The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society

Research And Funding / Center For Clinical Investigations / Directors

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The CCI Team

Center Director Donna Zimmaro Bliss

Donna Zimmaro Bliss, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis. She holds the Professorship in Long-Term Care of Elders at the School of Nursing and is a Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Distinguished Teacher. She received her B.S.N. in 1983 from Villanova University College of Nursing, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and her M.S.N. in critical care nursing in 1985 from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Dr. Bliss received her Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Pennsylvania and was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.

Dr. Bliss’ research program includes studies that span clinical interventions, instrument development and testing, survey research, and epidemiological investigations. She is currently the principal investigator of a five-year study funded by the National Institute of Nursing, NIH, investigating the optimal type of fiber by which to manage fecal incontinence. Recently she has been exploring skin problems associated with fecal and urinary incontinence in nursing home elderly residents and merited recognition as the Virginia Stone Gerontological Scholar from the American Nurses’ Foundation. Dr. Bliss’ research has been supported by a combination of federal and foundation grants. She has numerous publications about fecal incontinence and diarrhea management as well as research methods.

Dr. Bliss teaches courses and advises students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. She is an Associate Editor of Nutrition in Clinical Practice and is a member of the Editorial Board of Nursing Research, the Journal of Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing, and the Journal of Gerontological Nursing. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

BioStatistician Kay Savik

Kay Savik, MS, is a biostatistician at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis, MN. She also works with the Thoracic Transplant Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She received her B.S. in Microbiology in 1972 from the University of Arizona, with ASCP certification the following year. Ms. Savik received her M.S. in Biostatistics in 1987 from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Ms. Savik consults with faculty on the design and implementation of their studies, data collection and management and statistical analysis and interpretation. These studies have been as diverse as working with Dr. Bliss on a clinical intervention study about the effectiveness of a fiber supplement to reduce fecal incontinence to those with other investigators about quality of life post lung transplant, the anti-anxiety effects of music in critically-ill patients, experiences of recent immigrants from Somalia and Ethiopia, and evaluation of various procedures in pathology. Ms. Savik has provided consultation to and served on the examining committees of numerous graduate students. She also teaches research methods to master level nursing students.

Ms. Savik is currently a statistical reviewer for Research in Nursing and Health and the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Executive Administrative Specialist Heather Wood

Heather Wood Dávila is an Executive Administrative Specialist at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, where she has worked for four years. Before joining the School of Nursing, she was a project coordinator for the Medical School and a research assistant at the Berman Center for Clinical Research, where she worked on two large NIH-funded multi-site studies, the Women’s Health Initiative and a study looking at ways to reduce cardiovascular disease for people with type 2 diabetes. Ms. Dávila has a BA from the University of Minnesota in English and Women’s Studies and plans to pursue an MPH with an emphasis on policy and administration.

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