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Press Release
Ana Scuteri awarded the 2023 Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health
TAMPA, Fla. (March 22, 2023) – The University of South Florida (USF) College of Public Health has named Ana Scuteri, MPH, of the Florida Department of Health in Seminole County, the 2023 Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health.
The college bestows the award each year to a woman whose career accomplishments and leadership contribute significantly to the field of public health in Florida. Scuteri will receive the award in a ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 5.
Scuteri is the assistant county health department director at the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) in Seminole County. She is a trained epidemiologist who has worked in the field of public health for more than 20 years and held leadership positions with the FDOH for more than 15 years. Scuteri, who earned both her bachelor’s and MPH from Florida International University, is responsible for managing the community health operations, services and programs of Seminole County. “Mrs. Scuteri possesses a passion for public health that is inspirational,” said the FDOH’s Office of Health Promotion and Education Team in Seminole County in its team nomination of Scuteri. “She has broken down the silos between programs to develop a comprehensive approach toward community and population health. Her commitment to reducing health gaps within Seminole County through increasing community engagement and empowerment has resulted in meaningful and long-lasting results.”
In her current role at the DOH-Seminole, Scuteri, a native of Peru who is fluent in Spanish, oversees the Community and Population Health Division, making sure the department’s mission is achieved and that it promotes wellness, disease prevention, access to care and emergency response related to health and medical services. Under her leadership, Seminole County ranked as the third healthiest county in health outcomes in Florida in 2022.
In addition to her work ensuring the health of the community, Scuteri has developed meaningful partnerships with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Associate Program, the Florida Epidemic Intelligence Program, the Seminole County Committee on Aging and the Comprehensive Refugee Services of Catholic Charities of Central Florida (CCCF), among others. These partnerships and collaborations have inspired others to work toward creating healthier communities.
“The characteristic of Ms. Scuteri’s that amazes me is her determination to make ideas come to life through her energetic optimism, consensus-building skills and keen understanding of what makes sense, yet always within the bounds of regulations and guidelines,” said Monica Araujo, program director of CCCF. “I have personally seen the result of her work: Our community is a much better place to live because of her.”
The Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health Award was initiated by the USF College of Public Health in 1988, and nominations are solicited from public health practitioners across the state. Past honorees include Lillian Stark, PhD, MPH, retired director of virology at the Florida Department of Health Tampa Branch Laboratory; Lora E. Fleming, MD, epidemiologist at the University of Miami; Lisa Ann Conti, DVM, MPH, director of the Florida Division of Environmental Health; Celeste Philip, MD, MPH, Florida’s surgeon general and secretary of health; Linda Merrell, RN, cofounder of Florida CHAIN and the Florida Child Health Coalition; Deanne Miranda Cornette, vice president of strategic development with the Tampa Family Health Center, Danielle Stanek, DVM, DACVPM, state public health veterinarian within the Florida Department of Health, Megan Wessel, MPH, vice president of regional cancer control for the American Cancer Society’s Southeast Region and Cynthia M. Harris, PhD, the associate dean for public health, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, as well as director and professor of the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Institute of Public Health in Tallahassee.
-USF College of Public Health-
An urban research university, the University of South Florida is home to the highest ranked public health degree program in Florida and #16 in the U.S. (U.S. News and World Report, 2023). Established in 1984 as the first college of public health in the state of Florida, the USF College of Public Health is a recognized leader in online education, social marketing, community health, maternal and child health and global infectious disease research. The college offers multiple concentrations that lead to BSHS, BSPH, MHA, MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, as well as several dual degrees, graduate certificates and online programs. To learn more about the college and students who commit to passionately solve problems and create conditions that allow every person the universal right to health and well-being, visit health.usf.edu/publichealth
-USF Health- USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health’s multispecialty physicians group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu
