Pardee UNC Health Care Nurse’s Unique Certification Benefits Patients From OB to the ED

Pardee UNC Health Care Celebrates Certified Nurses Day, March 19th

Pardee UNC Health Care recognizes the unique contributions of its certified nurses on March 19, Certified Nurses Day, for their dedication, achievements, and deep commitment to patient safety. This annual day of recognition publicly acknowledges nurses who earn and maintain the highest credentials in their specialty. Pardee employs 80 certified nurses across 15 specialties ranging from emergency medicine to home health.

“The dedication and persistence it takes to achieve and maintain certification in nursing is something to be celebrated and recognized,” said Carol Stefaniak, Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Officer, Pardee UNC Health Care. “Our certified nurses play an important role in the assurance of high-quality care for our patients and their loved ones.”

 Alesha Simuel, a registered nurse for 12 years, works in the Women’s and Children’s Department at Pardee and holds three certifications. “National certifications, as a whole, are a recognition of a nurse's ability to provide competent care,” Simuel said.  “I think national certifications help to enhance professional credibility and validate specialized knowledge.”

Simuel’s certifications include inpatient obstetrics, electronic fetal monitoring, and perinatal mental health. She said she is most proud of the perinatal mental health certification because she believes perinatal mental health support and education are a huge need for the community. Simuel is the only nurse at Pardee with a certification in Perinatal Mental Health and after obtaining this certification, was able to collaboratively implement the Perinatal Mental Health Registered Nurse Consultation Policy. Per the policy, any other hospital unit may consult Simuel to be involved with any patient admitted with a perinatal mental health mood or anxiety disorder. “This policy has proved to be very beneficial and I have been involved with patients in the Emergency Department and Psychiatric and Addiction Health Services (PATHS) settings since this was implemented,” Simuel said. “My involvement consists of collaborating on discharge planning, follow-up care, education, and identifying specialized resources related to the patient’s perinatal mental health needs.”