Shands at UF chief nursing officer named Florida Nurses Association Nurse Administrator of the year
Published Sept. 22, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Sept. 22, 2010)–Irene Alexaitis, M.S.N., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., Shands at the University of Florida chief nursing officer and vice president, has been named the 2010 Nursing Administrator of the Year by the Florida Nurses Association.
Presented annually since 1999, this peer-recognition award honors administrative leaders who positively influence healthcare at the institutional, local, regional, national or international levels. FNA members nominate and select recipients who create high-quality practice environments that recruit and retain nurses.
"I am excited and honored to receive this award, but it could not have been possible without the dedication and support of the Shands at UF nurses,” Alexaitis said. "They make all our nursing team’s successes possible."
The award presentation will take place at the FNA Membership Assembly Awards Dinner on Friday, Sept. 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hilton Orlando.
Alexaitis has 30 years of nursing experience with 28 years in administrative and management positions. She joined Shands at UF in 1989 as a nurse manager and has held various positions at Shands. She received her master’s degree in nursing administration UF in 1997 and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of South Florida in 1978. She is currently attending the University of South Alabama as a nursing doctoral student in nursing administration.
Shands at UF employs approximately 2,400 nurses, who provide basic nursing to advanced nursing to support patients with highly complex conditions at the academic medical center. Shands at UF has earned Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Magnet designation is the nursing profession’s most prestigious honor, achieved by less than 1 percent of the nation’s acute-care hospitals.
“The Florida Nurses Association is pleased to award nurse administrators who are dedicated to providing a healthy environment for nursing practice,” said Willa Fuller, R.N., FNA executive director. “Ms. Alexaitis exemplifies the spirit of the award.”
The FNA is a professional organization with the mission to serve and support all registered nurses through professional development, advocacy and the promotion of excellence at every level of professional nursing practice.
For more information, please visit Floridanurse.org.
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