College of Nursing welcomes health outcomes researcher as endowed chair
Jeannie Cimiotti, Ph.D., R.N., has been named the inaugural University of Florida College of Nursing Dorothy M. Smith endowed chair and the co-director of the Florida Blue Center for Health Care Access, Patient Safety and Quality Outcomes at UF.
Cimiotti comes to UF from the Rutgers University College of Nursing, where she served as an associate professor and executive director of the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing. She started at UF on July 1.
Cimiotti’s research focuses on nursing workforce issues and their impact on quality outcomes and patient care. She is the first researcher to establish compelling evidence that poor hospital practice environments and associated nurse burnout undermine best practices for infection prevention. Cimiotti is one of a handful of workforce researchers testing models to determine interactions among types of nursing resources and patient outcomes.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Cimiotti as the first to fill the Dorothy M. Smith endowed chair, as Dean Smith was such an important part of our college’s history. I am confident that the innovative research and work done by Dr. Cimiotti will befit Dean Smith’s pioneering legacy,” said Anna M. McDaniel, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the UF College of Nursing. “In addition, her leadership at the Florida Blue Center will lay the groundwork for knowledge that will benefit all of Florida’s patients.”
The Dorothy M. Smith endowed chair was established as a professorship to honor the founding dean of the UF College of Nursing. A significant nurse leader of her time, Smith was influential in changing the way nursing was taught and practiced. In 2006, Florida Blue established a $3.5 million endowment at UF to bring the Dorothy M. Smith professorship to full chair status and to open the Florida Blue Center for Health Care Access, Patient Safety and Quality Outcomes.
Cimiotti will lead the Florida Blue Center with co-director Arch “Chip” Mainous, Ph.D., chair of the department of health services research, management and policy in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. The center will establish programs dedicated to finding solutions to the widespread lack of affordable health coverage, addressing employment shortages in health care professions, enhancing delivery of high-quality care and creating community-based interventions that may reduce the need for hospitalization.
“I am looking forward to establishing a research agenda here at UF to work toward the goal of providing all patients with access to high-quality care regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographic location,” Cimiotti said.
Cimiotti is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and is chair-elect of AcademyHealth’s Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues. She is a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Infection Control.