I am a Registered Nurse pursuing a master’s degree in nursing at the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). I work in Union County among clusters of minority residents such
as; Hispanic,Haitian,African Americans, Rusians and Hasidic Jews. As a clinician on the Telemetry
Unit I recognized a relationship between individuals admitted with the diagnosis of CHF, the hispanic
population and hospital readmission. Thus, I began focusing my work on the heart failure patient as an
undergrad student. A barrier to patient Education at the Medical Center was the incorporation of
discharge instructions in spanish in our electronic documentation system. The only version was
English. I initiated the change to implement discharge instructions in Spanish for heart failure patients
in our electronic documentation system. Shortly after, our facility received a grant to participate in the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation collaborative: Expecting Success Excellence in Cardiac Care
Learning Network and we were included in the project. I am a member of the American Association of
Heart Failure Nurses and share this organization’s interest and passion for heart failure.
As a Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Program Coordinator it is my responsibility to educate patients
on how to effectively manage heart failure. I provide education to both inpatients and outpatients with a
focus on family. I also provide information about community and nationwide resources to help reduce
heart failure hospitalizations and improve quality of life for patients and/or their caregivers.