Press release

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (March 19, 2013) – Mission Health is celebrating Certified Nurses Day on March 19 by honoring more than 800 board certified nurses for their professionalism, leadership and commitment to excellence in patient care. Certified Nurses Day is an annual worldwide event dedicated to celebrating certification as a means to ensure high standards of patient care and to promote continuing excellence in the nursing profession.

“Certification is a formal recognition of specialized skills, experience and knowledge in the field of nursing. It takes both dedication and persistence to achieve and maintain certification,” said Kathy Guyette, RN, MSN, CNE-BC, Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services. “Through certification, our nurses demonstrate their commitment to professional development and to the people they serve throughout western North Carolina. I am honored to say that Mission Health nurses are dedicated to maintaining the highest credentials in their specialty.”

Mission Health encourages national board certification for all nurses. Certification validates a nurse’s specialty knowledge for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing. Nursing certifications are available in specialties such as cardiac vascular, case management, critical care, emergency nurse, hospice, medical-surgical, oncology, pain management, pediatric and many others.

According to data collected by the American Board of Nursing Specialties in 2010, nurses in the U.S. and Canada held more than 588,407 certifications, an increase of more than 100,000 certificates compared to 2009 survey data. These certifications were granted by 29 different certifying organizations, and 120 different credentials designate these certifications.

About Mission Health
Mission Health, based in Asheville, N.C., is the state’s sixth-largest health system and the region’s only not-for-profit, independent community hospital system governed and managed exclusively in western North Carolina. In 2012 Mission Health was named one of the nation’s Top 15 Health Systems by Thomson Reuters – the only health system in North Carolina to receive this recognition.

Mission Health, which traces its roots in the region back to 1885, operates five hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, and the region’s only dedicated Level II trauma center. Its medical staff consists of more than 1,000 physicians and is certified in over 50 medical specialties and sub-specialties. Mission Health has seven Centers of Excellence: Cancer, Heart, Mission Children’s Hospital, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Trauma and Women’s Health. Mission Hospital, located in Asheville, is the system’s flagship hospital and is licensed for 730 beds. It is the regional referral center for tertiary and quaternary care and is the busiest surgical hospital in North Carolina. It also includes Mission Children’s Hospital– the region’s only children’s hospital. Other Mission Health member hospitals include Angel Medical Center in Franklin, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine, McDowell Hospital in Marion and Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard. With approximately 8,800 employees and 700 volunteers, Mission Health is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the people of western North Carolina. For more information, please visit mission-health.org.