Cynthia Danner, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Rhode Island Hospital

Cynthia Danner, DNP, RN, NE-BC, has joined Lifespan as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Rhode Island Hospital.

Danner comes to Providence from Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC), a Level II trauma center and the 600-bed flagship hospital for the Northeast Georgia Health System. As associate chief nursing officer, she was responsible for acute care services, trauma, mother/baby, pediatrics, intermediate care, and ambulatory care.

“We are thrilled to welcome Cynthia to Rhode Island Hospital and to Lifespan,” said hospital president John B. Murphy, M.D. “A seasoned nursing executive like Cynthia will contribute greatly to our management team here at the state’s largest and busiest hospital.”

Danner was a senior member of NGMC’s system-wide COVID-19 contingency action team, tasked with expanding acute virus patient capacity, redeploying medical-surgical nursing staff, creating and refining new protocols, and identifying and mitigating PPE shortages.

To respond to a doubling in ICU admissions, Danner helped operationalize a “Pandemic Partner” approach at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, pairing critical care and medical surgical nurses into teams to effectively manage the patient population.

Among her other accomplishments at NGMC, she championed an initiative to create an Endocrinology Center of Excellence to provide comprehensive diabetic care, served on a task force charged with developing a strategic plan for a comprehensive neurosciences program, and spearheaded a system-wide initiative to improve patient experience and nurse communication.

Danner's more than 20 years of leadership experience in teaching and academic medical centers includes serving as interim chief nursing officer for Northeast Georgia Medical Center – Braselton, and a decade as nurse administrator for Mayo Clinic Florida, where she was one of five members of the steering committee that guided the effort to achieve Magnet designation in 2015, a prestigious nursing accolade.

Danner earned her bachelor of science degree in nursing at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, followed by a master of science in nursing at University of Phoenix, Jacksonville, Florida. She received her doctor of nursing practice degree from University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
She is a member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, the American College of Healthcare Executives, and Sigma Theta Tau, and sits on the Medical Advisory Board of Sharps Technology, Inc.