Tina King has been a registered nurse at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital for 10 years. She took the position after working in home health and long-term acute care because of an interest in rehabilitative care. “It’s been such a great experience,” she said. “It’s always changing and challenging. I can’t imagine going back to doing any other kind of nursing.”
Leah Walters agrees.
As the hospital’s nursing director, Walters comes from a long line of nurses, including her grandmother, aunt and cousin. She began her career as a certified nursing assistant 20 years ago, but then worked in family law for several years before returning back to school for her bachelor’s degrees in nursing and business management.
“I love seeing the significant progress patients make in acute rehab,” Walters said. “When you see someone come into the hospital on a stretcher but then walk out, it’s really rewarding.”
King and Walters are just two of the 37 nurses who provide 24-hour rehabilitative nursing care to patients at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital. At the hospital, nurses are part of an interdisciplinary team – joining physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, case managers and other medical professionals – who treat patients at the hospital.
Many of the nurses at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital have voluntarily earned – and continued to maintain – the Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) certification. Nurses who achieve this credential demonstrate knowledge, experience and commitment to excellence in providing comprehensive care to people with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses.
“I earned the CRRN because I want to keep up with the latest medical treatments and techniques in the rehabilitative setting,” King said. “What I’ve learned has given me a lot more confidence in my abilities to care for our patients.”
To earn the CRRN designation, King met clinical practice requirements in rehabilitation nursing and passed an exam that confirmed her extensive knowledge in the field. The exam covered the scope of rehabilitation nursing practice including models and theories; functional health patterns such as theories, physiology, assessment, standards of care and interventions in individuals with injury, chronic illness and disability across the lifespan; function of the rehabilitation team; community re-entry; and legislative, economic, ethical and legal issues.
King says that deciding to pursue the CRRN certification was an easy decision. “I wanted to really understand the nursing field I was moving into,” she explained. “There’s always something new to learn.”
“We all need to stay up-to-date with the latest medical developments for our patients’ sakes,” Walters added. “We’re responsible and accountable for their recoveries and healing, and we take that responsibility extremely seriously. By continuing to grow and specialize in our knowledge – be it through certifications or ongoing continuing education – we can provide the latest care with confidence so our patients get optimal results.”
The hospital is honoring the commitment of King, Walters and other nurses like them this month during National Nurses Week May 6-12.
“Nurses are critical to our patients’ care – providing them with the treatment they need 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital Chief Executive Officer Judy Baum. “They provide consistency and continuity in a patient’s care plan and are essential members of our medical team who help ensure our patients recover fully. We may be officially honoring our nurses during a week in May, but we recognize their efforts year-round and know that we couldn’t provide the care we do without them.”
By Daryl Williams
Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital is a 40-bed, free-standing rehabilitation hospital that provides intensive physical rehabilitation services to patients recovering from strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries, and other disabilities caused by injuries, illnesses, or chronic conditions. The hospital is consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of inpatient rehabilitation facilities nationally by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR).
For more information, visit MVRRH.ernesthealth.com.
3700 N. Windsong Drive • Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 • 928-758-8800 • www.mvrrh.ernesthealth.com
Daryl Williams is the director of Marketing and Business Development at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital located at 3700 N. Windsong Drive, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314. He can be reached at 928-775-7863 or
darylwilliams@ernesthealth.com.