Enhancing Rehabilitation Nursing Alongside ARN

Encompass Health recently announced a new membership with the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities this will bring to our nurses. Not only does it allow us to provide ARN membership to individual nurses at each of our hospitals across the country, as well as attendance to the 2020 REACH conference, the alliance of our organizations shows commitment to enhancing the expertise of rehabilitation nursing.

Both organizations have a long-standing commitment to furthering the field. Over the past several years, Encompass Health has had an average of 100 attendees at the annual REACH conference, and this membership speaks to our continued dedication to growing our staff's expertise in the rehabilitation nursing practice. From in-person and online education courses and incentive plans for becoming a CRRN to career ladders and nurse leadership training, at Encompass Health we strive to provide our nurses with the tools they need to empower them to succeed.

There are 2.9 million registered nurses in the U.S., and less than 1% of them are certified rehabilitation registered nurses. As the nation's largest provider of post-acute rehabilitation services, it's essential that Encompass Health advocate for rehabilitation nursing. This partnership with ARN, which is known as the premier professional organization for rehabilitation nursing, is one of many ways we are doing just that.

When nurses join one of our many hospitals, they join a family of clinicians all working toward the same goal: helping patients achieve the best outcomes on their journey home after a debilitating illness or injury. I'm proud to be part of a company that commits to furthering the field of rehabilitation nursing through a dedication to each and every member of our nursing team.

Mary Ellen Hatch is the Vice President of Nursing Operations at Encompass Health and a member of ARN's Board of Directors.

Originally published on the Encompass Health Blog, January 6, 2020. View the original blog post.