Greenwich Hospital chief nursing officer joins international best practices task force

Greenwich, CT (May 27, 2021) – Anna Cerra, DNP, RN has been appointed to one of 12 positions on the CICIAMS Pan American International Nurse Consulting Team on Best Practices. Cerra has served as Greenwich Hospital’s chief nursing officer for four years.

The CICIAMS Pan American International Nurse Consulting Team is an international committee of Catholic nurses who advise 150 Catholic hospitals around the world on evidence-based best practices. Headquartered in Vatican City, CICIAMS, translated, is the International Catholic Committee of Nurses and Medico-Social Assistants.

Cerra was chosen because of her post-doctorate work at Case Western Reserve University with Italian nurses on resiliency and spiritualty. A devout Catholic who is fluent in Italian, Cerra was humbled by the appointment. “This is an extraordinary opportunity,” she said. “The inclusion of spiritual care and staff resiliency are essential in all our nursing efforts. As a member of this expert panel, we are able to help resolve issues being addressed globally.”

Cerra’s area of expertise on the panel is hospital administration based on her 22 years in administrative management and nursing at Greenwich Hospital. Drawing from her experience with the global COVID-19 pandemic, Cerra’s post-doctorate work focused on developing strategies to enhance resiliency. She interviewed 10 Italian nurse leaders from several Catholic hospitals in Rome, Italy. “As a leader, it is vital to implement strategies that foster resiliency and well-being,” she said. “Health care’s evolving landscape will continue to call for nurse leaders to be resilient and lead by example.”

Diane Kelly, DNP, RN, Greenwich Hospital president, called Cerra an “extraordinary nurse executive. Her practice is clearly driven by her heart and mind bringing out the best in those she leads, which in turn benefits the patients who have trusted us with their care.”

Beth Beckman, DNSc, chief nursing executive for Yale New Haven Health, which includes Greenwich Hospital, said Cerra offers “the perfect complement of leaderships skills and art to provide best-in-class care. As the chief nursing officer of a Magnet hospital, she has full command of how to generate excellence, even in the most challenging of times. She also brings the art of connecting with people through programs that perpetuate care using spirituality and Caritas Caring principles. She will bring her many talents to the international nursing forum to elevate and enhance nursing’s impact on healthcare outcomes.”

On May 26, Cerra presented information about lessons learned during the pandemic to the Vatican Dicastery, one of the official congregations through which the Pope administers the church. The event will be the first of many presentations by Cerra to the Vatican.