For over 40 years, Dorothy (Dort) C. Foglia, BSN, MS, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer at Texas Health Frisco, has committed herself to elevating the nursing profession through a proven record of successfully identifying and developing models that optimize care delivery, improve quality, and enhance organizational performance – all while keeping patients, their families, and staff at the forefront of her mind.
Her early foundations in patient care (adult and pediatric critical care) shaped her decision making as a nurse leader and educator, spearheading her efforts in the design and implementation of numerous nursing programs related to education, clinical practice, research, quality, and advanced practice. Her experience has equipped her to provide operational, clinical, financial, and administrative oversight in many healthcare settings.
In 2019, Dort moved from Vice President and Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, to her current role at Texas Health Resources (THR). Texas Health Frisco is a collaboration between THR and UT Southwestern Medical Center. The new 20-acre campus will bring an acute care hospital and multispecialty clinic complex to this fast-growing part of Collin County. The advanced facility will include environmentally conscious elements combined with high-end technology and specially designed treatment areas. The 325,000-square-foot facility will open in December 2019.
Over the course of her career, Dort has successfully led efforts to improve patient care and safety, patient access and throughput, clinical and patient care technology transitions, clinical effectiveness, strategic/business development, and regulatory readiness. Innovation and vision have been a solid part of her leadership in developing the infrastructure to support the future of patient care. In addition, Dort has been instrumental in achieving initial and ongoing Magnet status in her previous organization. Dort is passionate about people, evidenced by her success in holding leaders accountable to a healthy work environment, resulting in nurse resiliency and retention.
Of equal importance, is Dort’s unique and consistent skill in building and sustaining relationships with community and academic physicians. Dort’s dedication to advancing nurse leaders is evident through her daily influence at Texas Health and her involvement with the North Texas Organization of Nurse Leader (NTONL) Board, where she serves as the President. She has also presented on a variety of pediatric, critical care, quality, safety, accreditation/regulatory readiness, patient throughput, healthcare, and leadership topics at the local, regional, and national level.
Her commitment to nursing education is also seen through her efforts as a preceptor to graduate students in programs from around the United States, as well as past adjunct nursing faculty appointments at Texas Woman’s University (undergraduate faculty) and the University of Texas at Arlington (graduate faculty). Dort is also mentor at the Pennsylvania State University for undergraduate nursing students in the College of Nursing.
Dort is involved in her North Texas community, advocating for neglected and abused children on the Collin County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Governing Board and working to help provide this population with safety, a roof over their heads, and the tools they need to thrive.
Dort has been married to her husband, Denny, for 41 years. They are proud parents to two children, a son who is an attorney and a daughter who is a surgeon. Dort and Denny spend most of their time with their ever-growing family of four grandchildren.