VCU news

By Cassie Williams Jones

A Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center nurse whose research has changed clinical practices both here and at more than 1,100 hospitals in the U.S. and 10 other countries has received the American Nurses Credentialing Center's National Magnet Nurse of the Year® award for 2013.

Tod Brindle, certified wound ostomy continence nurse at the VCU Medical Center, is one of five nurses nationwide to receive the award, which recognizes outstanding contributions of clinical nurses for innovation, consultation, leadership and professional risk-taking. Brindle was chosen in the Exemplary Professional Practice category for his contributions of transformative ways to improve patient care quality. “This award was such an honor to receive, particularly as I think of the thousands of nurses across this country who provide such excellent care daily,” Brindle said. “What this award really represents is that, as a nurse, when you're supported in an environment such as at VCU – a Magnet® facility – your ideas can become the key to improved patient outcomes and serve to educate the interprofessional medical community.”

Brindle’s research led to a hospital-wide practice change to prevent pressure ulcers, or bed sores, in the Intensive Care Unit, resulting in a reduction of Healthcare Acquired Pressure Ulcer (HAPU) rates from 8 percent to 2.4 percent; an evidence-based intervention for patients with hemodynamic instability, the body’s inability to maintain blood pressure or adequate heart function; and groundbreaking techniques to enhance care of patients with fistula, an abnormal connection between two organs or an open abdominal wound.

“We are thrilled that Tod’s contributions in the specialized field of skin integrity have been recognized and he has been named a National Magnet Nurse of the Year®”, said Deb Zimmermann, DNP, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services at VCU Medical Center. “Nurses are an integral component of the patient care team, and Tod’s exceptional work as a clinician and a researcher have raised the standard of care and reduced hospital acquired pressure ulcers throughout the nation."

Brindle has presented his work across the country in venues ranging from national conferences to major academic medical centers, and he was recently appointed to an international panel of experts to create guidelines for the use of dressings in pressure ulcer prevention. He is a registered nurse with board certification as a wound ostomy continence nurse and holds a master’s degree in nursing administration and leadership from theVCU School of Nursing.

In addition to Brindle, four other recipients also were recognized for their achievements during the ANCC National Magnet Conference® from Oct. 2-4 in Orlando, Fla. Recipients of the four remaining Magnet® Model categories included Transformational Leadership: Lisa Hartkopf Smith, Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio; Structural Empowerment: Debra S. Holbrook, Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, Md.; New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements: Samantha L. Weimer, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, Colo.; and Empirical Outcomes: Elizabeth Bradshaw-Mikula, Children's National Medical Center’s Heart Institute, Washington, D.C.