UPMC St. Margaret names East Deer resident Marianna Stoneburner as Chief Nursing Officer

East Deer resident Marianna Stoneburner is the new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at UPMC St. Margaret, the same hospital where she spent more than a decade working in the intensive care unit.

Stoneburner returns to St. Margaret after serving the past six years as CNO at UPMC Horizon in Mercer County and UPMC Jameson in Lawrence County.

She will serve a dual role as vice president of patient care services.

“In a way, I really don’t feel like I ever left,” she said. “There are a lot of familiar faces, and I also have met a lot of new and wonderful people. It’s encouraging to see the development nursing has gone through.”

Nursing was not Stoneburner’s chosen profession. A fledgling high school biology teacher just out of college, she couldn’t land a permanent job. Her father encouraged her to become a nurse and she went back and got her degree.

“I quickly realized my purpose was to be a nurse,” she said. “It combined the two things I love the most, teaching and taking care of people.”

During her time in the early 2000s at the St. Margaret campus near Aspinwall, the hospital earned its first Magnet designation, representing the highest level of clinical and service in nursing.

It’s now on the way to a fourth redesignation.

“It means the hospital has continued to demonstrate top quality and safety outcomes exceeding benchmarks,” Stoneburner said.

“Our nurses are highly engaged, have a strong voice to lead positive change, and they participate in evidence-based research. To be among the elite group of Magnet hospitals is a true accomplishment.”

Stoneburner began her career 28 years ago at UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Montefiore. She came to St. Margaret in 1998, working various roles in the ICU until 2010.

“When you walk in to St. Margaret, you have the sense of family,” Stoneburner said. “People are very kind and welcoming.”

Stoneburner is relishing her new role and is seeking to talk with the entire staff, not just nurses, to build connections that will help steer continued success, she said.

“Leadership is key,” she said. “The greatest asset we have are the people who work here. Taking care of our employees and building strong relationships with staff is extremely important.”

An empty-nester at home, Stoneburner said she and her husband enjoy long car rides that have developed into full-fledged adventures.

“We have really begun to explore Pennsylvania,” she said. “We pack a backpack and never know if we are going to come home that night.”

She also enjoys cooking and quiet nights at home.

An avid football and hockey fan, Stoneburner has a passion for whipping up tailgate dishes before Steelers and Penguins games and exploring the network of bike trails across the city.

“We love to find different restaurants in the little communities,” she said. “There is so much to see in Pittsburgh, sometimes we are tourists in our own town.”