Traci Spray d’Auguste has been appointed chief operating officer for UF Health Shands, with responsibility for the operations of the Gainesville hospitals and hospital-based programs. D’Auguste will provide operational leadership and guidance to ensure accountability and performance across the organization in the COO position. She will begin her new role on Dec. 16.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone of Traci’s caliber joining our executive team,’’ said Ed Jimenez, CEO of UF Health Shands. “At a time when our organization continues to expand to meet the needs of a growing population of patients in Florida and beyond, being able to draw upon her many years of operational capabilities will help us maintain our position as the state’s leader in health care.’’

D’Auguste was chosen after a national search and impressed leadership with her results-driven record in complex academic health care environments. She has demonstrated prowess at forging strong collaborations across hospital and medical college departments that inspire outstanding clinical performance, thoughtful care and service as well as faculty and staff engagement.

For the last two years, D’Auguste served as vice president of clinical services at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in New York. Before that, she spent four years at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, first as executive administrator for the department of internal medicine and then as associate vice president of strategic operations for the Rush University Medical Group. Prior roles include administrative duties at the University of Chicago and at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and master’s degrees in health care administration and business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.