Our Faculty

Jeannie P. Cimiotti

Professor
PhD, RN, FAAN
Jeannie Cimiotti
SOCIAL LINKS

Bio

Jeannie Cimiotti is a Professor at Emory University, holding a primary appointment in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and a secondary appointment in the Rollins School of Public Health. An internationally recognized health services researcher, Dr. Cimiotti focuses on the healthcare workforce and its relationship to the quality of patient care. Her extensive body of peer-reviewed work examines nursing workforce issues and their impact on both nurse and patient outcomes. Throughout her career, she has cultivated collaborations with colleagues across the U.S. and around the world, including partners in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Her contributions to the field have been recognized through multiple awards, and her findings on workforce dynamics and hospital-onset infections have garnered widespread media attention both domestically and internationally.

Areas of Interest

  • Acute And Chronic Care
  • Health Policy
  • Health Services Research
  • Workforce

Teaching

Dr. Cimiotti's teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that rigorous scientific inquiry and real-world application are inseparable. At Emory University, she has taught and directed courses spanning health outcomes research, measurement and design, healthcare quality and safety, and health policy at both the masters and doctoral levels. As a dissertation chair and mentor, she has guided dozens PhD and DNP students to completion, helping them develop independent research programs focused on nursing workforce issues, patient safety, and health systems. Her mentorship extends to postdoctoral fellows, whom she has supported in building careers in health services research. Dr. Cimiotti draws on her own trajectory, from bedside nurse to nationally recognized researcher, to help students understand how evidence shapes practice, policy, and patient outcomes. She is committed to training the next generation of nurse scientists who can translate complex data into meaningful improvements in care.

Research

Dr. Cimiotti is a health services researcher whose work sits at the intersection of the nursing workforce and the quality and safety of patient care. Her program of research examines how organizational factors, including nurse staffing, work environments, and workforce composition, affect patient outcomes such as hospital-acquired infections, sepsis mortality, and nurse burnout. She has led and contributed to federally funded studies supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, among others. Her current work includes investigations into workplace injuries among acute care nurses and the development of AI-driven tools to reduce adverse events and support workforce resilience. Dr. Cimiotti collaborates with researchers across the United States and internationally, including colleagues in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Her findings have informed national policy discussions and have been widely covered in media outlets both domestically and abroad. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by Sigma Theta Tau International in 2022.

Publications

  • Kang, Y. J., Haas, J. P., Landerfelt, P. E., Razmpour, O. Becker, E. R., Joski, P., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2026). Disparities in surgical site infections: The role of social vulnerability among Medicare beneficiaries. American Journal of Infection Control,54, (2), 153-157. PMID: 41177263
  • Cimiotti, J. P., Li, Y., Kang, Y. J., Becker, E. R., Joski, P., Landerfelt, P. E., Razmpour, O. R., & Fridkin, S. K. (2025). Registered nurse workload and hospital-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. American Journal of Infection Control, 53,1121-1123. PMID: 40516759
  • Li, Y., Aiken, L. H., Becker, E. R., Razmpour, O., Landerfelt, P., Kang, Y. J., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2025). The Effect of Registered Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix on Length of Stay and Hospital Costs. Nursing Outlook, 73(2), 102356. PMID: 39862757
  • Simpson, R. L., Lee, J. A., Li, Y., Kang, YJ, Tsui, C. & Cimiotti, J. P. (2024). Medicare meets the cloud: the pioneering development of a secure platform for the storage and analysis of claims data. JAMIA Open, 7(1),1-5. PMID: 38344670; PMCID: PMC10856805
  • Guirardello, E. B., Oliveira, H. C., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2023). The practice environment of primary care nurses: a cross-sectional study of five health care districts in San Paulo, Brazil. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 5, 100150. PMID: 38746561; PMCID: PMC11080462
  • Jung, O. S., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Fridkin, S. K., Li, Y., Kang, Y. J., Becker, E. R., Joski, P. J., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2023). Nurse work environment and hospital-onset C. difficile infection. Medical Care, 61(6), 360-365. PMID: 37167557
  • Cimiotti, J. P., Becker, E. R., Li, Y., Sloane, D. M., Fridkin, S. K., West, A. B., & Aiken, L. H. (2022). Association of registered nurse staffing with mortality risk of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with sepsis. JAMA Health Forum, 3(5), e221173. PMCID: PMC9142874
  • Landerfelt, P., Lewis, A., Li, Y., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2020). Nursing leadership and the reduction of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(12), 1546-1548. PMID: 32682017
  • Peach, B. C., Li, Y., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2020). The weekend effect in adults with community-acquired urosepsis. Medical Care, 58(1), 65-59. PMID: 31569113
  • De Cordova, P., Johansen, M. J., Martinez, M. E., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2017).  Emergency department weekend presentation and mortality in patients with myocardial infarction. Nursing Research, 66(1), 20-27. 2018 ENRS/Authorship Award. PMID: 27977565
  • Torsten, O. S., Vera, A., Antons, D., & Cimiotti, J. P. (2017). Fighting healthcare-associated MRSA bloodstream infections: Lessons from English hospital organizations. Health Services Research, 52(3), 959-983. PMID: 27329446; PMCID: PMC5441483
  • Cimiotti, J. P., Barton S. J., Sloane, D. M., Gorman, K. C., & Aiken, L. H. (2014). Nurse reports of resource adequacy in hospitals that care for acutely ill children. Journal for Healthcare Quality. 36(2), 25-32. PMID: 22713115; PMCID: PMC3687020
  • Cimiotti, J. P., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., & Wu, E. (2012). Nurse staffing, burnout, and healthcare-associated infection. American Journal of Infection Control, 40(6), 486-90. PMID: 22854376; PMCID: PMC3509207

Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:

Awards & Affiliations

  • 2022 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. Sigma Theta Tau International
  • 2015 Publication Excellence Award. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
  • 2014 Distinguished Fellow. National Academies of Practice
  • 2013 Fellow. American Academy of Nursing
  • 2009 Distinguished Young Alumna. Columbia University School of Nursing