Leadership
Annette Sy, DNP, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Officer
As chief nursing officer, Annette Sy is responsible for all inpatient and outpatient nursing services. She plays a key role in ensuring survey readiness, clinical quality standards, patient experience and nursing competency in both inpatient areas of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as outpatient care clinics. Sy brings more than 30 years of nursing experience to USC, and is an advocate for safe, quality patient- and family-centered care.
Prior to taking on the chief nursing officer role, she held the position of associate administrator of ambulatory care services for the two USC-owned hospitals, participating in key initiatives such as the opening of the Evaluation and Treatment Center, the Women’s Health Clinic and the Infusion Center at Keck Hospital. Sy also led the development of a campus-wide Rapid Response Team, which allows the medical center to dispatch a team of critical-care trained professionals to ambulatory sites when rapid assistance is needed.
Between 2005 and 2009, Sy was responsible for the planning, direction and operation of all nursing inpatient units, ambulatory clinics and pre-operative areas of USC Norris Cancer Hospital. Sy has been a registered nurse since 1984, and holds a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing as well as a master’s of science degree in nursing, both from the University of Dubuque in Iowa.
Brian Dawson, MSN, RN
Interim Executive Administrator, Perioperative Services
As interim executive administrator of perioperative services, Brian Dawson oversees all surgical services at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, including endoscopy services. He has oversight of the Pre-operative Assessment and Center for Education (PACE), the pre-operative area, inpatient and outpatient operating rooms, recovery, centralized scheduling and central sterile processing. He works closely with other administrators and physician leaders to ensure maximum efficiency, quality and patient care in all operating areas.
Dawson’s background is well-suited for the challenging, fast-paced environment of Perioperative Services. He has served as the director of Perioperative Services at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado; the vice president of Surgical Services for Salem Hospital in Oregon; chief of staff to the Surgeon General in the Bureau of Navy Medicine and Surgery in Washington, DC; executive vice president at Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, North Carolina; and CEO for US Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan. In these roles, he has consistently created operational improvements, and decreased cost per surgical procedure while reinforcing a commitment to drivings service line growth and improving quality of care.
