H E A L T H M A T T E R S
Nurse Practitioners,
Caring for Your
Heart
by Maureen Flattery & Katy Grubbs
he Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners (VCNP) wants you to know In addition, the 23 NPs at the VCU Pauley Heart Center are a diverse
T
that February is National Heart Awareness Month. Heart disease is still group of professionals with certifications as Acute Care NPs, Adult NPs
the leading cause of death in women in the U.S. and the American or Family NPs. Many of these NPs participate in research projects, teach
Heart Association is raising awareness about the incidence of heart undergraduate and/or graduate nursing students, volunteer in the community
disease in their “Go Red for Women” campaign this month (see www. and are active in a variety of professional organizations, such as the VCNP.
aha.org for more on the “Go Red for Women” campaign.) In honor of National Heart Awareness month, the VCNP wants you to
The authors of this article are nurse practitioners (NPs) at the VCU Pauley know about the prevalence of heart disease in women. They encourage you
Heart Center and officers in the Richmond region of the VCNP. They report to talk to your healthcare provider about your potential risk factors for heart
that NPs play a major role in the care of cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery disease and urge you to collaborate with your provider to reduce your risk.
patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at the VCU Pauley Heart To find an NP in your area to discuss your risk of heart disease, go to www.
Center. In 1979, George Vetrovec, MD hired the first inpatient NP to manage vcnp.net. V
a service that provided care for patients undergoing cardiac procedures. This
decision significantly improved the continuity and quality of care of patients and
increased their satisfaction and education. The increased utilization of NPs in the
VCU Pauley Heart Center over the last 30 years has provided additional clinical
resources and contributed to the expansion of the cardiology program, which
is now recognized by Thomson Reuters as one of the top 100 Cardiovascular
Hospitals in the country and is regarded as one of the top 50 hospitals in America
V
for cardiovascular care and cardiac surgery by U.S. News Media Group in
Maureen Flattery, Adult Nurse Practitioner, received her
2009.
undergraduate nursing degree from Niagara University in
Currently, there are 23 NPs in the Cardiology and Cardiothoracic surgery
New York and her master’s degree in nursing from Virginia
divisions at the VCU Pauley Heart Center. Inpatient NPs are active in the
Commonwealth University. She has been the VCU heart
management of over 4,000 cardiac procedure patients and more than 1,000
transplant coordinator at VCUHS since 1992 and she is
cardiothoracic surgery patients annually. They also participate in patient care on
currently the President of the Richmond Region of the Virginia
the hospital interdisciplinary cardiology teams (General Cardiology, Advanced
Council of Nurse Practitioners.
Heart Failure & Transplant and the Coronary ICU.) There are currently 3 NPs
Katy Grubbs, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, received an
involved in the VCU Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplant program,
undergraduate degree from University of Virginia and then
which is one of the more active transplant programs in the U.S. Outpatient NPs
received her undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees
perform a variety of roles as well including staffing the Heart Station stress lab,
from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been a
which performs over 4,000 stress tests annually, and providing clinical support,
registered nurse in VCU Cardiology since 2003 and an
along with their physician colleagues, for the high volume cardiology clinics.
inpatient Cardiology nurse practitioner at VCU since 2005.
These clinics see more than 13,000 patients annually, many of whom present
She is currently the Secretary of the Richmond Region of the
with complex problems.
Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.
www
•
myVmagazine.com
Vmagazine for women
• FEBRUARY 2010

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