Elizabeth Govero, DNP

Elizabeth Govero, DNP, MSN, is the Chief Nursing Officer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. With 25 years of experience in clinical and executive nursing leadership roles in both public and private institutions, she brings in-depth knowledge and expertise, especially in critical care, to our team.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Elizabeth was the Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer at SSM St. Mary’s Hospital in Missouri. She started of her career as the Assistant Nurse Manager at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Missouri before taking on other leadership roles, including Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Nursing Operations at the HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, and the Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nursing Officer at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, both in Illinois.

Elizabeth has a wealth of experience in critical and acute care and has led nursing teams of up to 900. Key accomplishments include reducing the nursing turnover rate from 35 to 15 percent in a period of six months, leading organization-wide transitions to new system rollouts and implementing various educational institutes and programs such as the HSHS SID Nursing Education Institute. She was able to improve colleague engagement from 76 percent to 93 percent in one year and was also able to increase patient satisfaction as part of her commitment to improving patient experience, in her previous roles.

Elizabeth obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Healthcare and Nursing Administration, at Southern Illinois University. She is also a Certified Med-Surgical Registered Nurse. Peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations include the “New Nurse Manager Checklist for Foundational Success” and “Leading Clinical Performance Improvement for Medication Reconciliation Utilizing LEAN Concepts.” At Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Elizabeth’s role encompasses leading the nursing team and introducing innovative solutions to enhance operational efficiencies while maintaining the quality and safety of care at the organization.