Each issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing has several pages devoted to Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) news, current activities, and reviews of new clinical topics or research relevant for cardiovascular nurses with a focus on prevention. In this issue, you will find announcements of the PCNA awards presented at the recent Annual Symposium in St Paul, Minnesota; acknowledgement of our supporters; and a heads-up for the 2020 Annual Symposium date. In addition, we are introducing PCNA's new and exciting screening toolkits to be used for guiding community screenings. We hope you find these items enriching and of use to your teaching, advocacy, and practice.
Announcing the 2019 Cardiovascular Nursing Award Recipients
The PCNA is excited to announce our 2019 award recipients, who are recognized for their significant contributions to preventive cardiovascular nursing. Awards were given during the Member Celebration and Awards Ceremony at PCNA's 25th Annual Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium.
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association Fellowship
The designation of Fellow reflects an individual's professional stature as well as their contributions to PCNA. The 2019 PCNA Fellows class includes Chloe Villavaso, MN, RN-BC, APRN, ACNS-BC, Cardiac Program Clinical Nurse Specialist, East Jefferson General Hospital, Metairie, Louisiana; Roxanne Wimmer, RN, Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, California; and Kim St. Clair Seals, ARNP-BC, AACC, Nurse Practitioner, Consultant to American College of Cardiology, Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Advocacy
The Advocacy Award for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention was given to Emily Jones, PhD, BSN, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Boston, for her efforts in promoting cardiovascular health equity through research, translational science, publications, presentations, and communications with stakeholders for the past 10 years.
Heart Failure Prevention
Barbara Kitzes-Hinch, DNP, ACNP-BC, Assistant Professor at Rush University College of Nursing, Heart Failure Transitions Program, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, was presented with PCNA's Heart Failure Prevention Award. She was recognized for her role in implementing a quality improvement program titled "Heart Failure Admission Reduction Program (HARP) to Reduce 30-Day Readmissions of Heart Failure Patients Discharged From the CICU." Kitzes-Hinch led an interdisciplinary transitional care program that includes follow-up by nurse practitioners of patients in their homes and other post-acute care settings.
Clinical Practice
Susan Halli Demeter, DNP, FNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, was awarded the Terry Thomas Clinical Practice Award. She was recognized for clinical leadership in the management of patients with complex dyslipidemia as well as mentoring countless healthcare providers and students throughout her career with a focus on cardiovascular prevention and management. She has developed numerous educational curricula and taught a variety of staff programs at Mayo Clinic.
Nursing Research
Xiaopeng Ji, PhD, MS, ARN, AGPCNP-BC, Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences at University of Delaware, is recognized with the Nursing Research Grant for her research on cardiovascular risk assessment among late adolescents. The PCNA and the American Nurses Foundation have partnered to award a grant encouraging the research career development of nurses. In support of the mission of PCNA, research must be focused on cardiovascular disease prevention.
Institutional Excellence
The Mayo Clinic was given the Institutional Award for Excellence in Promoting Cardiovascular Care and recognized for their cardiovascular nursing leadership through practice, training, and education throughout Minnesota and the region.
Congratulations to all these deserving award recipients!
New Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association Screening Toolkits
To help identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular diseases and promote risk reduction, PCNA encourages our chapters and individual members to participate in community screenings. To facilitate these activities, PCNA recently released 2 new screening toolkits designed to raise awareness about undiagnosed atrial fibrillation and peripheral arterial disease. These kits are intended for use in community settings such as senior centers or similar sites visited by those who may have increased cardiovascular disease risk. The digital toolkits include checklists for planning a screening and data recording forms to track participant results. In addition, we have included educational fact sheets and PowerPoint presentations to increase awareness about these cardiovascular diseases and help participants understand their results and what to do with them.
The toolkit planning guide includes information on event planning and setup, a checklist of items to take to the event, forms needed for the event, and resources available from PCNA. The toolkit components may be personalized by a healthcare system or an academic institution. The screening tools may be used by regional PCNA chapters, or individual members, in their local communities, whether as a stand-alone screening or in tandem with other activities such as community health fairs.
Members of PCNA may "check out" electronic and/or manual blood pressure cuffs, handheld vascular dopplers to perform peripheral arterial disease screening, and smartphone-compatible single-channel electrocardiographic recorders to screen for atrial fibrillation. Individuals or chapters who borrow materials are encouraged to submit a brief report describing the event, including number of individuals screened and lessons learned, so that we may develop a "best practices" repository. For more information or to view and access the screening tools, visit PCNA.net/clinical-resources/providertools/.
Atrial fibrillation awareness tool included in the toolkit.
Thank You to Our 2019 Supporters
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association would like to thank our generous supporters, with whom we achieve the following mutual goals:
* Achieve better patient compliance and improve health outcomes
* Create newer and better patient care systems
* Develop expertise in cardiovascular nursing
* Promote national leadership in cardiovascular risk reduction and disease management
* Improve health and quality of life for those at risk for myocardial infarction and stroke
* Reduce death and disability from cardiovascular disease
Platinum Level Supporters
Amgen, Inc
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Sanofi/Regeneron
Gold Level Supporters
Amarin Pharma, Inc
Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer
Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Silver Level Supporters
Akcea Therapeutics
Milestone Pharmaceuticals
Novo Nordisk, Inc
Bronze Level Supporter
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc
2019 Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium Supporters
Amarin Pharma, Inc
American Heart Association Scientific Councils:
- Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing
- Clinical Cardiology
- Epidemiology and Prevention
- Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
Amgen, Inc
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Lilly USA, LLC
Merck Sharpe & Dohme Corp
Milestone Pharmaceuticals
Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Novo Nordisk, Inc
Pfizer, Inc
Save the Date for the 2020 Annual Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium
Please plan to join us next year in Orlando, Florida, at the 26th Annual Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium. The meeting will be held on April 2 to 4, 2020, at the Caribe Royale Orlando. Stay tuned to pcna.net for program updates and announcements of speakers and sessions.