Michele Tarbet

Michelle Tarbet, CEO of Sharp Grossmont Hospital

Michele Tarbet, RN, BSN, MS, is senior vice president and chief executive officer of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, a 481-bed acute-care facility in La Mesa, Calif., which houses the busiest emergency department in San Diego County.

Tarbet has been the driving force behind the purchase of a hospice house to serve the terminally ill, the establishment of an off-campus forensic medical unit in conjunction with the Family Justice Center and the formation of a capital campaign to build a new five-story Emergency and Critical Care Center. Opened in September 2004, phase one of the construction project is a new emergency department designed to be the most progressive emergency department in the western United States and a state-of-the-art intensive care unit. In June 2006, voters in East County approved Proposition G, to provide additional revenue to complete phase two of the project, which will build out the top three nursing floors of the center.

In addition to her duties as CEO, Tarbet serves as vice chair on the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and on the University of Virginia School of Nursing Advisory Board. Tarbet has served in the past as president of the East County Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors and is currently a member of the La Mesa Rotary Club.

Tarbet is the 1999 recipient of the prestigious YMCA Tribute to Women and Industry “TWIN” award, the 2001 recipient of the Council on Community Clinic’s “Hero” Award and the recipient of the 2004 East County Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Leadership Award.

Tarbet received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Virginia and an MS in health care administration from the University of LaVerne. Tarbet has more than 30 years of progressive health care management experience, including nursing and hospital operations.