Celebrating Lynn Shields
From candy striper to chief compliance officer, Lynn Shields’ extraordinary 45-year journey is marked by compassion, excellence—and heartfelt reflections from those who worked alongside her.
After a successful career that has spanned an incredible 45 years with Cape Cod Healthcare, Lynn Shields, RN, BSN, MBA, will be retiring at the end of this month – and beginning the next chapter of exciting adventures that lie ahead.
Following her early days as a candy striper at Cape Cod Hospital, her passion for healthcare continued when she earned her RN and BSN, and then ultimately went on to earn an MBA from Western New England College. Throughout the course of her remarkable career at CCHC, she has worked as a staff nurse, nurse manager, quality assurance coordinator, director of quality assurance and improvement and vice president of patient services.
She served in senior nursing positions at both Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital after the formal CCHC system was established in 1999, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to both campuses. In that regard, she holds an institutional distinction for CCHC as the last person from the original senior leadership group for the unified system to retire.
Lynn’s journey continued into the specialized realm of compliance, where she achieved certifications as a Certified Research Ethics Professional, Certified Corporate Compliance Professional and Certified Data Privacy Professional. Lynn served as the director of clinical and research compliance since 2006 and has overseen the activities and operations of CCHC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for almost 20 years – to the great benefit of both the principal investigators and the safety of those patients enrolled in their various research trials. This culminated in her promotion to serve as CCHC’s chief compliance officer last year. Lynn’s extensive clinical and compliance knowledge made her instrumental in revamping and expanding CCHC’s compliance-related activities in coordination with the Board of Trustees and Corporate Compliance Committee.
Lynn is a pillar in the Cape Cod Healthcare community, and those who have had the fortune to work with her, know that she has truly made a positive impact on our system. Here are just a few reflections from colleagues who have worked closely with Lynn:
Lynn is one of the most devoted individuals I have ever worked with. She cares for CCHC and what it means to this community -- because she and her family have such strong roots here, including the next generation now – her grandchildren. She believes in the mission of the organization and has exemplified it throughout her long and impressive career here.
– SVP & Chief Legal Officer, Mike Jones
Lynn has brought tremendous expertise to CCHC. We had an FDA audit of the CCHC IRB which was very intimidating, and her knowledge, expertise, and attention to detail allowed us to have a pretty flawless survey. Lynn’s institutional knowledge has also been so very helpful. Whenever I would ask, “Do you remember when____ happened?” she always knew what I was talking about and could help me the back story to better understand the who/what/why to better inform decisions today.
I wish her the best in her retirement and will miss working with her as a colleague!
– Executive Director of Pharmacy Operations, Jim Mangan, RPh, MBA CPEL
Lynn has been here even longer than me! Which is remarkable. During that time, she’s held many different positions, but whatever role she was in, it was always marked by a commitment to great patient care. It’s been a pleasure working with her!
– Chief Medical Officer, CCHC, Dr. Bill Agel
Lynn has been the consummate professional. Always willing to jump in and help this health system. She started as a candy striper, worked as an RN, been CNO and has held various roles culminating in her last role as our Chief Compliance Officer. She always put our patients and CCHC first. She has been a great partner and friend. We will miss her.
– President and CEO, Mike Lauf
As Lynn embarks on her well-deserved retirement this week, please join us in congratulating her on this very special milestone and thanking her for decades of dedicated service to Cape Cod Healthcare and our community. We know she’s looking forward to enjoying time on the golf course and playing with her grandchildren in the summer days ahead, amongst other retirement adventures. We wish you all the best, Lynn!
