World Heart Day, observed on the last Sunday of every September [September 27th this year], is celebrated internationally to promote healthy heart care; and spread the awareness of heart disease and its growing incidence among the global population.
Ms Patricia A. Hickey, Vice President of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services, Children’s Hospital Boston, presented “The Nightingale Metrics: Measurement and Improvement of Pediatric Nursing Practice”, which highlighted a framework to understand the link between nursing care and patient outcomes at 4.30 pm, corresponding to 7.00 am in Boston. The presentation focussed on the development of nurse sensitive measures, with emphasis on paediatric nursing practice. The Nightingale Metrics, developed by Ms Patricia Hickey, can be transferable to any hospital for improving patient care quality and outcomes.
Speaking on this occasion, Dr. K. M. Cherian, Chairman & CEO, Dr. K. M. Cherian’s Frontier Lifeline Hospital, said, “We are very happy to celebrate World Heart Day actively every year. As part of our initiative to highlight this year’s theme – ‘Work with Heart’, our nursing community had organised for the live conference on Paediatric Nursing Practice, in association with Children’s Hospital Boston. At this juncture, we would like to thank Children’s Hospital Boston, and Ms Patricia Hickey, for their valuable support and commitment towards the improvement of providing quality service to patients by encouraging our nursing community through such presentations.”
Each year a theme is designated for World Heart Day; and in 2009, the focus is to inspire people to ‘Work with Heart’. A workplace that encourages healthy habits can reduce the risk of many diseases, including heart disease and stroke – the leading cause of death worldwide. The theme, Work with Heart, encourages one to make small changes around the workplace, which when put together, could make a big difference in favour of good health and greater productivity.
ABOUT MS PATRICIA A. HICKEY
Ms. Patricia is known internationally for her work in leadership development, patient safety and bridging nursing practice and health policy. She has disseminated cutting edge nursing knowledge in more than 30 publications and has presented numerous dynamic papers at national and international symposia. With a passion for fostering peace in nations through international health initiatives, Patricia is a long-standing senior volunteer consultant for Project HOPE and a board member of a non-profit organization for paediatric healthcare in Guatemala. Patricia’s contributions have been recognized with several prestigious honours and awards. She is the 2009 recipient of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Circle of Excellence Award and she will be inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in November, 2009.
