Keesler Medical Center's chief nurse retires Published May 19, 2009 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Col. Elizabeth Bowers-Klaine, chief nurse for the 81st Medical Group, will be honored for her 30-year Air Force career during a formal retirement ceremony May 22 in Keesler Medical Center's Don Wylie auditorium. Maj. Gen. Kimberly Siniscalchi will officiate. General Siniscalchi is assistant Air Force surgeon general for medical force development and assistant Air Force surgeon general for nursing services. As a member of the executive team, Colonel Bowers-Klaine has been responsible for strategic planning and providing guidance and direction for organizational functions that oversee the measurement and improvement of health delivery operations for the medical center, a 78-bed, tertiary-care facility. She is responsible for the nursing practice provided by more than 280 nurses and over 320 paraprofessional personnel on six inpatient units, 20 ambulatory areas, and a Level III Emergency Room. She directs the medical center's staff education and training flight, encompassing nine Phase II medical technician programs and the Nurse Transition Program. The colonel entered the Air Force via a direct commission into the Nurse Corps in July 1979. She served two tours as a nurse-midwife before being tapped to be a nurse-midwifery instructor with a faculty appointment at Georgetown University. She maintains a second nursing certification as a women's health-care nurse practitioner. She served as the chief nurse executive and Air Force Special Operations Command consultant for nursing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., before assuming command of the 78th Medical Operations Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga. The colonel came to Keesler Medical Center from Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., where she commanded the 61st Medical Squadron. Colonel Bowers-Klaine is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, American College of Healthcare Executives, American College of Nurse Midwives, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Federal Healthcare Executives Interagency Institute Alumni Association and the Society of Air Force Nurses. Named the USAF surgeon general's consultant for nurse-midwifery from 1998-2003, she has attended more than 1,200 births. The colonel was nominated for Field Grade Command Nurse of the Year in 1990 and 1997. She was awarded fellowship status by the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2008. Commenting on her three decades of Air Force service, Colonel Bowers-Klaine said, "I joined the Air Force as many others do, to see more of the world and further my education. Although it wasn't my plan to stay for a full career, the exceptional opportunities kept me growing professionally and the people I've been honored to serve with made the years pass quickly. The challenges posed by Hurricane Katrina in the rebuilding of the facility and the reconstituting the nursing staff have been a highlight of my career and I'm proud to step down knowing that the recovery is now complete." The colonel plans to continue her career as a health-care leader. She and her husband Tom, a retired Air Force pilot, are relocating to Cincinnati. They have three daughters: Sarah, 28, Jeanne, 26, and Caitlin, 23.