Joan Roberts Cisna ... up close and personal

Career: Joan Roberts Cisna, 51, CoxHealth's new vice president of nursing services, first discovered her interest in health care as a result of Career Days at her high school in Newton, Iowa. As a ninth grader, she was attracted to the hands-on aspect of care.

Later, as a young hospital staff nurse in a program that emphasized service to the profession, Cisna became involved in numerous committees and special projects, ultimately discovering a talent for administration.

"I liked it, did a lot of it, was good at it, and developed an interest in effecting change, in knowing the resources that you had to have to deliver patient care and how important it was to have good decisions made," she said.

A senior managing consultant for BKD LLP for the last 5 1/2 years, she previously worked in a similar capacity at Arthur Andersen.

Management philosophy: "We have a lot of expensive high-tech equipment, but our most valuable resource is our people," Cisna said. She sees her role as "developing people to be all that they can be."

She added, "My job is to nurse the nurses so they can nurse the patients."

Family and spare time: Cisna and husband John are in the process of relocating to Springfield from Kansas City and are living in an apartment while they house hunt.

The region's numerous lakes are likely to be a boon for the couple, who like to spend their time on the water and own several watercraft, including a WaveRunner. Another passion is the theater.

Visiting with their extended family is another pleasure. Regarding her family, "I did it the easy way, I'm really not old enough to have 10 grandchildren," she said with a laugh. "I have six stepchildren, five boys and one girl, and then 10 grandchildren,"

She added that she actually feels like they have seven children: the couple also sponsors a 16-year-old through the Big Brother program, and they hope he'll be able to move to Springfield with them.