tammy McGarity, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, is a Texas-based healthcare executive, consultant, educator, and experienced hospital CEO with decades of leadership experience across health systems, hospital operations, and nursing practice. As the founder and President/CEO of both Competency Exchange, LLC and Clinical Advisory Team, Inc., she partners with healthcare organizations on clinical excellence, workforce development, patient safety, and organizational transformation, drawing on firsthand experience as a Chief Nursing Officer and Hospital Administrator with organizations including Kindred Healthcare, SemperCare, and Select Specialty Hospital.

An entrepreneur and nurse leader at heart, Tammy has built her career around developing the next generation of nurse leaders and strengthening the organizations she serves. She is the author of the Front Line Nurse Leadership Development Curriculum (2nd Edition, 2024) and the Nurse Leadership Development Curriculum Handbook, and her research has appeared in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, Behavioral Sciences, and Human Factors in Healthcare, among others.

Tammy led the Center for Clinical Excellence at University Health System in San Antonio (2014–2018), where she oversaw Magnet Program redesignation and Joint Commission and CMS survey readiness for a major academic health system — exactly the quality and accreditation credibility hospital board quality committees look for. Her operating record includes turning around a struggling hospital from a census of 50% to an average daily census of 80% (CMI 1.0 to 1.3) within three months while at Kindred Healthcare, giving finance and audit committees a concrete measure of her fiscal impact.

She served as President of TexasDNP (2023–2024) and continues to mentor emerging leaders through the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), and as Graduate Faculty Counselor for Sigma Theta Tau. Her own board leadership includes service on the Metrocrest Medical Foundation Board (2001–2008) — as Secretary (2003), Treasurer (2004–2006), and President (2007) — and the Food Bank of Golden Crescent Board (2008–2014), where she served as Vice President (2010–2014).

She is seeking to bring this operational, quality, and fiscal leadership experience to a hospital or health system board.