A Tennessee native whose strong desire to help others began at an early age, Patti Ketterman was born in Newport and attended Cosby Elementary School and Cosby High School alongside most of her childhood friends. Although she liked the familiarity of being at home with family, Dr. Ketterman was ambitious and knew she was destined for a college degree and career success.

Her desire led to her being accepted as a teenager in the first associate degree nursing class at Walters State Community College in Morristown, 25 miles from her home.

During the program she not only gained nursing skills – she made lifelong friends while working as a nursing assistant at the local hospital in Newport. Shortly after graduation from Walters State Dr. Ketterman began working full-time at Newport Medical Center, entering the workforce as a registered nurse and progressing through almost every nursing position until she was named director of nursing (also known as chief nursing officer).

Dr. Ketterman continued to work full time during the day while she spent evenings studying for her bachelor of science in nursing degree from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. She also was busy as a mother to two beautiful daughters, Deede Cheree and Jamie Lynne. After obtaining her BSN degree, Dr, Ketterman pursued a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis in administration and planning from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Early in her nursing career, Dr. Ketterman understood the need for validating her leadership skills by becoming a Certified Nursing Administrator through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She held this certification until 2005, when she was challenged by her doctoral advisor to become a Certified Nursing Administrator Advanced through the ANCC. Dr. Ketterman obtained her doctorate in nursing science in 2006 from UTHSC.

Throughout her early career Dr. Ketterman was active in her local healthcare community. She taught hundreds of Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support classes for the American Heart Association, and she served as an affiliate faculty member for AHA. She served on the boards of several local organizations, including serving as president of the Cocke County Chamber of Commerce, Cocke County Ambulance Board of Directors, Cocke County E-911 Board, president of the Friends of the Stokely Memorial Library, Economic Development Commission, and chairman of the Cocke County Partnership Board. She has served as a Tennessee Quality Examiner and is a graduate of Leadership Cocke County.

A member of Sigma Theta Tau, the national honor society of nursing, Dr. Ketterman has also served on several local nursing advisory boards, including the Walters State Community College Nursing Advisory Board, Morristown and the Carson-Newman University Nursing Advisory Board in Jefferson City. Following graduation from University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis she was invited to serve on the UTHSC Nursing Alumni Board, and completed a term as president in 2016.

Dr. Ketterman was honored to be named president and chief executive officer of Newport Medical Center and served as the facility’s licensed nursing home administrator from 2006 to 2011. During her tenure the hospital received the prestigious Reuters Top 100 Rural Hospital for two consecutive years.

In 2012, Dr. Ketterman proudly joined Covenant Health, a comprehensive, community-owned health system serving 23 counties in East Tennessee. She served in several leadership roles at member hospital Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, and later was named chief nursing officer at another Covenant Health hospital, LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville. While at LeConte she received the 2014 Distinguished Alumni of Professional Achievement from Walters State Community College.

Dr. Ketterman now serves as president and chief administrative officer at Claiborne Medical Center in Tazewell. She is a 2016 graduate of the Claiborne County Leadership Class, a member of the Harrogate Kiwanis Club, and currently serves on the Claiborne Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

She is married to Keith Ketterman and they reside in Newport. The two “loves of their lives” are their grandchildren, Molly Ketterman and Kobe Cogdill.