Bob Dent receives the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award

Bob Dent, DNP, MBA, RN ('10 Executive Leadership)

School of Nursing -- Community Advocacy

Bob Dent is the senior vice president and chief operation officer at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas. With more than 25 years of experience in the health care sector, Dent has served as a nursing assistant, licensed vocational nurse, registered nurse, licensed nursing home administrator, chief nursing officer, and chief operating officer for various size organizations. He has also served as dean of a local community college.

Dent is a community college graduate himself, having received an Associate in Applied Science from South Plains College. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing; his Master in Business Administration/Health Care Management from the University of Phoenix; and his Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC).

He has become a voice for nursing leadership in West Texas and beyond. In concert with the Robert Wood Foundation Future of Nursing call to increase the numbers of bachelor-prepared nurses, more than 50 percent of Midland Memorial’s nursing staff now has at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Dent has also created many new service lines at the hospital including robotic surgeries, total joint replacement, palliative care, bariatrics and a dedicated unit for acute care of the elderly. He also implemented a telephone nurse triage system that resulted in an operational net improvement in bad debt of $2.3 million and improved operational outcomes.

Dent has been published and has presented on such topics as improving workplace environments, interprofessional collaboration, business planning, staffing, and using technology to improve outcomes. He has been nationally recognized by Modern Health and Witt/Kieffer's Class of 2006 as "Up and Comer " of the Year and received the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives 2013 Excellence in Leadership Award. He has led Midland Memorial hospital to a two-time designated Pathway to Excellence hospital and On the Journey to Magnet Excellence award.

His service to the profession through state and national associations is numerous. Most recent is his election to a three-year term (2014-2016) on the American Organization of Nurse Executives board of directors, representing Region 7 (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Orleans area, Texas). Dent is also serving as chair of the American Organization of Nurse Executives Foundation Board for 2015, and he maintains academic appointments with several nursing schools including TTUHSC.

As a community advocate, Dent serves on the Board of Directors for Midland’s YMCA, Hospice of Midland, Boy Scouts of America and Rotary International as well as holds religious leadership positions.