Chief Nursing Officer

BJ O’Connor, RN, LISW serves as Chief Nursing Officer for Palmetto Surgery Center.  She brings over 40 years of extensive nursing experience in critical care, hospice, child welfare and ambulatory care.  With 19 years being in ambulatory care with Palmetto Surgery Center where she has held several leadership roles to include Pre-Op/PACU team leader and OR team leader. Her knowledge of program development, licensing/certification compliance, risk management, quality improvement and benchmarking has assisted with Palmetto Surgery Center being nationally recognized as one of the “Best Surgery Centers 2021”.   Along with her nursing responsibilities, she also brings a wealth of knowledge as a licensed independent social worker working with medically fragile children and families. 

BJ is responsible for providing leadership, clinical expertise, and functional direction to members of the health care team to achieve successful patient outcomes and satisfaction.  She is passionate about the delivery of high-quality individualized care with a priority on patient safety as well as providing team members with the tools they need to be successful in their nursing responsibilities. 

She holds a Diploma in Nursing from Hall School of Nursing, Brenau College, a BS in Health Sciences from Columbia College, and a MSW in Social Work from the University of South Carolina.

While nursing leadership is her primary job function by day, BJ enjoys spending time at the beach or mountains with her husband and two dogs as well as participating in spinning classes.

BJ O'Connor, RN, LISW
Chief Nursing Officer