Barbara Donaho, BSN, who served as president and CEO of St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., from 1991 to 1994, died March 13. She was 92.
After retirement, she was chair of the advisory committee for Kent, Ohio-based Kent State College of Nursing, according to her obituary. Ms. Donaho spent more than 55 years dedicated to the advancement of the nursing profession as an educator, lecturer and leader, according to her biography on the university’s website.
She is the namesake of the Barbara Donaho Distinguished Leadership in Learning Award, which is in its 20th year at Kent State. The award is given to nursing leaders who have enhanced and contributed to the quality of care provided by the next generation of nurses, who are nominated by students and faculty members, the university said.
“Barbara Donaho was a true friend to nursing and a valued colleague to the profession and to all nurses who had the privilege of sharing space with her,” Versie Johnson-Mallard, PhD, MSN, dean of the college of nursing, said in a March 24 statement shared with Becker’s. “She generously shared her passion, compassion, intelligence and inspiration with everyone she encountered. Barbara Donaho will be deeply missed.”
Before serving as CEO of St. Anthony’s, she was vice president for nursing and patient care at the University of Florida’s Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Ms. Donaho also served as commissioner of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations (later rebranded as The Joint Commission) from 1979 to 1987, was the only nurse member of the American Hospital Association board of directors between 1988 and 1990, and chaired the association’s council on nursing, according to her obituary.
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