Delinda Pendleton, RN, BSN, MSN, CPHQ, CPXP, FPCC was born in Philadelphia, PA and attended Philadelphia public schools. She is one of six children, who was raised by a Christian mother who instilled a hard work ethic. From a very early age, she devoted her life to serving Christ, and knew that she wanted to be a nurse, helping people (tutoring younger students) since elementary school. Being poor turned out to be a blessing, as she was awarded financial scholarships to attend University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, a program and school that was financially out of her reach. After attaining her Bachelors’ degree from Penn, she worked as a staff nurse on an Infectious Disease Unit, then a nurse manager at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Her goal was to climb the nursing management ladder, as she found that experience rewarding - simultaneously helping patients and other nurses. In 1989, she was approached about a scholarship for BSN nurses to obtain a MSN, with specific training as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Oncology. Penn, recognizing the disparities related to incidence and survival rates in the African American community, was offering this scholarship specifically to African American nurses. After obtaining her MSN, she set her sights on applying her degree to an oncology setting. This led her to Fox Chase Cancer Center in 1991. In her early years at Fox Chase Delinda directed the quality management department, the infection control program, and in the early 2000’s became the patient safety officer. In the past two decades, Delinda has led the institution in adopting the principles of patient- and family-centered care, including the creation of an active Patient and Family Advisory Council – now mirrored in several entities throughout the health system. In her current role as the Director of Patient Relations and Strategic Clinical Initiatives, Delinda applies her extensive background in healthcare administration and management, patient safety, infection prevention and control, regulatory affairs, patient and family engagement, and nursing to assist Fox Chase on their journey of performance excellence.
Beyond her role at Fox Chase, Delinda serves on Board of the Faith and Love Center Church in Philadelphia, where she has facilitated annual youth, women, and marriage retreats, is an active instructor in their Christian Education Program, and is the founder and director of Pathways to Adulthood, a Christian Rites of Passage program for adolescents. She is a founding board and faculty member of the Pendleton Institute of Biblical Studies. In addition, she served for many years as the Chair of the Board of Women of Faith & Hope, an urban community-based organization established to educate and support women and their supporters who are faced with breast cancer. In addition, Delinda actively serves as a preceptor to both undergraduates and graduates of several area universities, including the Arcadia University’s School of Healthcare Administration and West Chester University’s Graduate School of Public Health.