| Barbara Atkins, PHR, has joined the staff of Northwest Hospital Center in Baltimore, Maryland as the director of Human Resources.
In her new position, Atkins will be responsible for providing support to human resources activities for the entire employee population at Northwest Hospital. She will be responsibility for overseeing the development, support and implementation of appropriate human resources policies, practices and programs that will help achieve the goals set for Northwest, and support the entire LifeBridge Health system.
I�m here to help employees understand the goals and objectives of the organization. If the employees understand what we are about, and are treated well, the positive, friendly environment will carry over to our patients,� said Atkins.
Atkins� background and experience includes human resources and operational roles at AT&T, Tyco Telecommunications, Merrill Lynch and Thomson Prometric. While with Thomson Prometric, Atkins developed monthly human resources reporting metrics, handled employee relations issues and developed performance improvement plans. She also conducted change management focus groups to provide feedback and recommendations to improve the overall work environment for Thomson�s call center operations. At Merrill Lynch, she was a consultant involved with the human resources shared services center. One of her recommendations was to cross-train call center associates in several different functions to improve the center's operations, thereby creating diversified and challenging positions.
Prior to her consulting work, Atkins was a Human Resources director for Tyco Telecommunications supporting the fiber optic research and development division. She also supported the AT&T Business Markets Division in a variety of operational roles.
Atkins earned her master�s in Labor and Employee Relations from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a bachelor of science degree in Human Resources and Business Administration from Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey.
Northwest Hospital Center is a member of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization, which includes Sinai Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and affiliates.
### | 
