Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Certification Board Selects Winner of the 2008 Employer Recognition Award

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, April 30, 2008 The Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB) announced today that Westcare Health System of Sylva, North Carolina and The Valley Hospital of Ridgewood, New Jersey, were both selected as recipients of the 2008 WOCNCB Employer Recognition Award. The announcement was made by Carol Calianno, Chair of the WOCNCB Awards Committee, at the spring 2008 WOCNCB Board Meeting, held April 19, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Since its founding in 1978, WOCNCB has been promoting the highest standard of consumer care and safety by providing credentialing in the areas of wound, ostomy, continence and foot care nursing. The WOCNCB Employer Recognition Award was developed as a means to publicly recognize organizations, facilities, or departments that advocate for, or promote, specialty nursing certification.

"The programs in place at these facilities to support nurses seeking certification and recognize those that have succeeded truly advance the value of nursing certification," noted Carol Calianno, RN, MSN, CWOCN, Financial Officer of WOCNCB. "As the Awards Committee evaluated the nomination materials submitted for this award, several things particularly stood out. First, the encouragement for nurses to seek national certification by reimbursement of exam expense, salary recognition, and reimbursement of recertification fees is a real commitment by these facilities. As well, internal recognition of certified staff via employee awards dinners, recognition plaques, career days, support during nurses week, hospital meetings, are further evidence of support. The requirement of certification to be promoted to higher levels will ensure that certification in a specialty area will be rewarded in an appropriate manner," Calianno added. "Through efforts such as those demonstrated in the nomination applications submitted, the WOCNCB vision – Specialty nursing certification is THE standard by which the public recognizes quality nursing care – will be achieved!"

Among the criteria necessary to win this award, the organization must document the financial support for certification, organization-wide recognition of achievement of the WOCNCB credentials are published or otherwise communicated, salary recognition is awarded to certified nurses, and WOCNCB credentials are mentioned when recruiting nurse positions, among other things.

Other criteria include how the organization supports those nurses interested in seeking certification by providing reimbursement of certification examination fees, providing certification examination review courses or reimbursing for attendance at a review course, and/or providing paid time off to take certification examination or review course.

WOCNCB President, Patti Gable Burke, RN, BSN, CWOCN, will present the award in person at the WOCN Society Annual Conference June 22, 2008 in Orlando, Florida.