Celebrating Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing

The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation and The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio celebrated the appointment of Barbara Vazquez, DNP, FNP, RN, as the chair holder of the William H. Parry, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing with an investiture ceremony on September 19. This honor will help Dr. Vazquez further advance education, research, and clinical care in the field of pediatric nursing.

Dr. Vazquez joined The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in March 2022 as vice president and chief nursing officer, providing executive leadership and strategic direction for the department of nursing. She previously spent two years as the director of cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. While at Texas Children’s, she led successful accreditation efforts for adult congenital heart disease and served as the executive leader for the Magnet designation program. Her experience also includes 22 years at Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach, Florida, and two years in El Paso, Texas, where she developed liver and kidney transplant programs and obtained a perinatal certification and maternal fetal monitoring certification for the first time in El Paso at Providence Children’s Hospital. Dr. Vazquez holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Phoenix, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Massachusetts.

In September 2020, the William H. Parry, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing was established by the Connolly Clark Trust. For more than 45 years, Dr. Parry spent his career as a pediatrician, educator, and administrator. He joined Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital (now The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio) as director of pediatric services in 1994 and was charged with improving and expanding outpatient and ambulatory services. He was instrumental in the creation of the David Christopher Goldsbury Center for Children and Families, a special outpatient facility with more than 38 different pediatric specialty clinics and programs, including primary care and dental facilities. Throughout his career, Dr. Parry (below, left) credited excellence in nursing as essential to success in the care and treatment of patients, thus creating this endowed chair to provide perpetual funding for a leader in nursing.

Endowed chairs recognize and foster excellence among medical professionals who are leaders in their field. Clinical, research, and educational opportunities for the recipient and the department they represent are supported through the earnings of a permanent fund. The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio currently has nine endowed chairs.

To learn more about endowed chairs at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, visit our website.