After 29 years at a multi-hospital academic medical center, Julia Blackburn, DNP, RN, NE-BC, traded in the white and blue at UK HealthCare for the orange and blue at UF Health Shands.

Blackburn officially started as the fourth associate vice president of Nursing on June 13, and is highly experienced in both nursing leadership and hospital operations.

While a member of the UK HealthCare leadership team in Lexington, Kentucky, the organization grew from 19,000 inpatient discharges per year to over 40,000 inpatient discharges per year. In another role, Blackburn was instrumental in the strategic oversight and broadening of operational performance for the neuroscience service line and served as the operations director for the Enhanced Care through Advanced Technology Intensive Care Unit, or eCAT ICU. She also spearheaded the development of a centralized capacity command center to improve patient transfer communication.

“The people at UF Health Shands are smart, passionate and genuine in their intentions surrounding patient care,” Blackburn said. “I am just happy to be joining such a terrific team.”