AANP Honors UK HealthCare’s Nurse Practitioner-led Intensive Care Team for Lifesaving Care During Pandemic

Media Contact: Bryan Black

UK HealthCare treated more than 4,400 COVID-19 patients.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — April N. Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners^® (AANP), the largest professional organization representing nurse practitioners (NPs), today recognized and honored NPs from the UK HealthCare Medicine Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the University of Kentucky for their leadership and unwavering commitment to patient care, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“AANP is proud to honor the truly extraordinary efforts of UK HealthCare’s NP-led Medicine ICU team,” said Kapu. “These NPs have helped deliver lifesaving care to more than 4,400 critically ill COVID-19 patients over the past two years — in a unit that regularly operates at greater than 90% capacity. Their leadership and tireless efforts on the front lines of the pandemic have saved countless lives and are a shining example of the outstanding patient care NPs deliver nationwide.”

The UK HealthCare Medicine ICU team is led by an acute care NP and includes 22 other NPs and three PAs. It is among the first adult ICU teams at UK HealthCare comprised of NPs and PAs, and it laid the groundwork for new NP roles, additional triage teams and other ICU expansions. UK HealthCare is one of the top 10 academic medical transfer centers in the nation.

In addition to their dedication to patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NP-led Medicine ICU team:

• Serves as the backbone of future growth and expansion for the UK Healthcare Medicine ICU, which covers multiple ICUs across the enterprise at UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital and UK Good Samaritan Hospital.
• Provides leadership in multiple quality, safety and patient experience projects throughout the system.
• Ensures patient safety and high-quality care throughout UK HealthCare.
• Spends countless hours training and supporting a new generation of critical care NPs and PAs.

“On behalf of UK HealthCare, we are grateful to AANP for this recognition,” said Lacey T. Buckler, DNP, ACNP-BC, NE-BC, Chief Advanced Practice Officer at UK HealthCare. “NPs are leading the way at UK HealthCare, and their commitment and expertise are vital to the health of our patients and community.”

Kapu, representing the nation’s 355,000 licensed NPs, many of whom have worked on the front lines of the pandemic, presented AANP’s certificate of recognition to members of the UK HealthCare Medicine ICU team at UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital, followed by a tour of the state-of-the-art ICU facility.

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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners^® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs’ patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner^®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org. For COVID-19 information from AANP, visit aanp.org/COVID19.