VNA Health’s new COO achieves her professional goal
Sena Woodall has aspired to be an executive leader in healthcare since joining Santa Barbara-based VNA Health in 2018.
“This trajectory of leadership is what I’ve been on,” she told the Business Times.
“It’s something I’ve worked towards since I first became a hospice nurse,” Woodall said.
She recently realized her aspiration.
VNA, a nonprofit provider of in-home health care, hospice care and more, announced that Woodall has been appointed its new COO.
She succeeded her mentor Jo Ann Mack, who retired.
“For those of us who are honored to serve in home health and hospice care, we say it is a calling,” Kieran Shah, president/CEO of VNA Health, said in a press release.
“Sena has followed that calling,” he said.
Woodall is a registered nurse who has worked in healthcare since 2010.
She holds two MAs, one in nursing with an emphasis in healthcare systems leadership, and a second in business administration with an emphasis in healthcare management.
Woodall said she’s thrilled to achieve her professional goal.
“When I started working for VNA in 2018, I just really saw the importance to not just care for patients who are in the community but care for the staff who care for the patients in the community,” Woodall said.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, Woodall said she’s a “second career nurse” who first worked in business and marketing before turning to healthcare.
“I was at my godson’s delivery and realized that’s what I wanted to do with my life, be a nurse,” she said.
Her healthcare resume is a long one.
Woodall initially worked for UVA Health in the Charlottesville, Virginia area for nearly seven years as a patient care technician and operating room registered nurse.
In 2017, she went over to Hospice of the Piedmont, also in the Charlottesville region, as a hospice nurse educator for about a year.
Woodall started her career at VNA Health in May 2018 as clinical manager/visiting nurse and hospice care, and became director of nursing in 2021.
Later in 2021, she left VNA Health to become the director of nursing at Surgery Partners in Santa Barbara; then in 2022, she moved over to Sansum Clinic, also based in Santa Barbara, as director of surgical services.
In 2023, Woodall returned to VNA as senior director of hospice and palliative care.
She became vice president of operations in 2025, and was elevated to COO in August 2026.
VNA chose her without doing a job search.
“VNA Health believes in cultivating leadership from within — growing and mentoring staff who feel called to a career in home health and hospice,” Woodall said.
“Our previous COO was drawn to the meaningful work of hospice, just as I was,” she said. “Over the past several years, Jo Ann has mentored me as I continued to pursue my passion for hospice and home health care.”
In her new role as VNA’s COO, Woodall provides the overall direction for home health and hospice services, Shah said.
That includes establishing, implementing and evaluating goals and objectives that meet and promote standards of excellence and quality, contributing to VNA Health’s organizational mission-driven philosophy, he said.
“She will be integral to helping our clinical teams continue to provide excellent patient care through accessibility, empowerment and innovation in a changing healthcare environment, while remaining committed to our legacy of trusted and compassionate care,” he said.
Woodall, a Santa Barbara resident, is single, living with her two Vizslas.
In her downtime, she’s an avid hiker.
Woodall said that at age 44, she feels a bit younger than other COOs.
“Having an executive career in your late 40s is not a common practice, but I’m excited about the opportunity to just see this company kind of come into the next stage,” she said.
Founded in 1908, VNA Health provides home health care, palliative care, hospice care, bereavement care and more.
It also offers Serenity House, California’s largest nonprofit inpatient hospice facility.
VNA Health is licensed to serve Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.
email: [email protected]
“This trajectory of leadership is what I’ve been on.”
Sena Woodall, VNA Health’s new COO
