Shannon Wentz - Area VP of Palliative & Aging Care

Shannon Wentz

Area VP of Palliative & Aging Care

Shannon Wentz, RHIA, CHP, FACHE, brings over thirty years of healthcare experience to her new role as Area VP of Palliative and Aging Services.  After beginning her career leading HIM Departments at St. Francis and Glenwood in Northeast Louisiana, she went to Dallas, Texas where as Director of Emergency Services she led the team at UT Southwestern to become the first comprehensive stroke center certified by TJC in the state of Texas. 

She led the Quality team at Childrens of Mississippi in Jackson, MS to achieve the Arkansas Quality Award, (a substitute for the Malcolm Baldridge award which was not available in the state of MS at the time).  She was promoted to Quality Administrator for the CMO office at University of MS Medical Center, where she had oversight of all Performance Improvement activities, Medical Staff Services, Risk Management, Accreditation, and Infection Control.  She implemented an error prevention training program, where she gained support from the Vice Chancellor to make it mandatory for all staff physicians, and she led a team at UMMC to their first designation as a Baby Friendly hospital, as awarded by Baby Friendly USA. 

Shannon’s latest role involved developing and growing the Palliative Medicine service line at Ochsner Health. Along with her dyad partner, Dr. Susan Nelson, they grew from a team of 4 physicians in 3 hospitals to over 40 professionals in 8 service areas.  She developed quality metrics that demonstrated dramatic decreases in length of stay and cost of care when patients were enrolled in Palliative Care. Her team implemented the Respecting Choices advanced care planning training and educated over 600 healthcare professionals in three years, converting classes to Zoom during the pandemic.  She served on the state Serious Illness Coalition and serves on the board of directors as an appointed expert for the Louisiana Mississippi Hospice Palliative Care Organization. 

Shannon is passionate about improving the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.  What fulfills her most is leading teams to greatness; in whatever area of expertise they have.   

Outside of work, Shannon has raised six children (you will find her on soccer fields every weekend with her youngest son, Gunnar) and her hobbies include reading, exercising, and enjoying time with her three dogs.