Early in her career, Ms. Eagle worked as a nurse in Nova Scotia and in Ontario. From 1988 onward, she has held a number of progressive clinical and administrative positions in hospitals and community health care. Between 1988 and 1994, she was the Nursing Unit Manager at the Camp Hill Medical Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1994, she accepted the position of Director of Nursing, Acute Care/Mental Health for both the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Hillsborough Hospital in Queens Region, Prince Edward Island. While in PEI, she served as Adjunct Professor for the School of Nursing at the University of Prince Edward Island. Four years later, Ms. Eagle returned to Nova Scotia as the Provincial Executive Director for the VON where she directed and led 12 branches across the province. Most recently, she held the position of Vice President, Clinical Services at the South Shore District Health Authority, a regional, multi-hospital site, also in Nova Scotia.

"I have always enjoyed nursing and that will always be a part of me," explains Bonnie. "My role in nursing administration allows me to have an impact on improving health policies and delivery models. In doing so, I feel that the patient must always be at the centre of the decision-making process."

Bonnie Eagle's educational qualifications include a Bachelor of Nursing and a Masters of Health Services Administration from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for me," says Bonnie. "I am thrilled about the position at Ross Memorial with its upcoming expanded role as a regional health care provider. I also look forward to moving to such a beautiful area. The role of Vice President, Patient Care and Chief Nursing Officer provides me with a great opportunity to focus on improving patient outcomes, advocating for patients, supporting staff and managing resources."

Ross Memorial Hospital conducted an extensive, cross-country search for an individual who was an experienced patient care executive with an outstanding track record of accomplishments, leadership, facilitation, and implementation of progressive and new initiatives. "The search lasted almost nine months. However, when we were recruiting for this position, our standards and requirements were for someone not only with very strong management skills and experience in a community hospital setting, but we were looking for the right person; someone who could be a mentor to and a motivator of staff; someone with excellent interpersonal, communication and people skills," explains Anthony Vines, President and CEO, Ross Memorial Hospital.

"We are excited to have attracted Bonnie Eagle to this leadership role at the Ross," continues Mr. Vines. "She has extensive experience in health care administration, strategic and operational management, and the delivery of clinical services to patients and communities. Throughout her career, she has held a number of senior nursing and administrative positions with a focus on hospital services, community health, teaching and health promotion. She is a team player with a proven ability to work well with administrative and professional staff, including nurses, technologists, therapists and physicians. We are confident that Bonnie will contribute significantly to the challenges ahead, especially with regard to our upcoming expansion project, and all of the major new services and programs, as well as other initiatives and developments, which are or soon will be underway."

The position of Vice President, Patient Care at Ross Memorial was left vacant at the end of June 2001 when Roger Cook, who held the position for 16 years, retired.