Trish O'Keefe

Trish O’Keefe, PhD, RN, is President of Morristown Medical Center, Vice President, Atlantic Health System and Chief Nurse Executive, Atlantic Health System.

Under O'Keefe's leadership, Morristown Medical Center is ranked the number one hospital in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report for three consecutive years and is the only hospital in New Jersey named one of America’s ‘50 Best Hospitals’ for six consecutive years by Healthgrades. It has earned recognition as one of the World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek, ranking as #34 in the country and top in the State of New Jersey in 2021, and Becker's Healthcare list of "100 great hospitals in America.” Morristown Medical Center has achieved an “A” hospital safety grade – its highest – twelve consecutive times by Leapfrog. The hospital was also recognized by Fortune IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals, ranking number six among major US teaching hospitals. See all the hospital’s awards >

Morristown Medical Center is nationally recognized in cardiology, orthopedics, critical care, pediatrics, geriatrics, and gastroenterology — a testament to the quality O’Keefe expects. She was instrumental in the medical center’s prestigious designation as an American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence five consecutive times - one of less than one percent of hospitals nationally to achieve this honor.

O’Keefe was recently recognized by St. Elizabeth University as a community honoree during their 20th annual scholarship celebration and received the 2021 Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Citizen’s Award from the EJI Excellence in Medicine Foundation for her distinguished service in advancing and promoting the health and well-being of the people of New Jersey. She was also honored by the Tri-County Scholarship Fund, which serves many of the state’s financially disadvantaged children. She was named on ROI-NJ’s Influencers Power list in 2020 and 2021, as well as ROI-NJ’s 2021 Influencers: Women in Business – Health Care list. She was honored by Seton Hall University with the Margaret C. Haley Award for making a significant contribution to health care; by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce as a “Woman Who Shines”; received the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Dean's Award for Advancing the Profession of Nursing; and the ONE/NJ Nurse Executive of the Year Award and Professional Recognition Award. She is also the recipient of the Mary A. Mulholland Service Award from the Boy Scouts of America and was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, New Jersey. She was also recognized by the United Nations as one of 21 Nurses with Global Impact; by Irish America magazine to its Healthcare and Life Sciences 50 list; by the American Cancer Society as a Hero of Hope; and by NJBiz as a 2018 Vanguard Series Leader in Health Care.

She is a noted presenter on national and regional stages on topics such as leading through a crisis: COVID-19, redesigning health care, empowerment and shared governance models, achieving Magnet status, resiliency in leadership, nursing's role in the Accountable Care Organization (ACO), geriatric care and medication management, and care for the caregiver (achieving Magnet status).

O'Keefe recently served as 2020 Chairwoman of the Board, Morris County Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Directors for the NJ Sharing Network, Organization of Nurse Executives in New Jersey (ONE/NJ) for 10 years, the Advisory Board Chair for the Salvation Army of Morris County, and as a Board Member of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Madison, New Jersey.

She has participated as a member of Seton Hall University President’s Advisory Board, a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the New Jersey Organization of Nurse Executives (ONE/NJ), and Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing. O'Keefe is a certified nurse administrator by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

O’Keefe received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, her Master of Science in Nursing Administration, and received her PhD from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. She and her husband Darren are long-time, active residents of Morristown, New Jersey.