Linda Laskowski Jones inducted as American Academy of Nursing fellow

Linda Laskowski Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWM, vice president of emergency and trauma services, is the first nurse at Christiana Care Health System to be named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). She was inducted Oct. 17 in a ceremony in Washington, D.C..

As a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Jones is recognized among the most respected nursing leaders in education, management, practice and research. The approximately 2,200 fellows, recognized for national and international achievement, contribute to advances in nursing education and practice, national health initiatives and addressing health disparities.

At Christiana Care, Jones oversees operations for one of the nation’s busiest emergency departments. With three locations — Christiana Hospital, Wilmington Hospital and the freestanding emergency department in Middletown, Del., Christiana Care’s Emergency Department provides care for nearly 190,000 patients in total each year. Christiana Care’s Emergency Department is ranked 24th in the United States and 12th on the East Coast in number of patient visits, according to data from the American Hospital Association.

One of just eight AAN Fellows in Delaware, Jones is a respected nurse leader, educator, author and emergency care expert, said Diane P. Talarek, MA, RN, NE-BC, chief nursing officer and senior vice president, Patient Care Services. “Linda’s credentials and contributions are extraordinary,” she said. “Her dedicated efforts have led to real change and improvements in health care, and inspired fellow nurses to use their expertise and clinical judgment to make a difference in practice, education and research.”

Internationally, Jones has served as a nurse consultant for trauma center development in Lund, Sweden, and as an editorial board member for the International Journal of Emergency Nursing. She is editor-in-chief of the journal Nursing. Locally, she was the incorporator and first president of the Delaware Chapter of the American Trauma Society.

As one of the founding members of the Delaware Trauma System Planning Group, she helped write state trauma system legislation that provided the organizing framework for the development and implementation of an inclusive trauma system in the State of Delaware. This legislation, which passed in 1996, has since led to a 40 percent reduction in trauma mortality statewide.

She has published extensively and has regular speaking engagements on emergency and trauma topics. A recipient of many regional, national and international awards, she most recently received the 2015 Warren D. Bowman, M.D. Award from the Wilderness Medical Society.