NEWS RELEASE
November 19, 2014
CONTACT:
Gretchen Wright or Luci Manning
202/371-1999
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Announces Task
Forces to Address Malnutrition in Hospitalized Patients and Caring
for Patients with Chronic Conditions
Task Forces Will Develop Recommendations for Resources Clinical Nurse
Specialists Need to Improve Care for Patients
The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) today announced the formation
of two new task forces that will address two pressing issues in health care: malnutrition in
hospitalized patients; and caring for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Clinical nurse
specialists (CNSs) are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who ensure high quality
nursing care that is evidence-based and promotes patient safety, while improving patient
outcomes and lowering health care costs.
The new task forces will develop recommendations for activities and resources that will allow
CNSs to provide leadership to maintain optimal nutrition of hospital patients and provide care for
patients with multiple chronic conditions across the lifespan.
Ensuring that patients maintain optimal nutrition status and avoiding malnutrition while they are
hospitalized and during transitions from hospital to other care settings or home are significant
challenges for health care providers. According to the Alliance to Advance Patient Nutrition, one
in three Americans is malnourished at the time he or she is admitted to the hospital. Malnutrition
is associated with a higher incidence of surgical site infections, pressure ulcers and falls, which
cause longer hospital stays and higher readmission rates.
The malnutrition task force, which was established with the support of Abbott
Nutrition Health Institute, is charged with developing a white paper that delineates the role of the
CNS and the staff nurse in risk assessment, and identification and treatment of malnutrition. The
paper will also describe the role of the CNS in coordinating a team-based response to this
problem across all health care settings.
A study in Preventing Chronic Disease found that roughly half of all adults in U.S. have at least
one of ten chronic conditions, and one in four has more than one. Managing care for these
complex patients can be difficult.
The chronic care task force is charged with developing a white paper that delineates the role of
the CNS in managing care for this growing patient population.
The Malnutrition and the Promotion of Optimal Nutritional Status Task Force includes:

Tracy Chamblee, PhD, APRN, PCSN-BC, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Critical Care
Services, Children’s Medical Center, Frisco, Texas

Joanne Evans, MEd, RN, PHMCNS-BC, Executive Director, Healthy Nurses…Healthy
Communities, Bethesda, Maryland

Hai Lan Yoon, RN, MSN, AOCNS, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Med-Surg Unit, VA
Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Chet McCauley, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CRN, Clinical Nurse Specialist/Education
Coordinator, HOAG HOSPITALS, Newport Beach and Irvine, California

Melanie Shuster, PhD, ACNS-BC, CNSC, GNP-BC, NP-C, Allegheny Center for
Digestive Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Susan Smith, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC, Adult CNS, Critical Care Services, Baylor
University Medical Center, Houston, Texas

Mary J. Waldo, PhD, RN, Director, Professional Practice, Quality and Research,
Providence Health & Services, Oregon Region (PHSOR), Portland, Oregon
The Role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Care of Patients with Chronic Conditions Task
Force includes:

Lori A. Dambaugh, DNP, CNS, RN, Assistant Professor, Wegman’s School of Nursing,
St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York

Polly Hansen, RN, MN, CCRN, PCCN, CNS, Legacy Health, Portland, Oregon

Cynthia R. Kollauf, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, Community-Based Case Management, Aurora
Health Care, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Cheryl Lillegraven, MSN, RN, CNRN, ANCS-BC, CNS- Adult and Geriatrics,
UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, Iowa

Renée A. Martin, RN, MN, PHCNS-BC, CGRN, GI Educator, Liver Coordinator, Staff
RN-GI Lab/SSCU, Portland Veterans Administration Hospital, Portland, Oregon

Julia Senn-Reeves, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCNS, CCRN, Instructor, Lansing School
of Nursing and Health Sciences, Bellarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky

Renada Rochon, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNS, Medical-Surgical Areas, Veterans
Administration Hospital, San Antonio, Texas

Ludmilla Santiago-Rotchford, MSN, ACNS-BC, PCCN, CNS, Cardiology Service Line,
Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension, Orlando Regional Medical Center; Orlando,
Florida

Monica Staples, ACNS-BC, RN, MSN, CNS-White 10, General Medical Unit,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
# # # #
Founded in 1995, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) is the only
association that represents the clinical nurse specialist (CNS), one of four of the advanced
practice registered nurse (APRN) nursing professionals. NACNS is dedicated to advancing CNS
practice and education, removing certification and regulatory barriers, and to assuring the
public access to quality CNS services.