This panel has been approved for 1.50 ACHE Virtual Interactive Education Credits.

Note: If you are a registrant of the in-person (May 14) portion of the 2026 ACHE East-North-Midwest Texas Multi-Chapter Education Symposium, you are eligible to purchase your ticket for the below referenced virtual panel at a 25% discount. The promo code for that discount is provided to you in your confirmation email from Eventbrite for the May 14 event.

Developing an Environment of Civility and Respect In Healthcare Organizations Resources to Empower Healthcare Leaders to Identify, Intervene, and Prevent Workplace Bullying, Incivility and Disrespect.

The organizational culture of a healthcare organization plays a critically important role in shaping the work environment for its employees. Organizations with environments of civility and respect recruit the best and brightest people, exude high morale and high job satisfaction by their employees, and demonstrate high performing teamwork. Unfortunately, disrespect and incivility at work is rampant in many organizations, and it’s on the rise. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others. There is an organizational price to be paid for uncivil encounters among coworkers. Employees that have experienced or witnessed incivility reduce their commitment to the organization and demonstrate a reduction in work effort. While individual factors may play a major role in contributing to incivility and disrespectful cultures, the workplace environment is a powerful force that consciously or unconsciously enables acts of incivility, disrespect and bullying. Emerging evidence and anecdotal reports suggest that the conscientiousness of healthcare leaders in implementing comprehensive, cohesive, and integrated bullying prevention and intervention programs in their organizations is critical to promote environments of respect and enhance the sustainability of cultures of civility. This panel discussion will focus on tools and methods to identify and address incivility, bullying and disrespectful behavior in the workplace environment as well as methods to develop and support a culture of civility and respect in healthcare organizations.

Moderator: Aaron Bujnowski, FACHE, Managing Director & Transformative Strategies Lead, Alvarez & Marsal Holdings

Panelists:

Graham Torres, Vice President Operations, Children’s Health
Beth Guyton, Principal, The Momentum Leader
Cheryl Peterson, Chief Nursing Officer, Cook Children’s

Speakers’ Bios:

Aaron Bujnowski, FACHE, is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Healthcare Industry Group. With nearly two decades of dedicated experience in the healthcare industry, he is known as a transformative healthcare strategist, empowering health systems and their leaders to attain sustainable competitive advantage.

Mr. Bujnowski executes innovative approaches to enterprise strategy, value-based care (VBC), service lines, partnerships, corporate development and M&A.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Bujnowski spent more than four years as a Director and Integrated Delivery Network (IDN) Lead at Chartis, a U.S. healthcare consulting firm. He collaborated with integrated delivery networks to conceive and implement critical strategies and played a pivotal role in launching Chartis’ Private Equity (PE) practice, which assists PE firms to make informed buy- or sell-side decisions and optimize value within their portfolio companies.

Previously, Mr. Bujnowski served as the System Chief Strategy Officer of Texas Health Resources, a ~$5 billion integrated health system in Dallas-Fort Worth, developing and executing enterprise-wide strategies. His purview included acute, post-acute, ambulatory, physician, consumer and value-based approaches. Mr. Bujnowski began his career with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), as a core member of its strategy and healthcare practices. He also played a pivotal role in founding BCG’s private equity practice.

Mr. Bujnowski earned a bachelor’s degree (honors) and a master’s degree in chemical engineering with a biomedical emphasis from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He earned an MBA (highest honors) from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Bujnowski is currently a candidate to receive a Doctor of Science in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is President of the North Texas Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and was honored as Fellow.

Beth Guyton is an accomplished healthcare leader and consultant with expertise in executive coaching, change management, performance management and patient experience. She is the principle of The Momentum Leader where she coaches leaders on reaching their maximum potential in order to thrive personally and professionally.

Prior to her current role, Beth served as the VP of Patient Experience for the Mercy Springfield Communities and before joining Mercy, Beth led a healthcare consulting firm dedicated to helping hospital drive results through exceptional leadership, culture, and processes.

Beth holds a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from George Mason University and a BA in Advertising from the Manship School of Journalism at Louisiana State University. She is an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), Six Sigma Green Belt, and has a Certification for Mediation and Negotiation from North Lake College in Irving Texas.

Cheryl Petersen, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC serves as the Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President for Nursing/Patient Services at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth & Prosper, Texas. Her prior roles include Assistant Vice President of Nursing, Nursing Director and Nurse Manager.

During her tenure at Cook Children’s she has led the nursing team to a 4th Magnet designation in 2021 and celebrated achievements including NICU Level IV designation, the hospital’s first Beacon Award, CAMTS accreditation and the Emergency Department’s Lantern Award. She has contributed to the hospital’s expansion efforts in Fort Worth and Prosper.

Cheryl is a current member of AACN, TONL, AONL, ANA and TNA. She serves as the President Elect of the TONL Executive Board and has served on the TONL Communication and Membership Committees. Additionally, she is a current member of the Board of Directors for Community Healthcare of Texas and member of the DFW Hospital Council Foundation Board.

She received her Master’s in Business Administration from Benedictine University and Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from the University of Iowa. She was honored as a DFW Great 100 Nurse in 2012.

In prior positions, Cheryl was employed by North Carolina Children’s Hospital, Chapel Hill, Loyola University Medical Center, and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Cheryl lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband, Chris, and their two sons. She enjoys gardening, biking, and spending time with her family.