AACN Certification Corporation Announces Board of Directors for Fiscal Year 2022

AACN Certification Corporation — the credentialing arm of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) — announces its board of directors for fiscal year 2022, with terms effective July 1, 2021.

AACN Certification Corporation drives patient health and safety through comprehensive credentialing of acute and critical care nurses, advancing practice consistent with standards of excellence. To carry out its mission, the organization offers 15 specialty, subspecialty and advanced practice nursing certification programs and has granted more than 130,000 certifications.

Lisa Falcón, MSN, RN, TCRN, NE-BC, continues as chair of the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors for the second year of her two-year term, which will conclude June 30, 2022.

She is director of trauma and injury prevention at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She has over 25 years of experience in surgical critical care and trauma as a clinical nurse, clinical educator and nurse leader.

“As a voluntary process, certification points to nurses’ commitment to career development and dedication to patient care, particularly in this constantly changing environment,” Falcón said.

“Certification provides patients and their families with validation that the nurse caring for them has demonstrated a level of expertise. It demonstrates to employers and colleagues their commitment to professional development and the highest standards of quality care. It helps the nurse position themselves for meaningful recognition of achievement in nursing,” she said.

Denise Buonocore, MSN, RN, ACNPC, CCNS, CCRN, CHFN, acute care nurse practitioner for heart failure services for Hartford Healthcare Medical Group at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Bridgeport, Connecticut, serves the second year of a two-year term as immediate past chair.

Chair-elect Elizabeth Scruth, PhD, MPH, RN, CCNS, CCRN, FCCM, FCNS, CPHQ, is director of Tele Critical Care for Northern California and regional Northern California director for clinical quality programs and data analytics for Kaiser Permanente.

Jodi Berndt, PhD, RN, CCRN-K, PCCN-K, CNE, CNEcl, CHSE, serves a one-year term as secretary/treasurer. She is an associate professor of nursing at College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Joining the board for a three-year term as director is Clareen Wiencek, PhD, RN, ACHPN, ACNP, FAAN, professor of nursing at University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing and program director of advanced practice. She served as 2016-2017 president of the AACN board of directors and continues to be active in the association.

Returning to the AACN Certification Corporation board with Dana Woods, MBA, AACN chief executive officer, are the following directors:

• Linda Bay, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN-K, PCCN-K, who teaches leadership at Alverno College, Milwaukee, and is adjunct faculty at University of Wisconsin–Platteville
• Patty Cox, MBA, director and consumer representative
• Nanette Logan, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, CNL, RN-BC, NE-BC, chief nursing officer at Regional Medical Center, San Jose, California

Each year, two members of the AACN board of directors are appointed to concurrent terms on the AACN Certification Corporation board:

• Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, clinical assistant professor and director of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) Program at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, and a critical care ACNP for Cleveland Clinic’s Critical Care Flight Team
• Katie Schatz, MSN, ARNP, NP-C, ACHPN, sepsis program coordinator at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital, both in Spokane, Washington. She is also a palliative care nurse practitioner.

About AACN Certification Corporation: AACN Certification Corporation, the credentialing arm of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, drives patient health and safety through comprehensive credentialing of acute and critical care nurses, advancing practice consistent with standards of excellence. Since 1976, AACN Certification Corporation has granted more than 130,000 nursing certifications.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with more than 130,000 members and over 200 chapters in the United States.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme