AAHFN Salutes The Country's Nurses During National Nurses Week

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 05 May 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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The work of America's 2.9 million registered nurses to save lives and to maintain the health of millions of individuals is the focus of this year's National Nurses Week, celebrated annually May 6-12 throughout the United States. The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) is pleased to recognize the incredible contributions nurses make to improve health care.

Annually, National Nurses Week begins on May 6, marked as RN Recognition Day, and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of nursing as a modern profession. This year's theme, "Building a Healthy America" provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the work that AAHFN members do to promote the health and well being of the patients they care for.

In honor of National Nurses Week, AAHFN asked its members to submit stories on what they were doing as individuals to "build a healthy America."

Traditionally, National Nurses Week is devoted to highlighting the diverse ways in which registered nurses, the largest health care profession, are working to improve health care. From bedside nursing in hospitals and long-term care facilities to the halls of research institutions, state legislatures, and Congress, the depth and breadth of the nursing profession is meeting the expanding health care needs of American society.

The American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) is a specialty organization dedicated to advancing nursing education, clinical practice and research to improve heart failure patient outcomes. The organization's goal is to set the standards for heart failure nursing care.

Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle weakens or stiffens and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body's needs. Because of this, one may feel tired or weak. This problem can also cause fluid buildup in the organs and tissues, leading to swelling in the legs and feet, or congestion in the lungs, leading to increased breathing difficulties. Heart failure is frighteningly common, but under recognized. It affects more than five million people in the U.S., and it's the most common cause of hospitalization in people older than 65 years of age.

Source: American Association of Heart Failure Nurses

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