Heart Failure Program nurses achieve great success at earning advanced certification

In just one year, the number of Christiana Care registered nurses certified in heart failure by the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) has doubled.

“Our Heart Failure Program is very fortunate to have the most heart-failure certified nurses in Delaware,” said Mitchell Saltzberg, M.D., medical director of the Heart Failure Program.

The AAHFN, a national organization, only began offering a national certification exam for the care of heart failure patients in 2011, at an annual conference in Chicago, where the first four from Christiana Care earned their certification: Carolyn M. Moffa, MSN, RN, FNP-C, CHFN; Susan Felicia, MSN, RN-BC, PCCN, CHFN; Patricia Wessell, MSN, RN, CCRN, CHFN; and Heather Hastings, RN III, BSN, PCCN, CHFN.

At this year’s national conference, Cathy Johnson, RN, CHFN; Ashley Whittington, RN, CHFN; Jean Melson RN, PCCN, CHFN; and Tom Cunningham, RN, CHFN passed the exam, effectively doubling our team of heart failure certified nursing professionals.

There are several reasons why the certification is important to our patients and to Christiana Care, according to Heart Failure Program Clinical Leader Moffa.

“This certification aligns with our Magnet certification goals to achieve the gold standard recognition for nursing excellence,” said Carolyn Moffa, clinical leader of the Heart Failure Program. Magnet identifies health care organizations that epitomize outstanding quality and professionalism. “By achieving this certification, the 5E nurses demonstrate their outstanding quality and professionalism that Magnet hospitals expect of their RNs. Being certified demonstrates our nurses’ commitment to providing optimal patient care. It’s an established fact that patients have better outcomes when care is provided by certified nurses.”